Beli Prenatals are HSA/FSA eligible!

It Takes Two — Beli Prenatal Vitamins for Men and Women

Table of Contents

  1. Improving Egg & Sperm Quality
  2. Nutrients to Optimize Fertility in Women
  3. Nutrients to Optimize Fertility in Men
  4. It Takes Two

When a couple is thinking about having a baby, actively trying to conceive, or persisting in their fertility journey, they all tend to focus on one thing — the baby. But before the baby, before the pregnancy, even before the conception, there’s another thing worth focusing on. It’s the critical period known as the preconception window, a four to six-month timeframe during which you can actively take steps to improve your fertility, boost your chances of a successful conception and pregnancy, and even impact the health of your future children. So much of it comes down to the right nutrients at the right time – and that’s where prenatal vitamins for men and women come in.

Improving Egg & Sperm Quality

beli-prenatals-men-and-women

From a biological standpoint, nutrition and lifestyle changes during the preconception window are as critical as the conscientiousness we exhibit during a pregnancy itself. This is the time to prioritize your fertility by actively improving egg and sperm quality. And science is showing us how. In both women and men, key micronutrients have been linked to the very processes that drive conception.

Nutrients to Optimize Fertility in Women

While it’s true that a woman is born with all the eggs she’ll ever have, those eggs aren’t ready for fertilization without first undergoing a critical growth process that takes about three months – i.e. the preconception window. This egg maturation stage is optimized when a woman is eating a varied, nutritious diet, filling any gaps with a high-quality prenatal vitamin, and generally leading a healthy lifestyle. Many cases of infertility, miscarriage, and failed IVF cycles share a common cause: chromosomal abnormalities in the egg that occur during maturation. The preconception window is a critical time to minimize the potential for these errors and abnormalities and improve egg quality with nutrients proven to make a difference:

  • Vitamin C: Low levels of ascorbic acid have been found in women who experience multiple miscarriages.
  • Vitamins B6 and B12: B6 and B12 work together to regulate healthy hormone balance and trigger regular ovulation for a greater chance of conception. The right amount of B6 helps promote balanced levels of estrogen and progesterone, which is crucial for the cell signaling that happens during egg maturation and ovulation. B12 is necessary for cell division and building healthy blood. Supplementing with evidence-based levels of these vitamins also improves outcomes for IVF. 
  • Vitamin D: Women with high levels of vitamin D show a four-fold increase in successfully achieving pregnancy following IVF. Other studies have found a link between high vitamin D levels and higher pregnancy rates. Vitamin D supplementation is also associated with an improvement in hormonal function among women with PCOS
  • Vitamin E: Vitamin E is known for its role in cellular repair, which is why it’s commonly found in skincare products. In the ovaries, E is a powerful antioxidant that can help defend against oxidative damage to eggs and prevent the most negative effects of premature aging.
  • Zinc: Zinc is involved in multiple processes that regulate germ cell growth, fertility, and pregnancy.
  • Vitamin K2: Vitamin K2 has an important relationship with women’s hormonal health, aiding in estrogen and progesterone metabolism. In a 2016 study, women with PCOS who took K2 supplements had lower levels of DHEA and free testosterone, which creates a greater opportunity for hormonal healing.
  • Folate: Supplementing with a high-quality, bioavailable form of methylated folate has been shown to substantially lower the risk of chromosomal abnormalities. Adequate folate levels also help improve chances of conception.
  • Chromium: This mineral may help improve fertility in women with PCOS by reducing insulin and testosterone levels.

Nutrients to Optimize Fertility in Men

In men, improving sperm health is likewise tied to specific nutrients. Men produce millions of sperm every day, but they also have a maturation process that takes about three months. To produce the healthiest sperm across every measurable parameter, a steady stream of the right nutrients is critical:

It Takes Two

beli-prenatal-vitamins-for-men-women

For couples hoping to become parents, quality prenatal vitamins that deliver critical nutrients in adequate amounts to both partners are the best way to ensure the kind of optimal fertility health that may be hard to get from diet alone. The fact is, the fertility of each parent can impact your ability to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and deliver a healthy baby.

Before conception can occur, both sperm and egg need healthy, well-nourished environments in which to thrive. That’s what makes the preconception period so important — it’s during this timeframe that epigenetic information about both parents’ health and lifestyle is passed onto potential future children through the maturing sperm and eggs.

In creating Beli Vitality for Men and Beli for Women, we referenced the latest in fertility nutrition. Our science-aligned formulas include all of the nutrients we’ve listed above, simply because they’ve been shown to promote and support critical factors in fertility health. That includes improving all sperm quality parameters, protecting egg quality, reducing the length of time it takes to conceive, and offering a greater likelihood of carrying a healthy baby to term. Because just as it takes two to make a baby, it takes two to truly cover all those nutritional bases — two prenatal vitamins, that is.


Article Resources

Preconception health.
https://www.thelancet.com/series/preconception-health

Role of micronutrients in the periconceptional period. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19567449/

Vitamin C found to increase progesterone levels and correct luteal phase defect. http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/feh/feh_15vitamin_c.html

The effect of coenzyme Q10 on sperm motility and function. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9266524/

Effect of vitamin D status on clinical pregnancy rates following in vitro fertilization. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3985938/

The role of vitamin D in fertility and during pregnancy and lactation: A review of clinical data. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6210343/

Effects of vitamin D supplementation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a review. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31187648/

Vitamin E as an antioxidant in female reproductive health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5836012/

Role of zinc in female reproduction.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33598687/

The effects of vitamin D-K-Calcium co-supplementation on endocrine, inflammation, and oxidative stress biomarkers in vitamin D-deficient women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27050252/

Folic acid supplementation and pregnancy: More than just neural tube defect prevention.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3218540/

The effects of chromium supplementation on gene expression of insulin, lipid, and inflammatory markers in infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome candidate for in vitro fertilization: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6279845/

Coenzyme Q10 effect on semen parameters: Profound or meagre? https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/and.13570

Zinc and Folate Supplement Improves Semen Quality: A Prospective Study in Subfertile Males.
https://saudijournals.com/media/articles/SIJOG_44_136-142_FT.pdf

Low folate in seminal plasma is associated with increased sperm DNA damage. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18722602/

Antioxidant supplements and semen parameters: An evidence based review. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28066832/

The role of vitamin D in male fertility: A focus on the testis. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11154-017-9425-0

Vitamin D deficiency and low ionized calcium are linked with semen quality and sex steroid levels in infertile men.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27496946/

The role of carnitine in male infertility. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/andr.12191

Short-term medication of L-carnitine before intracytoplasmic sperm injection for infertile men with oligoasthenozoospermia. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22474993/

Selenium–vitamin E supplementation in infertile men: effects on semen parameters and pregnancy rate. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3048346/

Effects of N-acetyl-cysteine supplementation on sperm quality, chromatin integrity and level of oxidative stress in infertile men. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6377938/

Efficacy of selenium and/or N-acetyl-cysteine for improving semen parameters in infertile men: a double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized study. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19091331/

Zinc levels in seminal plasma and their correlation with male infertility: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep22386

Zinc is an essential element for male fertility: A review of Zn roles in men’s health, germination, sperm quality, and fertilization. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6010824/

Sperm quality in men is improved by supplementation with a combination of L-arginine, L-citrullin, roburins and Pycnogenol®. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25531191/

Taurine deficiency in sperm causes male infertility. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180511102357.htm

Clinical evaluation of spermatogenic activity of processed Shilajit in oligospermia. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20078516/

Additional Resources

PCOS is one of the most common causes of infertility in women, but it doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant. Supplementing with ingredients proven to support women with PCOS can help increase your chances, and so can speaking with your doctor and dietician.

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Read More

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Read More

Medical science tells it like it is–a man’s health and his fertility are undeniably linked. But what role do genetics play in the fertility factor? It's a good question! In today's post, we're taking a deep dive into exactly how genetics affect male fertility.

Read More

Time and time again, men are an afterthought in the fertility conversation, and it’s setting couples up to fail. In light of recent research confirming–again–that sperm counts around the world are indeed declining, Beli wants to lead the charge. Join us, and let’s make March men’s fertility awareness month.

Read More

Knowing all the facts about sperm doesn’t just make you positively lethal on trivia night, it actually puts you in prime position to optimize your chances of a healthy conception, pregnancy and baby. So let’s get to it, with these 10 facts about sperm that will (probably) blow your mind.

Read More

Shilajit is finally getting the credit it’s due, and we’re proud to point out that our proprietary formula was the very first to include this powerful Ayurvedic compound. Here’s why shilajit is rapidly becoming the darling of the male fertility world–and what you’re missing if you’re skipping it.

Read More

Research shows that the overall health of both biological parents during the preconception window plays a huge role in everything from conception to pregnancy health to the lifetime health of their baby. Luckily, there are simple steps you can both take to improve your health together.

Read More

Supplementing with key nutrients in the right amounts not only improves sperm health — think sperm count and sperm motility — it also means optimal fertility health for men in general. And that means the best chance of a healthy conception, pregnancy, and baby. 

Read More

It’s resolution-making time, and a lot of folks have babies on the brain. We got you! We double checked with the experts for the best ways to support and promote fertility for the very best chances of a healthy conception, pregnancy, and bouncing baby.

Read More

Special thanks to Becca, a fertility dietitian at Little Life Nutrition, for today's post! Becca is passionate about helping moms and dads-to-be uncover the root cause of fertility challenges, using nutrition, lifestyle, and functional lab testing to optimize her clients' chance of getting pregnant — a true "no-stone-left-unturned" approach. Here, she shares five ways to boost fertility naturally.

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Read More

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Read More

The second you start looking into fertility testing, the acronyms are everywhere. Chief among them is AMH, or anti-müllerian hormone. Here’s what to understand about your AMH level and what it means for your chances of becoming pregnant.

Read More

Research shows that the overall health of both biological parents during the preconception window plays a huge role in everything from conception to pregnancy health to the lifetime health of their baby. Luckily, there are simple steps you can both take to improve your health together.

Read More

It’s resolution-making time, and a lot of folks have babies on the brain. We got you! We double checked with the experts for the best ways to support and promote fertility for the very best chances of a healthy conception, pregnancy, and bouncing baby.

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