Much Ado about Dairy and Fertility
By Drew Nesbitt • Filed under Fertility Health • January 6, 2010
In North America, you can bet that dairy has a place in just about every family’s kitchen in the form of milk, cheese or yogurt. However, when it comes to fertility health, is dairy beneficial? According to some studies, the more dairy you consume the less fertile you may be. [1, 4]
Consider this; cow’s milk is only produced after the cow gives birth (cow’s milk will continue to flow as long as they are being milked up to a point…around 2 years), but to continue to produce milk, farmers intervene and artificially inseminate the cows to start the process all over again. For a period of time, the cow is being milked while it is pregnant. Pregnancy brings hormones which make their way into the milk supply [2]. Moreover, the “skimming” process may have a negative effect on your hormonal balance and some research is suggesting that if you are consuming milk products while trying to get pregnant, it is advised to consume full-fat dairy foods instead of low-fat [3]. Obviously, it is not advised to consume high-fat dairy forever or in large quantities, high fat milk products still contain saturated fats and should be consumed sparingly. You can switch back to lower fat choices after your pregnancy. For a more detailed look into why skim milk may influence your fertility health, pick up Drew’s free report on Foods and Fertility.
If are worried about your fertility health but still prefer to consume dairy; choose plain, organic yogurt with full fat or try sheep’s and goat’s milk products. Also, be sure to stay away from yogurts in the little cups as they are often high in sugar and low in beneficial probiotics.
1. Cramner, D et al. 1994 “Adult hypolactasia, milk consumption, and age-specific fertility”, American Journal of Epidemiology, Feb 1, 139(3), 282-289.
2. Boost Your Fertility, Marilyn Glenville, PH.D., Fair Winds Press, 2008.
3. The Fertility Diet, Jorge Chavarro, MD, ScD, Walter Willett, MD, DrPH., McGraw Hill, 2008.
4. Chavarro, J. et al. 2007, “A prospective study of dairy foods intake and anovulatory infertility”, Human Reproduction, May, 22(5), 1340-1347.
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Drew Nesbitt is a Toronto area Practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture as well as a Registered Orthomolecular Health Practitioner specializing in women's health.