How To Improve Egg Quality Through Food

Women are born with all the eggs they will ever have.

But, the decline in fertility as we age isn’t only down to quantity. Egg quality matters too.

We know this because a woman receiving a younger woman’s eggs has similar success rates to the age of the egg donor. 

The link between age and egg quality is mainly due to the increased potential for chromosomally damaged eggs. Healthy eggs have 23 chromosomes. A higher or lower amount of chromosomes than this doesn’t mean that an egg can’t be fertilised but there is higher potential for chromosome abnormalities and miscarriage. 

The number of chromosomally damaged eggs increases with age but age isn’t the only factor to think about. Egg health can still be poor at a younger age and conversely, age doesn’t necessarily mean poorer quality eggs. 

The risk of chromosome abnormalities can be reduced if eggs are of good quality and this is an area in which nutrition and lifestyle can play key roles in improving egg health. 

But, before we dive into how nutrition can support egg health, let’s talk briefly about some of the factors that can affect egg health. 

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Signs of poor egg quality

There's no specific test to give a snapshot of your egg quality but other key tests to consider include:

• A sex hormone panel to establish whether hormone imbalances may be impacting egg health

• A nutrient profile

• Genetic panels 

• Reproductive microbiome as infections can impact egg quality.

There are some signs that indicate whether egg health may need some support: 

Hormone imbalances - Irregular menstrual cycles can be a sign of hormonal imbalances, which can impact egg health. Your hormones are crucial for producing eggs that are high enough quality to result in a healthy pregnancy and to ensure that a ‘good’ egg has the opportunity to be fertilised and implanted so that pregnancy can occur. 

A delicate balance of oestrogen, progesterone, Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) help to ensure an egg matures and is released at optimal time for fertilisation;. If this balance is ‘off’, egg health can be impacted. 

A luteal phase that lasts for less than 10 days may indicate hormonal imbalances that can affect egg quality, particularly low progesterone. If your body is consistently producing adequate progesterone, there’s a much greater chance that you’ll have healthy eggs. 

Other factors that can be linked to hormone balance, the menstrual cycle and egg health include Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis and thyroid imbalances. Being underweight or overweight - Not maintaining a healthy weight can also cause issues for egg health. Being underweight can increase the potential for absent or irregular ovulation, hormone imbalances, missed periods and lack of support for the mitochondria.  Whereas being overweight can result in hormonal imbalances, including excess oestrogen and insulin resistance, both of which can impact egg health. Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation can also be increased when overweight, further affecting egg quality. 

Low vitamin D - Low vitamin D can have many negative effects on the body, including hormone regulation, reproductive health, and egg quality. 

Sweet cravings - If you’re constantly craving something sweet, you may be experiencing dysregulated blood sugar levels. This can impact egg quality and overall fertility. It’s also worth noting that sugar can have ageing effects on the body, which can extend to egg cells.

How to improve egg quality with food/nutrition

Working on your diet and lifestyle can significantly improve your egg health.

While there are no specific foods that can increase female fertility, a well balanced anti-inflammatory diet can provide the nutrients essential for reproductive health and fertility.

Fuel the mitochondria: Egg health goes hand in hand with mitochondrial health. The mitochondria provide energy for egg cells and are heavily involved in embryo development, egg maturation and fertilisation. Since mitochondrial function naturally declines with age, supporting the mitochondrial becomes increasingly important to improve egg health. The following recommendations in this section will all support mitochondrial health, as well as providing other benefits for your health and fertility. 

Eat the rainbow: Getting plenty of colour in your diet provides vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants that can help to balance hormones, protect egg cells from the damaging effects of oxidative stress and reduce ovarian ageing. Antioxidants also reduce chronic inflammation, which can impair ovulation and impact egg quality. 

Eat plenty of fibre: Fibre supports gut health, blood sugar balance, and hormone balance, all of which are vital for ovarian function and egg health. Fibre binds to excess hormones, particularly oestrogen, to eliminate them from the body safely and efficiently. If this doesn’t happen, it can result in oestrogen dominance and negatively impact ovulation and egg health. Women’s health conditions such as endometriosis are also linked to oestrogen dominance. A healthy gut also absorbs more of the nutrients needed for fertility.

Eat enough protein: Protein contains amino acids, which act as the ‘building blocks’ for cell development, including egg cells. Protein-rich foods also fuel the mitochondria and provide essential energy for egg cells, partly due to the CoQ10 found in many protein sources.

Protein is also important for balancing blood sugar levels. Studies have shown that in IVF, higher blood sugar can result in fewer eggs being retrieved and fertilised and lower quality embryos. For natural pregnancy, high blood sugar levels can reduce the chances of success.

Eat the right type of fat: A high-fat diet rich in saturated fat has been shown to negatively impact ovulation and egg health but some fats are good for fertility. Studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids are crucial for fertility. They support egg membranes and help to protect genetic material, reducing the potential for damage that can result in poor egg quality. 

Get enough sleep - Poor sleep can disrupt hormone balance but the connection to egg quality can run much deeper than this. As a powerful antioxidant, the ‘sleep hormone’, melatonin, protects eggs against the effects of oxidative stress. It also supports mitochondrial function and ovarian function. Melatonin has been shown to improve egg quality in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).

Limit pesticide exposure: Exposure to toxins is a huge culprit for increasing oxidative stress. Nutrition can play a significant role in reducing oxidative stress but it’s also smart to wash fruit and vegetables well to reduce exposure to pesticides and buy organic as much as possible - especially the ‘Dirty Dozen’.

How quickly can egg quality improve?

Improvements in egg health can potentially happen in 90-100 days (the time it takes for an immature follicle to develop). 

The changes you start to make today can have an impact on the eggs that will be released several months from now. 

As a fertility-focused Nutritional Therapist, I help my clients to harness the power of  nutrition and lifestyle to improve their egg health, balance hormones and take other steps to boost their fertility naturally. You can work with me as an individual or with your partner to optimise your fertility.

If you’re ready to see how nutrition can positively impact egg health and fertility, I’d love to support you with this.