Fad diets may be ruining your chances of having baby, says expert

While one may think that there are quick and easy ways of losing weight, it turns out that many of those could actually be more harmful than do any good.

According to experts, fad diets could actually be harming one’s chances of having a baby.

From the Ketogenic diet to juice cleanses and eating vegan, there are multiple different diet shortcuts that are harming your health.

Researchers say that fad diets starve the body of vital nutrients and vitamins, and encourage an unhealthy amount of weight loss, which can impact a person’s fertility.

Some diets overstimulate the body with caffeine as well which can cause problems conceiving and damage the baby even before they are born.

Speaking to The Sun Online, Professor Nick Macklon, medical director of fertility clinic The London Women’s Clinic shared some of the biggest fad dieting dangers that can affect a woman's fertility.

Juice cleanses: People usually consume liquid mixes of fruit and vegetables with the aim of promoting healthy, radiant skin, weight loss and clarity of mind.

However, according to Macklon, while juice cleanses are typically associated with 'detoxifying' and 'purifying' the body, and as a result are a very common and attractive option for a lot of women looking to revitalise themselves, many people are unaware that these strict programmes can alter the metabolism and cause BMI to plummet to an unhealthy level which may hinder a person’s chances of falling pregnant.

Raw vegan diet: It involves cutting out all foods that contain animal product and some people take it a step further by only eating raw, unprocessed foods. The expert says that switching to a vegan diet, which is entirely plant based, can mean that women can miss out on key nutrients such as iron, folate and B vitamins. Women who are lacking these nutrients may suffer from poor egg health which can reduce their chance of conceiving.

Meal replacement shakes: While these claim to help reduce weight, expert says living only on these shakes can have a negative effect on the health, and particularly if a person is planning to conceive or undergo fertility treatment. He adds that meal replacement shakes can have a high sugar content with little protein.

Ketogenic diet: Keto diet involves eating lots of 'good' fat, to curb hunger pangs, while cutting out carbs and eating moderate amounts of protein and is supposed to boost energy levels and help speed up weight loss.

However, Dr Mecklon said that Ketogenic diets have been shown to be detrimental to embryo quality in women undergoing IVF treatment. He advises enlisting the help of a qualified professional to first check consuming the right types of foods, and to ensure one is not compromising on their health by cutting out carbohydrates. He goes on to day that healthy fats are highly encouraged in everybody’s diet, for example avocado, mixed nuts and oily fish such as salmon.

Diet pills and drinks: Many diet pills and drink contain large amounts of caffeine to overstimulate the body into losing weight. But they can come at a cost of your fertility and in some cases your life.