Pineapples and pomegranates – pregnancy promoters?

by Misty Hatfield

Eat pineapples around the time of implantation, and don’t forget to eat the core! Brazil nuts too, but not too many. Oh, and pomegranate juice! Lots of folic acid! No, don’t take folic acid, folate is better! You’ll need a multivitamin, except that I’ve heard multivitamins are just expensive pee. Fish oil is great! But don’t eat fish, because mercury!

If you’ve been playing the ‘Trying to Conceive’ (TTC for the social media savvy) game for more that about 10 minutes, you’ll have noticed that the internet abounds with advice and recommendations about how you can improve your chances of achieving the holy grail – a healthy pregnancy. So how do you navigate the minefield of opinions and suggestions? Is there a way to distinguish true from woo, and find the helpful information amongst a veritable haystack of well-meaning advice – ranging from the unusual to the downright bizarre? Let us help clear the way a little.

Let us start by saying that no single food will guarantee implantation. None. It would be lovely if there were a magic pill (or pineapple?) that we could all ingest at a certain time, that would ensure that we could start trawling Pinterest for pregnancy announcement ideas, but alas, no such thing exists. Conversely, that doesn’t mean that you should mainline the nearest fast food outlet or all-you-can-eat dessert buffet. Nutrition and lifestyle do absolutely play a critical role in achieving and maintaining a healthy pregnancy.

Embryos are amazing things. One single oocyte (egg cell), accepts one single sperm cell. Two cells combine and the result is a new entity with amazing powers. Notably, the ability to divide from one single, fused cell, into billions of cells – billions of copies of DNA, billions of mitochondria (the little energy machines that live inside the cells), billions of new cell membranes – all within the time it takes to process your average Centrelink form.

As you can imagine, all this synthesis of new membranes, DNA and organelles (those amazing little mitochondria, and others) requires a substantial supply of building blocks – nutrients – that can only be supplied by the intended mother’s diet.

Cell membranes require essential fatty acids. DNA can only be synthesised from amino acids – sourced from dietary protein. Carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals provide cofactors (think of them as the ‘managers’ of the whole process) and enable the correct functioning of the receptors that manage the nutrient & waste processes of the cells. Additionally, all these newly synthesised cells and DNA within the embryo are particularly susceptible to attack in the body by free radicals and oxidative damage – both of which are side effects of normal cellular metabolism, as well as all the nasties we’re exposed to on a daily basis. Antioxidants are essential to protect these new cells against damage, and those antioxidants can only be sourced from … you guessed it, mum’s diet.

So a good, well-balanced diet that is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids is critical for both creating good embryos as well as establishing and maintaining a pregnancy and growing a healthy baby. Which is, after all, the main goal. Supplementation can certainly play a role in ensuring that the correct balance of nutrients is going in. In fact, in 2001, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article which, based on a review of 40 years of published research, stated that “it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements” after finding that the vast majority of adults were unable to consume enough nutrients in their everyday diet to maintain their own health.

Likewise, we all know that adequate folate levels in the expectant mother can help protect against neural tube defects in the fetus. Further, tailored, supplementation may be required and indeed beneficial, but should really be done on an individual basis and under the supervision of a professional.

So what of the trusted pineapple and brazil nuts? Are they urban legend? Well, yes and no. Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain. Bromelain has some mild antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and blood thinning properties. In theory, those are desirable properties around the time of implantation and may provide some benefit if those factors are the cause of your implantation problems. Will it ensure implantation? No. Will it assist if you already have a diet rich in nutrients and antioxidants? Unlikely. Likewise, pomegranate juice, brazil nuts and virtually every other ‘elixir of life’ that you’ve heard of will provide some desirable nutrients and antioxidant effects, but should all form merely one component of a well-balanced, nutrient-rich diet. Will they hurt? No. But rather than obsessing about over-consuming one particular food at a precise moment in time, focus instead on having a daily intake of a wide variety of nutrients. After all, the moment of implantation is only the beginning.