Couples trying to conceive a baby may want to consider eating more organic food. In addition to the obvious reason of not wanting to consume pesticide residue, there’s alarming evidence that genetically modified soy hampers reproduction in laboratory animals.
Also, there’s growing evidence that organically grown crops have more nutrients than those raised with modern farming methods.
Organic Food for Infertility
Artificially fed fruits and vegetables do not pull all of the many minerals and trace elements from the soil. Instead, they absorb a large amount of potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen, the active ingredients found in chemical fertilizers.
When we eat these foods, we also create an unhealthy imbalance in our bodies, according to the late Dr. Jozsef Beres, PhD. A Hungarian researcher, he spent the bulk of his professional life studying the relationship between commercial fertilizers and cancer. He believed a mineral balance was often the root cause of this disease.
In fact, he was so convinced of this connection that he developed a mineral supplement that killed malignant cells in the laboratory and often reversed cancer in patients considered terminal.
Given these findings, along with newer research showing that organic food is nutritionally superior, it only makes sense that anyone trying to have a baby would want to eat food filled with the nutrients they need to support a healthy pregnancy.
Also, non-organic crops are sprayed with pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. Some of these chemicals are classified as endocrine disruptors, which means they have the potential to interfere with reproduction.
GMO Soy and Infertility
By far, the most compelling case for avoiding genetically modified food, if you’re trying to conceive, is a Russian study. Hamsters fed GM soy were mostly sterile by the third generation. Those that did manage to reproduce delivered pups that often didn’t survive.
These findings were directly correlated with the amount of altered soy consumed. The animals eating the most soy had the worst reproductive track record.
Nearly all of the soy grown in the United States is genetically modified. The seeds have foreign genes inserted, to make the plants able to withstand applications of a controversial herbicide. The same thing has happened with nearly all of America’s corn crops.
So, if you eat the Standards American Diet, heavy on processed foods, you are consuming a lot of GMOs. Corn, soy and canola oil are typically genetically modified sources. These three ingredients are found in nearly all processed foods and snacks, unless they are labeled USDA certified organic or the packaging clearly states it’s made without GMOs.
It’s interesting to note that this is a distinctly American problem. (Only a few other countries have allowed their food supply to become contaminated with GMOs.) Russia has banned corn grown in the United States, because of how it is grown. Labeling laws in Europe have, by-and-large, prevented GM foods from appearing on supermarket shelves.
After having personally experienced the heartbreak of infertility, I believe it’s important for everyone to know about this issue.
