Get Healthy, Get Pregnant

Along with a healthy diet, exercise can help you conceive.

Harvard School of Public Health researchers found that women who adopted at least five healthy habits were 84 percent less likely to suffer infertility because of ovulation problems than women who followed none. Women were more likely to ovulate normally when they ate less trans fat and simple carbohydrates, such as white rice and white bread; got more protein from vegetables than from meat; ate more fiber and iron; took more multivitamins with folic acid; had a lower body mass index; and exercised daily. They also consumed more high-fat dairy products and fewer low-fat ones. "All of these habits—with perhaps a temporary switch to higher-fat milk—will help women have not only a healthy pregnancy, but also a healthy life," says researcher Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H., co-author of The Fertility Diet (McGraw-Hill). For a link to a Q&A with Willett, go to fitpregnancy.com/fertilitydiet.