According to a study published in the journal Human Reproduction, those who follow the Mediterranean diet have more chances of success with IVF. The researchers analyzed the diet of a group of women who were about to undergo in vitro fertilization. They found that those who ate vegetables, legumes and fish had 65-68% more chance of becoming pregnant.

The study focused more on diet as a whole than on the consumption of individual nutrients. Scholars examined the diet of 244 Greek women in the last 6 months by means of a questionnaire. All women were between 22 and 41 years old, were healthy and had a body mass index below 30. The researchers evaluated the degree of "Mediterraneanity" of the diets, giving a score from 0 to 55.

The team of Professor Nikos Yiannakouris divided the women into 3 groups, based on the degree of Mediterraneanness of their diet. The first group included women who did not follow a Mediterranean diet. The second group included those who followed a not entirely Mediterranean diet. The third group included women who followed a Mediterranean diet.

The 86 women who followed a Mediterranean diet had a pregnancy rate of 50%, against 29% of the other groups. This means that a healthy diet like the Mediterranean one significantly increases the chances of success of IVF, especially under 35 years. Moreover, even if the study focused on women, the Mediterranean diet is also decisive for the quality of the seed.

Source: eshre.eu