The pineapple has been a powerful symbol of infertility for centuries and women struggling to conceive wear and display items featuring pineapples as a signal to others.

IVF patients even tell each other that eating the pineapple, including the core, on an empty stomach on the day of embryo transfer can help you get pregnant!1 Scientific evidence is lacking in support of this claim; however, the pineapple fruit and core is rich in an enzyme called bromelain that may reduce pain and swelling after surgery or injury.2

Nutritional therapy, on the other hand, is very much rooted in science! It is defined as the application of nutrition and lifestyle medicine sciences in the promotion of health, peak performance and individual care.3

At the Optimum Fertility Clinic, we consider the male and female health journey from birth to present day, exploring symptoms, illness and life events that may all be contributing to suboptimal fertility. We then identify potential nutritional imbalances in both of you and recommend personalised nutrition and lifestyle changes to support optimal balance in these areas. We recommend functional testing, based on each couple’s specific journey, to help clarify imbalances and allow us to provide strategies tailored to your unique biological individuality. Our recommendations are evidence-based (we read the scientific studies and papers related to fertility) to ensure your health is optimised ready for parenthood.

So, if you love pineapple, go ahead and eat it on any day, but only use the core if you’re adding it to a fertility smoothie, it’s very woody!

Alternatively, book a complimentary Fertility Review with us and we’ll review your fertility journey together and suggest where we think nutritional therapy could make a positive difference for you.  It’s completely confidential and there’s no obligation to book onto our package. https://optimumfertilityclinic.com/contact/

References

  1. Lorenz, T. (2020) How the pineapple became the icon of I.V.F. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/style/pineapple-in-vitro-fertilization-pregnancy.html
  2. NIH (2020) Available at: https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/bromelain
  3. BANT (2020) Why Personalised Nutrition. Available at: https://bant.org.uk/personalised-nutrition/