Nutrition is of utmost importance because your body is the vessel in which you will be carrying new life. Therefore, the healthier your body is, the more likely you are to conceive and carry a baby to full term. Here are some of the nutrients that you should be sure to include in your diet:

Folic Acid
Folic Acid can improve fertility in both men and women. Besides supplements, you can obtain folic acid from natural sources such as green leafy vegatables, whole grains, wheat germ and citrus fruits. The recommended amount is 400 micrograms a day.

Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 helps in improving fertility and also preventing miscarriages.

Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an antioxidant which improves general health, reduces stress and increase fertility among both men and women.

Calcium
Calcium is important for both men and women. It is important for women who are trying to conceive and also women who are pregnant. The recommended level is 1,000mg a day.

Iron
Iron helps prevent miscarriages. The recommended amount is 30mg a day. Green leafy vegetables are a good natural source of iron.

Zinc
Zinc is very important for male fertility. The recommended amount is 11 milligrams a day. Natural sources of zinc include wheat germ, seeds and soy.

L-carnitine and Co-enzyme Q10
Both of these have been found to increase male fertility.

Herbs
Some herbs found to be helpful for fertility include - chaste tree berry, red clover, Siberian ginseng, lady's mantle, black cohosh. There are also around 150 types of Chinese herbs that are useful for improving fertility. These are best obtained from a Chinese medicine practitioner.

Food
If possible, eat organic food to avoid consuming pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, preservatives, hormones, colouring, additives, antibioitcs, flavorings and other chemicals. Some experts say that a vegan or vegetarian diet improves fertility because of the increased intake of fruits and vegetables.

Things To Avoid
If you are trying to get pregnant, you should avoid alcohol, caffeine, cigarettes, certain drugs such as aspirin and antihistamines and fish from contaminated waters.

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A healthy vaginal environment is acidic laden with lactobacilli. A woman with bacterial vaginosis (BV), on the other hand, has other bacteria build-ups that outnumber the lactobacilli. Among the most commonly found microorganisms after testing vaginal samples are bacteroides, gardnerella vaginalis, mobiluncus and mycoplasma hominis. These bacteria mess up the vaginal pH, making it a more conducive place for them to grow and multiply.

Although the infection is mild, its symptoms can be very vexing. But you must know that there are things you must avoid to prevent bacterial vaginosis and among them is sugar. Foods rich in sugar are not recommended for people prone to BV. Sugar is food for these bacteria, enabling them to survive and multiply.

Citrus fruits are also among the things you must avoid to prevent BV. Although these fruits contain generous amounts of vitamin C, they are advised against women with BV. Once digested, these fruits turn into basic ash.

For a woman with bacterial vaginosis, her already high pH will only worsen if she takes foods that turn into basic ash. This will only aggravate the condition and prevent the healing of the infection. Other things you must avoid to prevent bacterial vaginosis include alcohol, coffee, fast foods, processed foods, saturated fats from animal products and refined flour products like bread and pasta.

If you can, you should also practice abstinence. Often, this is only done as a last resort for women with recurrent BV. You should also avoid unprotected sex and having multiple partners. This can make you prone to infection, especially if you have an IUD as a method of contraception.

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