Cutting carbohydrates

Carbohydrates continue to get a bad rap  and looks like the brickbats won’t die down anytime soon. And now, fertility experts in the US, advise women should go “low carb,” if they want to conceive. That’s because doing so could increase the chance of success by five times. High levels of carbohydrates, especially the refined ones, are known to affect metabolism, and can fuel obesity, which in itself reduces fertility. Experts point out to strong evidence that women in particular should cut back on carbohydrates. Dr Gillian Lockwood, executive director of fertility group IVI, highlighted the research which discovered women with lower carbohydrate intake had four times the success rates of those on standard diets. 

A trial was conducted on 120 women undergoing IVF, had them split them into two groups, based on the balance of protein and carbohydrate in their diet. In total, 58 per cent of those in the “low carb” group (at least one quarter of their diet was protein) went on to have a baby. Whereas in the “high carb” group, where less than a quarter of daily energy came from protein, just 11 per cent achieved success. The study was conducted by the Delaware Institute for Reproductive Medicine, US. Researchers concluded that those trying for a family should aim for up to 35 per cent protein and less than 40 per cent carbohydrates.

Expert speak

Dr Rajalaxmi Walavalkar, consultant, IVF and reproductive surgery, Cocoon Fertility, agrees with the findings of the study. “High carbohydrates intake contributes to onset of insulin resistance or worsening of it. Insulin resistance is associated with obesity both in men and women. Studies have found eggs of obese women have higher content of fat globules, and such eggs result in poorer quality of embryos. Sperm of obese men tend to have higher DNA damage, thus, leading to poorer embryos, and hence, reduced fertility,” she says adding that insulin resistance and its associated obesity also affect the hormonal metabolism and activity, thus resulting in hormonal imbalance and impaired fertility.

Patient demographic

Do our experts recommend her clients to go low carb? Dr Anagha Karkhanis, consultant, IVF and reproductive surgery, Cocoon Fertility, says, “We almost always advocate low-carb diet to all couples trying for a baby. We specially stress on diet in cases of Polycystic ovaries (PCO), obesity, sedentary life style, low sperm counts. These cases amount to almost 60-70 per cent of our routine OPD.”

On a daily basis, Dr Walavalkar sees patients that need diet and lifestyle modification especially those who are obese, have poor sperm parameters and PCO. “About 75 per cent of our clientele will benefit with a modified low carb, high protein diet. Most of these people are between the ages of 25 to 42 years, coming from an urban background and from all economic strata,” she informs, addind that ideally, this modification in diet should be incorporated at least three to four months before any planned treatment. This gives best optimisation of the person’s nutrition status. The logic behind this is that the egg selection and growth cycle is 12 weeks and sperm cycle is 120 days.

Refined carbohydrates are the culprit

Nutritionist Karishma Chawla of Eat Rite 24x7, often has clients, usually women, suggested by doctors to lose weight or body fat percentage in order to conceive. She says, “Such clients are not necessarily overweight. However, they could still carry more body fat percentage considering their diet recall and sedentary lifestyles.” 

Chawla makes some important points saying that the key is to lose fat percentage in order for the hormones and the body to function optimally, in order to conceive. “Most of the clients suffer from PCOS, a probable threat to conception along with others who simply carry more fat percentage. The diet being predominantly high in carbohydrates does not do justice to the requirement. Yes, it is advisable to drop all the refined carbohydrates that only result in sugar spike and obesity making it difficult to conceive. Complex carbohydrates are high in fibre, which can be consumed. However, the portion depends on individual metabolism and blood sugar levels,” she says.