AT THE RISK OF SOUNDING A FEW DECADES OLDER THAN WE ARE, food just isn’t what it used to be. From new-fangled processed and fake foods to destructive farming methods and genetically modified organisms, when it comes to modern foods: buyer beware.
Processed Foods 
Don’t you find it weird that you can have milk for weeks and weeks in the fridge that doesn’t go sour? If you don’t, you should. The same goes for boxes of cereal or crackers that may get stale, but never really spoil. Even grocery store fruit lasts a freakishly long time on the countertop and sometimes never goes bad.
We’re all for convenience, but as farmer and visionary extraordinaire Joel Salatin has titled his book, “Folks, this ain’t normal.”
Additives and preservatives make it possible for food to never go bad. The issue here is that additives and preservatives are only sort-of safe to eat, creating immediate and long-term complications for our health. Another problem with food that doesn’t go bad is that it’s missing the living enzymes and beneficial microbes our bodies need.
No matter how busy you are, if you are trying to conceive, you should not be eating for convenience—you should be eating for fertility. Period. Every bite should count.
Franken-Foods Fake foods are so omnipresent in our modern food supply that they largely go unnoticed. Just start reading labels in a conventional grocery store if you find this fact surprising. Sadly, through powerful lobbies in the food industry, franken-foods legally fly under our radar: imitation “cheese” food, juice that’s packed with high-fructose corn syrup, margarine spread made with “healthy” industrial vegetable oils, chocolate that is mostly hydrogenated fats, and sweets that are tricking your brain with toxic chemicals. Yuck.
This excerpt from In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan, provides some historical context for how fake foods have made their way snugly into our food system:
The 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act imposed strict rules requiring that the word “imitation” appear on any food product that was, well, an imitation … The food industry [argued over the word], strenuously for decades, and in 1973 it finally succeeded in getting the imitation rule tossed out, a little-noticed but momentous step that helped speed America down the path of nutritionism.
HERE’S A LIST OF INGREDIENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR AND ELIMINATE FROM YOUR DIET:
“Foods” containing “vegetable oil,” cottonseed oil (buh-bye fast-food french fries), soybean oil, shortening, margarine, corn oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, or any use of the word “hydrogenated”
“Foods” with artificial sweeteners
“Foods” that say “natural flavor” or “natural coloring,” which are often duping you with fake petrochemical-based toxins
Low fat “foods”—not only do you need the fat, but low-fat foods (including skim milk) tend to contain nonfat milk powder. You won’t find this on the label because it’s technically milk, but nonfat milk powder is a toxic substance containing oxidized cholesterol. In addition, low-fat products may contain guar gum, carrageenan, soy protein, cornstarch, or any kind of chemical compound a scientist can dream up.
The moral of the story: Buy organic and get familiar with the sources of your food.
Organic and Seasonal versus Conventional Produce A study by Stanford University researchers published in the Annals of Internal Medicine examined 240 organic and nonorganic fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, poultry, eggs, and milk for nutrient and contaminant levels.
The researchers found that more than one-third of conventional produce had detectable pesticide residues, compared with 7 percent of organic produce samples. It also found organic meats were one-third less likely to carry bacteria resistant to antibiotics than conventionally produced meat.
Here are a few “whole” foods that may surprise you with what additives they may contain. Check labels to make sure that no sneaky ingredients have been added.
• OLIVE OIL is often diluted with cheaper oils, such as rapeseed.
• LEMON JUICE can be cheapened with water, sugar, and preservatives. Please just squeeze the yellow fruit.
• TEA is sometimes paired with fillers such as grass or fern leaves.
• SPICES INCLUDING PAPRIKA OR SAFFRON are often adulterated with dangerous food colorings to mimic natural colors.
• Any PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN MILK, HONEY, COFFEE, SEAFOOD, AND SYRUP are often highly adulterated. Read the label carefully.
Additionally, they found that organic foods, on the whole, don’t contain any more vitamins or nutrients than conventional foods; going organic is less about what you’re missing and more about the extra toxic load on your body when you don’t choose organic.
Though not addressed within this study, another reason to go organic (or even better, grow your own fruits and veggies) is that shelf life is a dominant priority for grocery store produce. Because of this, even organic produce is often sprayed with bleach solution to kill any microorganisms on the surface, which accelerate the time it takes for the fruit to rot. While the bleach evaporates and the internal nutrition of the fruit is preserved, the fruit no longer bears the probiotic flora it did when plucked fresh off the tree or bush, bequeathing the eater (you) with nothing when it comes to healthy microflora.
By choosing organic, seasonal produce, you are eating foods appropriate for best nutrition during the current time of year. For example, watermelon in the summer is cooling and hydrating, and butternut squash in the autumn builds blood and supports digestive health for a long winter ahead. In many locales, citrus is in season in the winter when our immune systems can certainly use an antioxidant boost.
To ensure you’re eating seasonal, local, and organic produce, visit your local farmers’ markets or sign up for a CSA farm box. Eating with the seasons is not only good for your body and the earth but is good for your budget, too.
The Problem with Conventional Meat Production The industrialized meat industry in the United States is what gives meat-eating a bad name. CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) or IFAP (Industrial Farm Animal Production) are the factories that grow 99 percent of meat in America.
Cattle are herbivores, designed by nature to eat grass and clover (the fresher the better), while CAFOs cattle are fed genetically modified corn mixed with hay and industry by-products. Cows eating corn is a bit like humans eating Lucky Charms—for every meal. It’s not good. Improper diet tends to create health problems for the animals, so they are often given antibiotics as a routine measure. They are crowded into grassless bits of land, so you have unhealthy, stressed-out cattle, standing in their own excrement.
Because of their poor diet and conditions, when meat from these cattle is processed, it needs to be uniformly decontaminated, so it’s sprayed with ammonia. Yes, you read that right—sprayed with ammonia.
So besides the obvious pairing with potatoes fried in rancid vegetable oil, your Big Mac certainly has plenty of reasons to contribute to heart disease, cancer, and other ailments—including infertility. With 99 percent of meat coming from this type of operation, it is no wonder beef has developed such a bad reputation.
Many folks choose vegetarianism for moral and environmental reasons. Based on all of the problems with factory meat, this rationale makes perfect sense. Conventionally farmed meat, poultry, and dairy are not only detrimental to your body and inhumane to the animals, but these practices are also devastating to our environment.
In the American farm belt, the last several decades have been plagued with polluted groundwater, inert soil, acid rain, and sick animals—including nearly wiping out the bee population. These seemingly insignificant buzzing insects play a vital role in the agricultural ecosystem. Without bees to pollinate crops, we can expect food shortages and larger crises around the corner. While there are many causative and contributing factors to this ecological crisis, the use of fossil fuel–based fertilizers and toxic pesticides play a large role.
Most farmers’ market–going, health-conscious folks know that choosing locally grown, organic fruits and veggies is a smart way to circumvent the mess of corporate agribusiness. This principle applies to meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy as well.
Unlike conventionally farmed meat, pasture-raised, sustainably farmed animals are actually much better for the environment. For starters, these animals are not reliant on toxic GMO corn crops as the cornerstone of their nutrition. Proper farming techniques can actually contribute to a reduction in carbon saturation in the atmosphere through crop rotation and properly fertilized farmlands, so by choosing pasture-raised beef, dairy, poultry, and eggs, you are actually reducing the load on planet earth. Don’t worry—we won’t make you hug trees next (unless you want to, of course).
Chinese medicine views the human body as a microcosm of the environment—meaning what happens on the outside will be mirrored by what happens within your body. Avoiding factory-raised meat (including meat served at most restaurants) is vitally important, for the fertility of your body as well as for the land.
Infertility and GMOs For centuries, gardeners, farmers, and scientists have been crossbreeding plants and animals (within the same species) to create the most desired traits. Genetically modified organisms were first introduced into our food supply in 1994 and are created by the introduction of foreign genetic proteins from other species to change the way the plant or animal’s genes express.
While in theory such an amazing biotechnology could be used to make plants more nutritious or able to grow in harsh climates thus solving the issues of world hunger, in reality, this is not happening. Monsanto and other megacorporations are using GMOs to create pesticide-tolerant, patented seed crops that do not last for more than one season. This creates dominance over small farmers who previously bought seeds only once and now must buy seeds every time they plant, along with the pesticides and herbicides these new varieties of crops require.
Besides the economical and ethical issues involved with GMO crops, it is very likely that the genetic alteration of food will have an impact on those animals and people that are consuming the food. How’s this for freaky?
The only published study on the effect of GMOs on the human body revealed what may be the most dangerous problem with genetically modified foods: the gene inserted into genetically modified soy transfers into the DNA of bacteria living inside our intestines and continues to function. This means that long after we stop eating GMOs, we may still have potentially harmful genetically modified proteins produced continuously inside of us. Put more plainly, eating corn chips produced from genetically modified corn might transform our intestinal bacteria into living pesticide factories, possibly for the rest of our lives.
When evidence of gene transfer is reported at medical conferences around the United States, doctors often respond by citing the huge increase of gastrointestinal problems among their patients over the last decade. Genetically modified foods may be colonizing the gut flora of North Americans—and not in any desirable way.
Among scientists, it is still a hot debate whether or not GMOs are specifically the cause of infertility and other health issues.
Beyond the possibility that GMOs themselves are a problem, it cannot be denied that genetically modified foods such as “Roundup Ready Corn” are also engineered to withstand high exposure to pesticides and herbicides. Even if messing with genes in fruits and vegetables does NOT cause infertility, it is certain these poisons are wreaking havoc on our health—whether consumed directly, in or on fruits and vegetables, or via the meat of animals that have eaten GMO feed.
Glyphosate, one of the active ingredients in Roundup and other herbicides, is a known endocrine disruptor, meaning it interferes with hormone balance in the body and is able to induce health issues with even a small amount of exposure. Aside from infertility, endocrine disruptors can affect mood and metabolism and have been linked to some cancers as well. It is advised not only to avoid pesticide-laden foods, but also to filter your water, which may also be contaminated with glyphosate from agricultural runoff.
Finally, if franken-foods and poison sprays aren’t enough, we need to talk about the whole point of food in the first place—nutrition. It’s important to note that nutritional quality is not a priority when it comes to genetically modified produce: economic dominance, extended shelf life, herbicide resistance, and the ability to grow in crowded rows and in nutrient-deficient soil are the current goals of genetic modifications.
When it comes to making babies, what we eat is of utmost importance. Whether you are just starting to think about having a baby or are having problems trying to conceive, it is essential that you eat the most nutritious food possible. It’s a no-brainer—eliminate GMOs from your diet if you want to make a healthy baby.
There have been various studies that link GMOs and infertility, which are contested feverishly by GMO supporters:
A study of hamsters in Russia demonstrated nearly complete infertility after three generations were fed genetically modified soy. Any babies that were born suffered from slow growth and high mortality rates. Alexey Surov, the biologist in charge of these studies, says, “We have no right to use GMOs until we understand the possible adverse effects, not only to ourselves but to future generations as well.”
Another study, conducted by Dr. Irina Ermakova of the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology in Moscow, a part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, showed that rats fed genetically modified soy died at a rate FIVE times higher than rats fed GMO-free soy. The babies in the group who consumed genetically modified soy were also smaller and could not reproduce. The male rats’ testicles turned from a normal pink color to a purplish-blue when fed GMOs, and their sperm quality was poor.
An Austrian government study published in November 2008 showed that the more genetically modified corn was fed to mice, the fewer babies they had and the smaller the babies were.
According to the Institute for Responsible Technology, farmers in the United States and India have reported sterility and death of livestock after introducing genetically modified feed.
This is only a partial list of studies and reports. While no large-scale human clinical trials have been funded, doctors and other experts are recommending a GMO-free diet for various health conditions, including infertility.
Here are the top ways to steer clear of GMOs:
EAT ORGANIC—The easiest way to avoid GMOs is to only eat 100 percent certified organic foods because the USDA requires that organic food be not genetically modified.
AVOID THE BIG GMO CROPS—If you cannot afford 100 percent organic, be sure to avoid nonorganic foods that contain these ingredients: corn, soy, canola, and sugar (usually made from genetically modified sugar beets).
DON’T EAT PACKAGED FOODS—Even packaged foods labeled “organic” may not contain all-organic, non-GMO ingredients. Packaged foods labeled “organic” can contain up to 5 percent nonorganic ingredients, including GMOs.
READ YOUR LABELS—In an ideal world you won’t be eating processed foods, but if you do, be sure to read your labels to look out for the major GMO products above.
KNOW YOUR FARMER—The absolute best way to know what’s in your food is to know exactly where it came from. While this may seem like an inconvenience to your life, we guarantee infertility or cancer are bigger inconveniences. So get out to your local farmers’ market, ask questions, and find out how your food is grown.
• Russia and six European countries (including France and Germany) have all banned the import of GMO crops with “justifiable reasons to consider that the GMO in question poses a risk to human health or the environment.”
• Most countries (apart from the United States and Canada) require labeling of genetically modified foods.
• Recently, Kaiser Permanente—the largest managed health care organization in the United States, recommended that customers “limit exposure to GMOs” stating, “Despite what the biotech industry might say, there is little research on the long-term effects of GMOs on human health.”
While we’re not usually apt to take health advice from a health insurance company, for once the corporate bottom line does line up with consumers’ best interests. Skip GMOs, stay healthy, save everyone money—and increase fertility while you’re at it.
The Myths of Popular Fertility Diets In writing a book about fertility and food, we did our homework to see what the other experts are recommending. Just about everyone can agree that processed, packaged foods are not a good idea when you’re trying to conceive, but beyond that, we were shocked to find a startling collection of myths from one book to the next.
While most people know that monounsaturated fats are good and trans fats are bad, you may be surprised to read that saturated fat and cholesterol are actually good for you, and the new-fangled, so-called “heart-healthy” fats are not.
Yep, you read correctly—saturated fat and cholesterol are essential to human health. Despite the common misconceptions and bad reputation it has undeservedly earned, saturated fat doesn’t clog arteries or cause heart disease. Saturated fat does support most of the body’s critical functions including a healthy brain and nervous system, strong bones and teeth, optimal lung capacity, and healthy hormone function. Including them liberally in your diet will help to optimize your baby-making potential and ensure the health of your child.
When you consider that humans have been thriving on diets rich in saturated fat for millions of years, it just doesn’t make logical sense that it could be so unhealthy. It turns out that the consumption of industrial polyunsaturated fats is the single most prevalent change to our diet in recent history. Compared to one hundred years ago, modern humans eat about the same amount of carbohydrates, protein, and saturated fat, but over two-and-a-half times the amount of polyunsaturated fat. Simultaneously the rates of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes have also climbed.
Because of its stable chemical structure, saturated fat is far safer for cooking than new-fangled cooking oils such as corn, sunflower, and vegetable a.k.a. soybean, grape seed, cottonseed AND canola oils. These nontraditional vegetable oils are packed with PUFAs. What’s a PUFA? We’re so glad you asked.
PUFA stands for polyunsaturated fatty acids. Whereas saturated fatty acids are made stable with hydrogen atoms, unsaturated fatty acids have incomplete bonds on each link of their chain, making each of their multiple (poly) bonds very unstable and prone to oxidation.
The volatile nature of PUFA is why they are dangerous to your body. It’s really pretty simple. PUFAs are bad; saturated fat is rad.
Many of the popular recommendations for fertility diets encourage hopeful couples to reduce meat consumption and focus on lean meats. Because saturated fat and cholesterol (from healthy animal sources) are essential to hormone health and fertility—this recommendation is not a sound one.
Beef is often automatically thrown in the junk food category, and many health-conscious folks piously claim they “don’t eat red meat” in an effort to avoid heart disease, cancer, and other ailments. The fact is when the pros and cons of any animal product (including meat, poultry, and dairy) are up for discussion, it is essential to differentiate between conventional, factory-produced and traditionally pasture-raised meats.
Conventional CAFO-raised meat is fed improperly, dosed with antibiotics and other medications, and raised in conditions that result in unhealthy, toxic meat. On the other hand, good quality beef—from pasture-raised cattle—is a nutrient-dense, health-promoting food containing no hormones or unnecessary antibiotics. It’s a great source of saturated fat and cholesterol your body needs to function properly.
WHY PUFAS AND FERTILITY DON’T MIX
To sum things up, here’s why you should avoid PUFAs:
• PUFAs = free radicals creating excessive inflammation and cell damage
• PUFAs suppress the function of the thyroid gland, leading to sluggish metabolism and poor hormone function.
• PUFAs accumulate in your cells and can be passed on from generation to generation (so when you do get pregnant, you will be passing this toxic legacy down to your future generations).
Grass-fed beef and dairy also contain significantly more CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin E. CLA supports the immune system and may help fight cancer, and both omega-3 fats and CLA in grass-fed beef actually reduce the risk of heart disease. In terms of fertility, omega-3 fats help regulate hormones, increase cervical mucus, and aid in normalizing the menstrual cycle. See page 131 [section on fish oil] for more about the omega-3 fatty acids.
One concern that’s valid regardless of where your beef comes from is the temperature at which you cook it. Broiling, grilling, or blackening at high temperatures can cause carcinogens to form on any foods (including veggies), so the best cooking methods are slow, low-temperature stewing or baking, or lightly grilling to medium rare. That doesn’t mean you can never barbecue again; just consume meats cooked this way in moderation.
Some vegetarian “experts” claim that humans don’t digest meat well, and it essentially rots in the digestive tract. Biology tells us differently: On average, a meal including meat protein, carbohydrates, and fat takes four to five hours to be digested in the stomach. Meat is digested by enzymes produced by our own bodies. Enzymes such as pepsin, trypsin, and chymotrypsin break down meat protein, and bile salts and lipase break down animal fat.
The primary digestive reason we need our gut bacteria is to metabolize the sugars, starches, and fiber—found in grains, beans, and vegetables—that our digestive enzymes can’t break down alone.
Therefore, unless your body is not producing essential and normal enzymes and bile salts, digesting meat and fats should actually be much easier than digesting plant foods.
Many fertility experts make generalized recommendations to eating whole grains to improve overall health and increase odds of conception.
In truth, eating whole grains can be downright detrimental to your health in some cases. Here’s why: For women suffering from PCOS and other fertility-related challenges, eliminating wheat can sometimes make a big difference in health and the ability to conceive. But beyond wheat, most grains, beans, and nuts must be properly prepared so that your body can digest them and access the nutrients they contain. If they are not prepared properly (via soaking, sprouting, or souring), problems can ensue.
Whether you’re eating brown rice and quinoa or cookies and white pasta, most modern grains (as well as nuts and legumes) are not properly prepared. Nearly all of the modern preparations of whole grains that we consume today contain phytic acid that prevents your body from properly absorbing and assimilating the nutrients in your food. Back in the olden days, traditional cultures throughout the world prepared grains with great care by soaking, sprouting, or souring. Our ancestors were unknowingly (or knowingly?) neutralizing the phytic acid in the grains, thereby optimizing their nutritional value. Sadly, these practices have largely fallen to the wayside today.
Improperly prepared grains are likely to contribute to inflammation—exacerbating painful periods, hormone imbalance, and other symptoms of inflammation and pain. Reduce these effects by limiting or only consuming grains, beans, and nuts that have first been soaked, sprouted, or soured. Alternatively, you can eat organic white rice. Commonly thought of as empty calories, white rice can be transformed into a super-food by simply cooking it in homemade bone broth and topping it with coconut oil or grass-fed butter.
Soy had a huge heyday as a miracle food in the ’90s, and the hype is still alive and well. While soy and soy products might seem like a good source of protein for vegetarians and a great substitute for those who don’t consume dairy, in reality, there are quite a number of reasons to avoid it altogether. Eating soy can cause allergies, thyroid problems, hormonal imbalances—including PMS and infertility—and more.
Following are a few specific reasons to avoid soy and soy-based products:
Soy contains hormone-disrupting phytoestrogens. Soy contains a type of phytoestrogen called flavinones that is particularly destructive to human health. Phytoestrogens are weak plant-based estrogens that mimic the natural estrogen found in our bodies. Flavinones in particular have been linked to early onset of puberty, breast cancer, thyroid conditions, and both male and female infertility.
Soy contains phytic acid. Like most grains, nuts, and legumes, soy is high in phytic acid, an antinutrient that blocks the body’s absorption of essential minerals.
Soy can cause allergic and toxic reactions. Soy is among the most common food allergens, and it can be a silent villain since allergic reactions are not always immediate.
Soy is one of the biggest GMO crops. Since the 1990s, genetically modified soy has been widely grown and used in food products in the United States. GM foods pose huge threats on the environment, wreak havoc for farmers’ livelihoods, and very likely contribute to infertility.
SHOULD I AVOID SOY COMPLETELY?
Good news for soy lovers: Fermented soy products such as tempeh, unpasteurized soy sauce, miso, and natto are actually quite good for you. The fermentation process neutralizes the phytic acid and flavinones making their beneficial properties available to your body. Fermentation also produces probiotics, the good bacteria that improve digestion, immune function, and nutrient absorption.
That said, you should avoid GMO soy always and eliminate other unfermented soy as much as possible—especially if you are trying to get pregnant, have immune weakness, or have hormone imbalance. Read your labels. Soy is a common ingredient in popular “health” foods and protein supplements. Make sure you know what you’re putting in your mouth to avoid accidentally saucing yourself with soy.
Many health professionals assert that eating alkaline foods promotes an alkaline environment in your body, which is best for optimal health. Proponents of this diet recommend eating a mostly vegetarian (or even vegan) diet, without sugar and refined carbohydrates. They claim that eating animal products, including meat, dairy, and eggs, will result in an overly acidic body, which may ultimately lead to chronic inflammation, bone density reduction, cancer, and other chronic illness.
While we certainly agree with many of the principles of the acid/alkaline diet, it’s not for the reasons you might think. The acid/alkaline diet shares a common thread with the majority of diet plans out there, including ours, to eliminate or dramatically reduce processed food, refined sugar and carbohydrates, alcohol, and caffeine. Beyond that, the acid/alkaline diet misses the mark. …
pH is the measurement of how acidic or alkaline things are, with 0 being totally acidic and 14 being totally alkaline. A pH of 7 is neutral.
The pH of the human body varies depending on the body part it’s associated with. For example, your stomach must be very acidic in order to digest food, with pH ranging from 1.35 to 5. Your blood, on the other hand, is slightly alkaline, with a pH of 7.35 to 7.45. The vagina is generally acidic but becomes more alkaline around ovulation, making it more hospitable to sperm.
Our bodies maintain internal pH levels regardless of diet because our survival is entirely dependent on it. In order to keep blood pH steady, the body will metabolize and excrete what it needs to in order to maintain balance. An acidic diet will translate to more acidic urine, but unless you are gravely ill, your vital pH levels (blood and tissue) will not fluctuate by much.
While we give a big thumbs up to eating lots of organic fruits and vegetables and staying sufficiently hydrated, we are leery of any diet that negates the need for animal products of some kind in the human body. Just like the ancient concepts of yin and yang, our omnivore constitutions require that we find balance in our diets, and that they be rich in whole, nutrient-dense foods from across the culinary spectrum. By consuming plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, mineral-dense bone broths, mineral salts, and fresh water along with properly raised and fed animal products, you are doing more than enough to support long-term acid/alkaline balance in your body.
“WHAT ABOUT EATING TOO MUCH PROTEIN? I’VE HEARD IT CAN KILL YOU” !
Many people, including lots of doctors, will tell you that eating too much protein will cause a life-threatening condition called ketosis. This is patently untrue. Health professionals and lay people alike have confused the term ketosis (or nutritional ketosis) with a truly life-threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis—yet the two things have nothing to do with one another.
Ketosis is a normal body function that refers to the process where the liver takes the fat and protein you consume (and store) and turns it into brain food called ketones. Ketones and glucose (sugar) are the only two things that can feed your brain. Diabetic ketoacidosis, on the other hand, occurs when a type 1 diabetic (or very late-stage, insulin-dependent, type 2 diabetic) doesn’t get enough insulin, causing the individual to go into a state of starvation from the inside.
Without insulin, the body can’t move sugar from the blood into the cells, which makes the body think it’s effectively starving. In an effort to get fuel to the brain, the liver starts making ketones at a rapid rate out of stored fat and proteins. The problem is that because there is no insulin, the liver has no mechanism telling it to stop, and it produces so many ketones that a pH imbalance occurs, leading to serious consequences including coma and death.
Here’s the thing: Ketoacidosis isn’t actually possible in someone who produces insulin. That’s because your body has built-in checks and balances, keeping you in a safe zone known as homeostasis, and in this case, a feedback loop makes sure that ketone levels don’t get high enough to change our pH enough to create these problems.
People who consume high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets tend to be in a state called “keto-adaptation.” This happens when the body goes from depending on sugar from carbs as its main source of energy to relying on fuel from fats and protein instead. This is especially true for the brain, which switches from glucose dependence to ketone dependence.
In summary, don’t be afraid that eating a diet high in well-sourced protein and fat will lead to an imbalance in your pH. A diet rich in these nutrient-dense foods, plus a healthy supply of fruits, veggies, and minerals, is optimal for baby-making and won’t do any harm to your inner balance.