This plan is the one I have been using for years and is designed to get your body into optimum health, to ensure you conceive naturally or to encourage the success of assisted conception. It is based on well-researched methods, proven in trials to increase the success rate of IVF treatment from 15% to over 49%.

You should stay on the plan for a minimum of 4 months; it takes 3 months for new sperm and eggs to be produced. It will mean better quality eggs and sperm, and fertilisation and implanting is more likely to be successful.

The basics are:

• Eat a healthy diet
• Check and correct your nutritional status
• Adopt a healthy lifestyle
• Get screened for infection
• Avoid environmental toxins

The Plan

1. If you have time, complete a cellular or homeopathic detox to build a good foundation for health. Ask for help with this if needed.

2. Follow a good diet – choose the How To Eat Well recipe book for help on this as it combines the healthy eating principles with wheat and dairy-free. Or the Belly Fat Plan, which will also rebalance your blood sugar. Doesn’t matter if you have a belly or not; it’s a great gluten and dairy free diet which controls insulin release.

3. Have a hair mineral analysis if appropriate to check for high levels of toxic metals in your body.

4. Test to see if you are digesting and absorbing properly. For more info on this, see here. Read the Acid & Enzymes factsheet there.

5. Have a vitamin and mineral screen (using hair or blood (Genova Nutrient and Toxic Elements) to check for excesses and deficiencies, especially of Zinc and Copper.

6. Follow the advice and supplement regimen given to you to correct 3, 4 and 5 above.

7. At the very least, your supplement programme should include the following:

• an ante-natal formula – one of my favourites is this one
• 30mg Zinc per day (total)
• 1g linseed/flaxseed oil per day
• 1g Vitamin C per day
• a probiotic such as this one

8. The father-to-be should take an ante-natal formula for men which should include 1g of arginine per day and 3-400iu Vitamin E per day, zinc, folic acid and carnitine. Try NHP’s Fertility Plus for Men.

9. Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol and social drugs as much as possible.

10. Avoid over the counter medications as much as possible, unless absolutely necessary. Talk to your GP about the necessity of prescribed drugs and any possible effect on fertility.

11. Men should wear loose underwear and trousers, take showers, not baths, avoid sitting down for long periods without taking a brief walk and avoid riding a bike.

12. Ensure both of you are checked for any genito-urinary infections. Tests should be carried out for chlamydia, cytomegalovirus, mycoplasmas, rubella, toxoplasmosis, genital herpes, garderella, anaerobic bacteria, Group B haemolytic streptococci, klebsiella and candida. This can often be done via your GP, fertility or GU Clinic as part of a routine test.

13. If infections are present, take the antibiotics given, but also a strong probiotic such as Biocare’s Bioacidophilus Forte and check again afterwards to see if the infection has cleared up.

14. Avoid toxins. Choose green and non-toxic toiletries and cleaning products. Don’t dye your hair or have a perm, don’t decorate. Filter your water. Buy organic, especially meat and fish and avoid using plastic as much as possible as they contain xenooestrogens that affect your hormone balance. Avoid dental work if possible. See the Detoxification factsheet for more on this.

15. At the end of the 4 months, have your nutrient levels/toxic metal levels reassessed to ensure they are back to normal or establish whether more work needs to be done.

16. If you are having problems conceiving, check your histamine levels. See this blog post here.