Fertility Secrets: Fertility problems may be linked to what you eat

Eight-month-old twins Ella and Brady are their mother's dream come true. Michelle Cutler tried for more than a year to get pregnant, with no luck. She turned to in vitro, coupled with 'The Fertility Diet.'

"For me, I liked knowing I was doing everything I could to get pregnant," Michelle tells TODAY'S TMJ4's Shelley Walcott.

Dr. Angie Beltsos works at the Fertility Centers of Illinois. She says just a slight change in your diet can rev up fertility...for both you and your husband.

"Hormonally what changes is it puts them more in balance, and it makes them more fertile," Dr. Beltsos explains.

Dr. Beltsos often sends her patients to a holistic center called 'Pulling Down The Moon.' It teaches couples who want to have children the benefits of healthy eating, exercise, alternative therapy and overall nutrition.

Dr. Lauren Weiss shows couples what to eat to conceive. She says men need antioxidants.

"Antioxidant rich foods such as berries which we have here for sperm count quality and mobility. They prevent sperm damage so that's one of the key foods that men should be eating," Dr. Weiss says.

She steers women to foods high in essential fatty acids, like salmon.

"And that's really important because essential fatty acids is what makes up our hormones and they also help increase our egg quality," Dr. Weiss says.

Also in the fertility diet: Whole grains, vegetables and olive oil. What's not? Foods that are high in saturated fat.

"There's actually a study that finds that if eggs have mostly saturated fats around them, they're much harder to fertilize. And that makes sense because if you were a sperm, and you were trying to swim through olive oil or butter... which would be easier," Dr. Weiss points out.

Exercise is important too. Try low impact activities like yoga and swimming. Dr. Weiss also recommends acupuncture.

"There are a bunch of studies that show that acupuncture increases rates of conception, especially before invitro fertilization," Dr. Weiss says.

Brittany and Jason Pines adopted the fertility diet after three unsuccessful cycles of in vitro.

"I feel that my body is more in tune with itself then it was before," Brittany explains.

They hope this healthy approach to life will help them have the child they so desperately want.

Fertility doctors also suggest women avoid eating too much soy. It can depress thyroid function, which can lead to infertility. Experts also recommend couples go organic. Pesticides have been proven to reduce fertility.

Shelley Walcott