Do you know what it's like trying to get pregnant for months and years and it just won't work? I do! I can tell you – I went from initial excitement to impatience through anger, followed by constant worries and, finally, despair.

And all this time I kept seeing pregnant women around me, which made me jealous and sad at the same time. Why could I not be one of them?!

Because, according to our doctor, everything seemed fine with me and my partner.

And then, exactly one day before an appointment with a fertility specialist, I held a positive pregnancy test in my hands!

It had taken us more than 18 months – but I had finally conceived. And you know what? Today, I'm pretty sure it could have worked a lot faster, if I had known back then, what I know now.

My name is Nathalie, I'm an orthomolecular nutritionist, and this is my advice for all couples who have unsuccessfully been trying to get pregnant for way too long:

For men:

1. Consume lots of antioxidants:

30%-80% of cases of decreased fertility in men are considered to be caused by the negative effects of oxidative stress on sperm.

It is not clear yet which antioxidants specifically can contribute to increased fertility, but if you make sure you get 3000-5000 ORAC units per day, e.g. by eating 2-3 handful of berries, you are on the safe side.

2. Supplement with vitamin D:

Men with vitamin D deficiency (<25 nM) have a lower proportion of motile and morphologically normal sperm compared to men with high vitamin D levels (>75 nM).

Supplement with a safe intake of 4,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily and you will effectively increase your vitamin D levels to high-normal concentrations.

3. Supplement with zinc:

To increase seminal fluid production, take about 50 – 100mg of zinc a day and divide the amount into four doses to guarantee best absorption and results.

4. Supplement with coenzyme Q10:

Take 300mg of CoQ10 orally twice a day, and your sperm will be swimming like fish in the sea.

For women:

5. Drink tea (simple but true):

Drinking one-half cup or more of tea daily approximately doubles the odds of conception per cycle.

For men and women:

6. Take a high quality, natural multivitamin supplement:

Multivitamin supplementation leads to a significantly higher rate of conceptions (NB: the product should also contain copper).

7. Try vitamin C megadoses therapy:

Start by taking a minimum of 6,000 milligrams of ascorbic acid a day and then slowly increase the dose up to 20,000 mg/day. When you get loose bowels (which is a good sign because it means that every cell in your body is provided with sufficient vitamin C), take it a little easy for the rest of the day and continue the next day.

Important: You must divide the dose in numerous small doses throughout the day or, otherwise, the vitamin C will not be absorbed.

You both will be and feel A LOT fitter, and in men vitamin C megadoses therapy results in a very high production of more and faster sperm of prime quality.

When I tell people what incredible effects you can achieve simply by providing your body with natural nutrients, many of them are skeptical.

Could it really be that simple? What about real meds? Well – unlike vitamins & co. – these often have scary side effects and in many cases you actually don't need them.

I can see that every day. Want some proof? When our son Finn was about 10 months old (we had already been living the ‘orthomolecular way' for a couple of months at that time), we decided to have a second child.

Our daughter Zoey was born nine months later! Vitamins rock. Really!

References:

1) Showell MG, Brown J, Yazdani A, Stankiewicz MT, Hart RJ.: “Antioxidants for male subfertility”(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21249690)

2) Blomberg Jensen M, Bjerrum PJ, Jessen TE, Nielsen JE, Joensen UN, Olesen IA, Petersen JH, Juul A, Dissing S, Jørgensen N.: “Vitamin D is positively associated with sperm motility and increases intracellular calcium in human spermatozoa.” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21427118)

3) + 7) https://www.doctoryourself.com/fertility.html

4) Safarinejad MR.: “The effect of coenzyme Q?? supplementation on partner pregnancy rate in infertile men with idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia: an open-label prospective study.” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22081410)

6) Czeizel AE, Métneki J, Dudás I.: “The effect of preconceptional multivitamin supplementation on fertility” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=8698547 &ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum)