Women who eat less fruit are harming their chances of getting pregnant, a new study has found.
Australian researchers reported that women who ate fewer than three pieces of fruit per month were more likely to experience infertility in the upcoming year. The study, published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Human Reproduction, examined the diets of more than 5,500 women in Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and Ireland.
The collected data revealed that women who ate fewer than three pieces of fruit in a month took 50 percent longer to conceive than the women who ate more than three pieces of fruit in their diet each month.
The study also looked at junk food consumption. Women who rarely ate fast food got pregnant on average a month faster than women who ate fast food at least four times a week.
“We recommend that women who want to become pregnant should align their dietary intakes toward national dietary recommendations for pregnancy,” author Jessica Grieger said in a statement. “Our data shows that frequent consumption of fast foods delays time to pregnancy.”
While fruits and fast food affected the time it took a women to get pregnant, green leafy vegetables and fish did not have an effect.
Nonetheless, the findings show that eating a quality diet can improve fertility and minimize the amount of time it takes to get pregnant.
Also see, 9 tips for making the perfect fruit salad.
