The simplicity of Michael Pollan’s dietary message goes right to the heart of the fertility diet. The recommendations for a fertility diet are summarized in "The Fertility Food Guide."
This food guide gives guidelines as to minimum amounts of foods to eat from each of the different food groups in order to achieve a diet that is balanced for optimal fertility. The key is choosing the highest quality foods in each of the food groups.
| Food Group | Servings per Day | Serving Size | Best Fertility Choices |
| Whole Grains* ** | 6 – 11 | ½ cup cooked grains ¾ cup cold cereal 1 slice bread or ½ tortilla 3 cups popcorn |
Whole oats, barley, buckwheat, bulgur, whole rye, quinoa, brown rice, millet, wild rice, amaranth, triticale, corn, millet, rice tortillas, popcorn, wheat/spelt/kamut berries, farro, sprouted wheat, corn tortillas, high fibre cereals. |
| Vegetables | 4 or more | ½ cup raw or cooked 1 cup raw greens (salad) |
Local, seasonal, fresh, frozen, coloured. Include at least one serving of leafy greens (kale, chard, rapini, dandelion, spinach, romaine lettuce). |
| Fruit* | 3 or more | ½ cup raw or 1 small fruit | Local, seasonal, fresh, frozen berries Tree: apples, pears, peaches Citrus: oranges, grapefruits, kiwi |
| Protein Foods | 3 – 4 | 1 cup beans (legumes) 2 Tbsp. nut or seed butter ¼ cup nuts or seeds 2 eggs 60 – 90 grams meat, poultry, fish |
Dried beans and peas, lentils Mackerel, sardines, wild salmon, halibut, Almond/hazelnut butter, sunflower seed butter Almonds, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts Free range organic poultry and eggs Grass fed organic meat. |
| Calcium Rich Foods** | 6 – 8 (maximum of one serving of dairy) | 1 cup greens 75 g canned sardines or pacific salmon ¼ cup almonds or sesame seeds 1 Tbsp. blackstrap molasses 1 cup legumes ½ cup milk or fortified grain beverage ½ cup yogurt or 1 oz. cheese |
Raw almonds, almond butter, sesame seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts Broccoli, Chinese greens, nettles Notes: Cabbage family (cabbage, broccoli, Unsulphured blackstrap molasses Sea vegetables (nori, wakame, kombu) Navy beans, white beans Organic whole fat milk, yogurt, cheese. |
| Fats | 3 - 6 | ¼ cup nuts or seeds 1 Tbsp. oil or 2 Tbsp ground flax/hemp/Salba ½ avocado 3 oz fish |
Walnuts, butternuts, avocado Olives, extra virgin olive oil Ground flax/flax oil Ground hemp/hemp oil Salba Mackerel, sardines, wild salmon |
| Herbs, spices, condiments | Unlimited except for salt | Small amounts of unrefined sea salt | Cayenne, cinnamon, lemon juice, miso paste. pepper, nutritional yeast, tumeric, organic vinegar. |
*For weight loss and PCOS, have a maximum of 6 servings of whole grains and 3 small servings of fruit/day. Avoid all flour, sugar.
**For endometriosis, choose wheat free dairy free choices.