Could Optimising Your Fertility Supplements Make a Difference to IVF Outcomes?
If you're preparing for IVF, you’ve probably heard a lot about folic acid or folate (vitamin B9). But could optimising your nutritional intake beyond this one nutrient make a difference to your IVF outcomes?
A new randomised controlled trial has caught my eye…
The study looked at 180 women aged 18-42 undergoing IVF and compared two different approaches over 60 days.
One group followed a structured pro-fertility diet alongside targeted supplementation, including:
Omega-3 - 1,000mg per day
Vitamin D - 1,000 IU per day
Folate - 1mg per day
Vitamin B12 - 500µg per day
The comparison group received general healthy eating advice based on the Healthy Eating Plate model, alongside 500µg folate per day.
And the results were certainly interesting…
So, what did they find?
The group following the pro-fertility diet and targeted supplement protocol had:
81% vs 66% fertilisation rates
The intervention group also had a higher average number of embryos formed:
3.78 vs 2.22 embryos
And perhaps most strikingly, the proportion of grade A embryos was:
45.2% vs 21.7%.
These differences were statistically significant, with the researchers reporting improvements in fertilisation, embryo formation and embryo quality in the intervention group.
But before we all rush out and buy a cupboard full of new supplements…
There are a few really important caveats here.
Firstly, this was a combined intervention. The women weren't simply given omega-3 and compared with women taking folate. They followed a pro-fertility dietary pattern and took omega-3, vitamin D, folate and B12.
So we cannot say which individual supplement, nutrient or dietary change was responsible for the differences.
It's also important to remember that this study was carried out in women undergoing IVF at one fertility centre. That means we can't automatically apply these findings to everyone trying to conceive, or assume that taking the same supplements will produce the same results for every person.
And, as always, supplements should be carefully considered alongside dietary intake of foods as well as individual needs.
So what can we take from this?
For me, this study adds to the growing conversation around preconception nutrition and nutritional adequacy.
Rather than only thinking about nutrition once pregnancy happens, there is a growing interest in how nutrition and nutritional status before and during fertility treatment may influence reproductive outcomes. It was also encouraging to see core nutrients that I use for all of my clients (B vitamins, omega 3 and vitamin D) making a real difference here. Often, clinics are not necessarily considering nutrients beyond perhaps folic acid and sometimes vitamin D, but even then, individual needs are rarely considered.
This study highlights the importance of looking at the whole picture - your diet, nutritional status, lifestyle and individual requirements - and making sure you're meeting your needs before and during fertility treatment.
Personalisation matters
This is also why I don't believe in a one-size-fits-all supplement protocol.
The nutrients and dosages that may be appropriate for one person won't necessarily be right for another. In clinic, we personalise our approach according to individual needs, including blood results and, where appropriate, urine and nutrigenetic testing.
So whilst omega-3, folate, B12 and vitamin D may all have a place in a fertility nutrition protocol, the dose and whether supplementation is needed at all should be considered in the context of the individual.
Ultimately, this study isn't telling us that a particular supplement combination is a magic answer for IVF. But it does give us another interesting piece of evidence suggesting that nutritional adequacy and targeted preconception nutrition deserve a place in the fertility conversation. And that's something I'm very happy to see more research exploring.
The study 📚
Ghadimi Yari M et al. (2026). Effect of a pro-fertility diet combined with omega-3 supplementation on embryo quality in infertile women undergoing IVF: a randomized controlled trial. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 53(3), 105661. PMID: 42330757.
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