Grifo is concerned about the results of the study because, in it, researchers asked more than 18,000 women who had a good chance of becoming pregnant to recall the foods they’d eaten over the course of a year. “I get very concerned about the accuracy of data when memory is concerned,” he said.
From this study, the researchers concluded that there is probably a substance in dairy products that has an affect on fertility, but Dr. Lee Shulman, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois, isn’t so convinced. “There are too many factors that can affect ovulation.”
Shulman said it’s important to take a look at what’s in dairy products and continue further study, but at this stage “it’s too hard to make a blanket statement.”
Grifo believes that women who are trying to become pregnant should strive for a balanced diet that includes some fat, but eating too much high-fat food and gaining too much weight brings on its own set of risks and should be avoided.
“You need fat at this stage,” he said, “but the type of fat you eat is important. Avoid sugar and trans fats, and eat healthfully and normally.”
