Preconception Nutrition: What to Eat in the 3 Months Before Trying to Conceive

When it comes to preparing for pregnancy, nutrition can feel surprisingly complicated. With so much conflicting advice around what to eat, which supplements to take and what to avoid, it can be difficult to know where to start.

We spoke to Charlotte Grand, founder of The Fertility Kitchen, nutritionist and fertility educator, about how to prepare nutritionally for pregnancy. Charlotte shares her advice on building a fertility-supportive diet, the nutrients worth paying attention to, how nutrition can support egg and sperm health, and which restrictions you don't necessarily need to put yourself through.

Charlotte is also an advisor and education manager for Proceive, a fertility supplement brand that has recently become a Certified B Corp. Here, she shares her wider perspective on preconception nutrition, alongside her experience developing The Fertility Kitchen.

If you're thinking about trying for a baby, what should you be doing nutritionally before you start trying? How long before conception should you start preparing?

I like 12 weeks as a practical window for preparing for pregnancy. Follicle development is a much longer process, but the months leading up to ovulation are an important period of growth and maturation, giving us a valuable opportunity to optimise the nutritional environment in which the developing egg is growing. It also takes around three months to produce and mature sperm, so ideally both partners should be thinking about their nutrition during this time.

In fact, that window is why I built The Fertility Kitchen nutrition plan around 12 weeks. It gives people enough time to make meaningful changes without fertility nutrition becoming an endless project.

What would you prioritise during those first few months?

I would start with the foundations rather than getting lost in individual "fertility foods": plenty of high-quality protein, oily fish twice a week, lots of colourful vegetables and fruit, wholegrains, nuts, seeds and healthy fats. I’d minimise ultra-processed foods, keep caffeine moderate and ideally avoid or minimise alcohol.

I’d also start a comprehensive multivitamin formulated specifically for fertility, such as Proceive, rather than waiting until you have a positive pregnancy test. Preconception nutrition really does begin before conception – and it applies to sperm health just as much as egg health.

We hear so much about age and fertility, particularly once women reach their mid-30s and 40s. How does age affect fertility and egg quality, and what role can nutrition play in supporting fertility as we get older?

I often describe ovarian reserve as a basket of eggs. You’re born with a full basket and, over your lifetime, that basket gradually empties. Tests such as AMH can give us an indication of ovarian reserve – essentially how many eggs may be left in the basket – but they don’t tell us about the quality of those eggs.

Age is still one of the most important factors in fertility because both egg number and egg quality decline as we get older. We can’t change our age or replenish the basket, but that doesn’t mean there is nothing we can do.

Eggs spend much of our lives in a resting state before follicles are recruited and begin the long process of growth and development. In the months leading up to ovulation, that development accelerates, giving us a valuable window in which to optimise the environment in which the follicle is growing.

"We can't control our age, but we can influence the nutritional environment in which our eggs develop"

That’s where nutrition comes in. It obviously can’t turn a 40-year-old egg into a 30-year-old egg, but we can make sure the developing follicle has the protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants it needs, while also supporting metabolic health and reducing factors such as oxidative stress. I think that’s a much more useful way to approach fertility nutrition as we get older: we can’t control our age, but we can influence the nutritional environment in which our eggs develop.

There’s no shortage of advice online about “fertility foods” and the perfect fertility diet. What does a fertility-supportive diet look like in everyday life, and are there particular nutrients or foods that deserve the most attention?

I think fertility nutrition has become unnecessarily confusing online. There isn’t one magical "fertility food" and you don’t need a fridge full of expensive ingredients. The most useful fertility foods are actually quite ordinary ones: eggs, leafy greens, oily fish, good-quality meat, beans, lentils, colourful vegetables and fruit, nuts, seeds, wholegrains and extra virgin olive oil.

"There isn't one magical 'fertility food' and you don't need a fridge full of expensive ingredients"

Protein is particularly important and I encourage people to include a good source at every meal. Eggs are brilliant because they provide high-quality protein alongside choline; leafy greens provide folate; oily fish provides EPA and DHA; and slower-cooked cuts of meat, meat on the bone and homemade stocks provide glycine, an amino acid that plays a role in egg maturation and early embryo development.

Translating fertility nutrition into food you actually want to eat is the philosophy behind The Fertility Kitchen and why I wrote the book. Knowing that folate, choline or omega-3 matters is one thing; knowing what to cook for dinner on a Tuesday night is another. Fertility nutrition has to work in real life if you’re going to sustain it.

Which nutrients are most important when preparing for pregnancy, and are there any that tend to be overlooked?

Folate is probably the nutrient most people associate with preparing for pregnancy, and rightly so, but it works alongside other B vitamins, including B12, and there are several other nutrients I wish received the same attention.

Choline would be high on my list. It plays an important role in foetal development but is still relatively overlooked, and eggs are one of our best dietary sources. Omega-3 fats, particularly DHA, are another priority and, in practice, I find many people simply aren’t eating oily fish regularly enough.

Vitamin D is important for reproductive health in both men and women, while iron is particularly important for women entering pregnancy with adequate stores. Iodine is another nutrient I think we need to talk about more because it is essential for thyroid function and the baby’s brain development. Dairy is an important source in the UK, so it’s particularly worth being aware of as more people move away from dairy products and may not routinely eat other iodine-rich foods.

And I think we’ve become unnecessarily frightened of vitamin A. It’s an essential nutrient for reproduction and development, and preformed vitamin A is found naturally in incredibly nutrient-dense foods such as eggs, dairy and oily fish. Much of the concern around vitamin A stems from the risks associated with excessive amounts of preformed vitamin A, particularly from high-dose supplements, which isn't the same thing as including vitamin-A-rich whole foods in the diet. We shouldn’t fear nutrients, but it’s important to understand appropriate sources and amounts.

Fertility supplements can quickly become a rabbit hole, with women taking multiple vitamins and supplements in the hope of improving their chances. Which supplements or nutrients are worth considering when trying to conceive, and where do you think women can safely stop overcomplicating things?

I would start with a strong foundation: a comprehensive multivitamin formulated specifically for fertility, alongside a good-quality omega-3 and, where appropriate, additional vitamin D.

I personally prefer a supplement designed specifically for the preconception period, such as Proceive, rather than a single formulation trying to cover fertility, pregnancy and breastfeeding. Nutritional requirements and priorities change across those different stages, so I like being able to choose a formula tailored specifically to preconception.

One thing I see a lot on fertility journeys is women understandably wanting to share what has helped them. Online fertility communities and social media can be incredibly supportive, but supplement recommendations are often passed from one person to another without considering whether they are actually appropriate for that individual. Before long, someone can find themselves taking a huge stack of supplements intended for circumstances that may have very little to do with their own.

"Knowing that folate, choline or omega-3 matters is one thing; knowing what to cook for dinner on a Tuesday night is another"

As a nutritionist, beyond those nutritional foundations, I wouldn’t routinely recommend targeted supplements to somebody without knowing more about them first. Their health history, diet, fertility investigations, medications and existing supplements can all influence what is appropriate.

A multivitamin also isn’t designed to provide the amounts of every nutrient or compound investigated for specific fertility concerns. Myo-inositol is a good example: research in women with PCOS commonly uses around 4g per day, which you simply aren’t going to get from a multivitamin. But that doesn’t mean everybody trying to conceive needs 4g of myo-inositol.

So my approach is foundation first, targeted additions second. For most people just starting their fertility journey, a fertility-specific multivitamin and omega-3 – with additional vitamin D considered depending on what the multivitamin provides and individual circumstances – are a sensible starting point. Beyond that, supplements should have a reason for being there.

Egg quality is something women hear a lot about, especially as they get older. What do we know about nutrition and egg quality, and is there anything women can do to support it?

We need to be careful with the phrase "improving egg quality" because nutrition can’t reverse reproductive ageing or change the number of eggs a woman has. What we can influence is some of the environment in which a developing follicle grows and matures.

An egg has enormous energy requirements, so mitochondrial function is particularly interesting when we talk about egg quality. That’s one reason CoQ10 has attracted research interest in fertility, alongside nutrients and foods that help support antioxidant defences and protect against oxidative stress.

More broadly, I’d focus on adequate protein, omega-3 fats, colourful antioxidant-rich plants and good micronutrient status, alongside sleep, movement, avoiding smoking and minimising alcohol.

I tend to think of it as supporting the egg rather than promising to transform it. I think it’s important to be hopeful about the things we can influence without overstating what nutrition or supplements can achieve. We can’t control every aspect of egg quality, but we can create a well-nourished environment in which that egg develops.

Fertility advice can sometimes feel as though the responsibility sits entirely with women. What should men be thinking about nutritionally when they're preparing to conceive, and how important is sperm health in the picture?

It takes two. We still talk about fertility as though it’s predominantly a female responsibility, yet sperm contributes half of the genetic material required to make an embryo. Men also have a valuable preconception window because sperm takes around three months to develop and mature.

The same overall diet I recommend for women works beautifully for men: plenty of high-quality protein, oily fish, colourful plants, wholegrains, nuts, seeds and minimally processed foods. Maintaining good metabolic health and a healthy body composition, exercising regularly, not smoking and keeping alcohol to a minimum matter too.

There are also several nutrients particularly relevant to sperm health, including zinc, selenium and omega-3 fats, while CoQ10 has been studied for its role in sperm parameters. Oysters are famously one of the richest sources of zinc, although they’re not exactly an everyday food for most people! Red meat and other shellfish are much more practical regular sources.

Selenium is another interesting one because everyone immediately thinks of Brazil nuts, but their selenium content can vary enormously, so I don’t rely on "two Brazil nuts a day" as a precise supplementation strategy.

And importantly, nutrition should sit alongside appropriate fertility investigation, not replace it. Abnormal sperm parameters can sometimes have an underlying cause, such as a varicocele, which nutrition and supplements aren’t going to address.

Coffee, alcohol, sugar, gluten, dairy and ultra-processed foods can all end up on the “avoid” list when you're trying to conceive. Which things are genuinely worth paying attention to, and which restrictions do you think women don't necessarily need to put themselves through?

Trying for a baby shouldn’t require an unnecessarily restrictive diet. Alcohol is the one I would ideally avoid or keep to an absolute minimum, and I recommend keeping caffeine moderate – in practical terms, I generally suggest around one cup of coffee a day when trying to conceive.

Sugar doesn’t need to be completely banned either. I’d keep added sugars and ultra-processed foods as a smaller part of the diet and reach for naturally sweet foods such as fruit most of the time.

"Trying for a baby shouldn't require an unnecessarily restrictive diet"

Carbohydrates don’t need to be feared either. Adequate energy availability is important for healthy menstrual and ovulatory function, and good-quality carbohydrates can absolutely form part of a fertility-supportive diet. Focus on fibre-rich, minimally processed sources such as wholegrains, beans, pulses, fruit and potatoes rather than unnecessarily restricting them.

There’s also no reason for everybody trying to conceive to remove gluten or dairy. Gluten needs to be avoided in coeliac disease and either food may need removing if you have a genuine allergy or intolerance, but blanket exclusion isn’t a fertility strategy. In fact, cutting out whole food groups can sometimes remove useful nutrients – dairy, for example, is an important source of iodine in the UK.

Does fertility nutrition change if you have PCOS, endometriosis, irregular cycles or previous fertility problems?

The foundations don’t change. A Mediterranean-inspired way of eating – rich in colourful plants, high-quality protein, fish, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, wholegrains and, where tolerated, dairy – provides an excellent nutritional foundation for fertility.

"Build strong nutritional foundations first, then personalise where there is a reason to"

What we can do is personalise from there according to the individual rather than simply the diagnostic label. Two women with PCOS, for example, may have very different nutritional needs. For someone with PCOS and insulin resistance, supporting insulin sensitivity may be an important priority and myo-inositol may be worth considering, whereas another woman may have elevated androgens or irregular ovulation without the same degree of insulin resistance, so her nutritional priorities may look different. Previous fertility problems may also warrant further investigation rather than simply adding more supplements.

So I don’t really believe in a completely separate "PCOS fertility diet" or "endometriosis fertility diet". Build strong nutritional foundations first, then personalise where there is a reason to.

If you could give someone who is trying to conceive five practical, evidence-based things to focus on over the next three months, what would they be?

Put protein on every plate. Aim for around 30g at each main meal and vary your sources across fish, eggs, meat, poultry, dairy, beans and lentils.

Eat the rainbow. Aim for around 30g of fibre a day from vegetables, fruit, beans, pulses, nuts, seeds and wholegrains. This naturally brings in a huge variety of vitamins, minerals and protective plant compounds too.

Eat oily fish twice a week. It’s one of the simplest ways to increase your intake of the long-chain omega-3 fats EPA and DHA.

Choose carbohydrates for quality. Favour wholegrains, beans, pulses, potatoes and other minimally processed carbohydrate sources rather than unnecessarily restricting them.

Take a fertility-specific multivitamin. Don’t wait for the positive pregnancy test. I recommend building your nutritional foundations during the preconception period, which is exactly what a fertility-specific formulation such as Proceive is designed to support.

QUICKFIRE ROUND

My fertility nutrition non-negotiable is… Protein on every plate. It’s one of the simplest ways to build a well-nourished fertility diet.

A fertility nutrition myth I’d love to debunk is… Seed cycling. There’s no good evidence that eating particular seeds at different stages of your cycle balances your hormones or improves fertility.

Something I always make time for is… Strength training. It’s as much about what I want my body to be able to do in the future as it is about now.

When I need some self-care, I… Go for a long walk. Fresh air and movement almost always make me feel better.

The best life lesson I’ve learned so far is… It’s better to do less more than a lot sometimes.

If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be? Wear sunscreen.

Shop Charlotte’s edit

Charlotte’s recommendations bring her approach to nourishment into the everyday kitchen, from her own cookbook and conception supplements to ingredients and tools for preparing meals. Here are some of her favourites.

The Fertility Kitchen
Proceive Women & Men Conception Dual Pack
Freja Bone Broth
Beast Mighty 850 Plus – Cloud White

Browse Charlotte’s full edit →

Proceive has recently become a Certified B Corp, reflecting independently assessed standards around social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. At Blossom & Preen, we believe the values and practices behind the products we recommend matter, which is why certifications and initiatives such as this are important to us. Find out more about our Ethos Badges here.

If you have PCOS, endometriosis or have had fertility difficulties, speak to your GP or a registered professional before starting any new supplement.

About Charlotte Grand

Charlotte Grand is a Registered Nutritionist (mBANT) and fertility nutrition specialist with over a decade of experience in fertility, IVF and women’s health. She is the founder of The Fertility Kitchen, a platform helping women and couples support their fertility through nutrition, and author of The Fertility Kitchen: The Essential Guide to Supporting Your Fertility. Charlotte is also Training & Education Manager at Proceive. Having navigated infertility and IVF herself, she brings both professional expertise and personal understanding to her work. You can follow Charlotte @thefertilitykitchen.

Want 20% off Proceive? Charlotte has arranged an exclusive discount for the Blossom & Preen community. Join here to receive the code.

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