How Can I Support Fertility?
Updated: Jul 20
The answer might surprise you...
Welcome to the Gut Honest Truth blog where a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner gives you digestible information to tackle your chronic health concerns.
That's me, Katie Morra; and in this blog I'm going to walk you through the 7 main areas I focus on with patients who are preparing for conception — and what you can actually do to support a healthy pregnancy.
And as always, working one-on-one for your specific needs is always our top recommendation, check out our appointment options to get started with one of our licensed health care professionals today.
You've made the exciting decision to have a baby — and you want to know how to best support yourself and your future child's health. The information out there is overwhelming and often contradictory. So let me cut through it.
If you're in the preparation stage, there are 7 main areas worth focusing on now: diet, supplements, stress, hormones, thyroid function, gut health, and detoxification. There's genuinely a lot you can do to support your fertility, a successful pregnancy, and the health of your future baby.
1. Diet
Assessing nutrient and caloric intake before conceiving matters — what you eat alters the environment where the egg and sperm develop, and directly influences the hormones involved in reproduction.
The 80/20 rule is a sustainable starting point: 80% whole, nutrient-dense foods with limited sugar and refined products, and 20% flexibility to enjoy your life. The stress about food is usually far more damaging than the food itself.
Beyond general diet cleanup, here are the three therapeutic dietary approaches we use most at GHT:
Elimination Diet Food sensitivities drive chronic inflammation — and chronic inflammation makes it harder to conceive. An elimination and reintroduction protocol in the months leading to conception can identify your triggers and reduce the inflammatory load, freeing up your body's resources to support pregnancy. This can range from removing gluten only to removing the top 9 allergens (gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs, shellfish, beef, pork, peanuts). Working with a functional nutritionist makes this process significantly more effective and less overwhelming.
Ketogenic Diet A therapeutic ketogenic diet — strategically high in fat and low in carbohydrates — can help reduce insulin levels and regulate reproductive hormones including testosterone, LH, and FSH. It can also reduce inflammation and improve ovulation rates. Note: ketogenic diets are generally not recommended during pregnancy, so work with a provider if this is relevant to your case.
Detox Diet A structured detoxification protocol before conception can meaningfully shift your hormonal and toxic burden. This should ideally be completed at least 6 months before actively trying to conceive. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not attempt detoxification — more on this in the detox section below.
2. Supplements
Specific nutrients are critical to your baby's development — folate, choline, iron, zinc, iodine, and B vitamins in particular.
GHT-recommended prenatal supplements:
Metagenics Plus One Daily Packets
Pure Encapsulations PreNatal Nutrients
Seeking Health Optimal Prenatal
Additional support:
Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA
Designs for Health Phosphatidylcholine Powder
You can find our full supplement recommendations through your Fullscript dispensary.
Genetic testing is also worth considering — mutations like MTHFR affect your ability to utilize B vitamins properly, which directly impacts the baby's neural development. Knowing your genetic status allows us to recommend the right forms of nutrients for your specific needs.
3. Stress
Infertility is far more common than most people realize — and the burden is disproportionately placed on women. But at least 30% of infertility issues are actually due to factors on the male side: low sperm production or function, inadequate delivery, illness, nutrient deficiencies, or lifestyle factors.
This is why at GHT we often work with both partners simultaneously. Addressing nutrient status, gut health, and hormonal status should be a shared focus — not just the female partner's responsibility.
Chronic stress directly impacts fertility by elevating cortisol, disrupting hormone production, and suppressing reproductive function. Managing stress isn't about eliminating it — it's about supporting your nervous system's resilience and reducing the physiological burden where you can.
4. Hormones
Hormones are the foundation of conception. Key players:
FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) — stimulates ovarian follicle growth, estrogen secretion, and endometrial preparation; stimulates sperm production in males
LH (Luteinizing Hormone) — triggers ovulation, supports corpus luteum development and progesterone production
Estrogen — stimulates uterine wall thickening and plays a central role in the menstrual cycle
Progesterone — prepares the uterus for implantation and pregnancy maintenance; supports cell division of the fertilized egg
Testosterone — supports sperm maturation and muscle formation
For women, tracking estrogen levels, confirming adequate progesterone and ovulation, moderating cortisol output, and understanding hormone metabolites are all critical before conception. At GHT we use the DUTCH test to get a comprehensive picture of hormonal status — for both partners — before actively trying to conceive.
If estrogen dominance or progesterone insufficiency is present, addressing it before conception significantly improves outcomes.
5. Thyroid
The thyroid has a direct impact on ovulation, menstruation, progesterone production, estrogen metabolism, and egg maturation. Even small dips in thyroid function can meaningfully affect fertility, pregnancy, and the postpartum period.
The problem is most women are only screened with TSH — which is not enough to see the full picture. At GHT we run a complete thyroid panel:
TSH
Free T4
Free T3
Reverse T3
TPO antibodies
TgAb antibodies
TPO and TgAb are particularly important when investigating thyroid autoimmunity — a common and commonly missed driver of fertility challenges.
Thyroid issues take time to correct, so testing well before trying to conceive is always ideal. For more on interpreting your thyroid labs, check out our post on Understanding Thyroid Lab Markers, or our post on healing hypothyroidism.
6. Gut Health
How well your gut functions has far-reaching effects beyond digestion — including immunity, hormone balance, and chemical nerve signaling. All of which are critical to conception.
Before conception, identifying and addressing gut infections is one of the highest-leverage things you can do. At GHT we start with a GI-MAP stool test and SIBO breath test to get the full picture of gut function — both large and small intestine.
Gut infections change your immune response in ways that can make it harder to conceive — your body allocates resources to fight the pathogen instead of creating an environment to host a pregnancy. Clearing bacterial, parasitic, or pathogenic infections before actively trying to conceive gives your body the best possible starting point.
Important note: a well-trained practitioner will not attempt to clear infections during pregnancy or while actively trying to conceive. Most herbal and therapeutic supplements are contraindicated during pregnancy and lactation — gut treatment must wait until after breastfeeding in most cases.
Learn more about gut infections and their impact here and about SIBO here.
7. Detox
Let's be clear: a 3-day juice cleanse is not a detoxification protocol. In fact, it can make things worse.
Detoxification is a natural, ongoing process carried out by the liver, GI tract, kidneys, and skin. The issue is that our modern toxic burden — heavy metals, BPA, phthalates, parabens, pesticides, mold and mycotoxins — far exceeds what the body can handle on its own without support.
By the time a woman leaves the house in the morning, she's already been exposed to over 168 chemicals from skincare, makeup, cleaning products, and more.
Common contributors to toxic burden:
Heavy metals — lead, cadmium, molybdenum, manganese, boron
BPA — plastics
Phthalates — synthetic fragrance, clothing, cosmetics, food packaging, cleaning supplies
Parabens — skincare, medicine, cleaning and laundry products
Pesticides — conventional meat and dairy, weed killers, air pollution
Mold and mycotoxins — carpets, attics, water damage, HVACs
A properly supervised detox protocol should be completed at least 6 months before trying to conceive. If you're already pregnant, please wait until after the lactation period before engaging in any detox program.
Preconception and pregnancy require multiple biological systems to function well simultaneously. The areas above — diet, supplements, stress, hormones, thyroid, gut health, and detox — are where we focus at GHT when supporting patients through their fertility journey.
Deciding to create life is incredible. Your experience in getting there should be too.
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