Sue Bedford (MSc Nutritional Therapy)
Start your day in a balanced way with 2 poached eggs and mushrooms over smashed avocado with sourdough.
This meal is beneficial to fertility and health in a variety of ways, including balancing sugar and hormone levels, providing a balance of macro and micronutrients, boosting the immune system and mind, and maintaining a healthy weight and supporting bone health. Enjoy!
Eggs are a great fertility friendly food – they are packed full of numerous vital nutrients (they provide all vitamins except for vitamin c), including high quality protein, are low in calories and are extremely versatile too. They are an excellent source of choline (which studies have shown can have significant positive effects on foetal brain development that may have a long-lasting influence into adult life). Consuming eggs helps in the management of PCOS – they are a good source of protein and so help to balance blood sugar levels, and as many women with this condition have low vitamin D levels eggs are a great source of this vital nutrient.
Mushrooms are a fantastic source of protein, are rich in selenium and vitamin D and are a good source of B vitamins including folate and niacin which are all important to fertility and general health too. Eaten raw, mushrooms are a great prebiotic food and help to feed the ‘good’ bacteria in the gut. The very fact that white mushrooms are rich in vitamin D means that they are a nutritious food to include in your diet, not only in relation to supporting the immune system and fertility but also for hormone health and bone health.
Avocados are amazing! Avocados are fruits and are also known as ‘alligator pears’ due to the texture of the skin and being shaped like a pear! They are nutrient-dense and a great source of fibre, contain beneficial fats including oleic acid and alpha-linolenic (an omega 3 fatty acid), and over twenty vitamins, minerals and vital nutrients including vitamins B, C and E. They are also a great source of the mineral’s magnesium and potassium.
Sourdough contains naturally occurring bacteria along with fibre which acts as a prebiotic (these feed the good bacteria in the gut) and is therefore regarded as being a good option when it comes to gut health. Sourdough is more digestible than other standard loaves and more nutritious too and is a good source of most B vitamins especially folate, and also iron, both of which are important in the production of healthy red blood cells. Sourdough also contains the minerals zinc and selenium which are important nutrients to support the function of the immune system and aid wound healing. Lactic acids make the vitamins and minerals in the flour more available to the body by helping neutralise the phytates in flour that would interfere with their absorption. The acids slow down the rate at which glucose is released into the bloodstream and lower the bread’s glycaemic index (GI), so it doesn’t cause those unwanted spikes in insulin levels. The acids also make the gluten in flour more digestible and less likely to cause food intolerance, making sourdough an excellent choice all round.
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