We live in a soda and coffee-obsessed culture, and most of us love those occasional happy hour margaritas. I know I do! Unfortunately, as you may already know, while trying to conceive, both of these –plus more—have to go.  Sometimes, it really helps to understand why.

Let’s start with the top of the list bad-boy: alcohol. Not only does it disrupt the absorption of nutrients, create more work for your body (and liver!), and weaken your immune system, but it also raises prolactin levels which can mess with ovulation and fertility.

Now, I understand how nice a glass of wine is at the end of the day to unwind and de-stress, but if you’re going for a baby, you have to find more body-nourishing ways to de-stress. No messing around! According to Fern Reiss in her book, The Infertility Diet, there was a study that showed even one drink a week can reduce a couple’s odds of conceiving in that month by 40%. Enough said.

Caffeine is another substance that needs to come off the list, in all the forms it takes: coffee, tea, chocolate (sorry) and most definitely soda. Soda, by the way, has way too much sugar and too many artificial ingredients. Please, don’t even think about consuming sodas, even the sugar-free, caffeine-free variety.

Getting back to caffeine, not only does it negatively affect fertility, but has been implicated in higher rates of miscarriage. Even the decaffeinated versions of coffee and tea have some caffeine in them, and with coffee, harsh chemicals are usually used in the decaffeination process, so I have to say no to that too.

What about juices? Those are healthy, right? Well, yes absolutely to veggie juice but no to fruit juice, unless you water it down and drink less of it. Why? Because fruit juices have too much concentrated levels of sugar. Better to eat the fruits whole.

If you do consume fruits juice (or veggie juice for that matter), make sure it’s organic, and if it’s from the supermarket, check labels to make sure there’s nothing else in there. You’d be surprised what gets added in.

What about all the beverages out there on supermarket shelves? Drop them all. Most beverages on the market today contain artificial ingredients, preservatives, additives and/or added sugar. Stay clear from all of these, most notably sodas, as previously mentioned. Your body does not need the artificial ingredients it contains.

So what can you drink? Well, the only beverage your body really needs is purified water. Not much else. Be sure to drink six to eight tall glasses of purified water a day. Also, caffeine-free, herbal tea is great, except for those that are contra-indicated for fertility or pregnancy, such as chamomile and Echinacea.

Meanwhile, ease yourself off the other beverages as quickly as you can. Keep this in mind too: it’s not forever, it’s temporary. Here’s what motivated a friend (and she went on to conceive a baby in her 40’s): Ask yourself, what do I want? A baby or a cup of coffee? That made the choice easy.

(c) 2010 by Cindy Bailey of www.fertilekitchen.com
photo by: http://www.cynical-c.com/archives/2004_06.html