Anti-Inflammatory Eating and Fertility: What the Research Shows for Australian Women

This article is part of the Nella Vosk Fertility Nutrition & Natural Conception Support: Complete Guide for Australian Couples, the comprehensive preconception resource for Australian couples. This article focuses on a specific and increasingly well-researched question: how does chronic inflammation affect fertility, and what does an anti-inflammatory approach to eating actually look like for someone trying to conceive?

When you are trying to conceive, the amount of information available about ‘eating for fertility’ can feel overwhelming. Some of it is sensible. A lot of it is vague. Almost none of it explains the mechanism: why certain foods matter, and what they are actually doing in the body at the level of reproductive function.

Inflammation is one of the clearest and most evidence-supported connections between diet and fertility. Understanding what it is, how it can affect your reproductive system, and which dietary patterns are most relevant to supporting it gives you a genuinely useful framework for the preconception period, rather than a list of foods to add and avoid without context.

Inflammation is a normal immune response. When you have an infection, an injury, or when your body is under significant stress, inflammation is how the immune system responds: it sends immune cells and chemical signals to the area that needs attention, drives repair processes, and protects against pathogens.

Acute inflammation, the kind that follows a cut or a cold, is essential and resolves relatively quickly. The concern in the fertility context is chronic low-grade inflammation: a sustained, low-level activation of the immune system that does not have a clear external cause and does not resolve. This kind of inflammation is increasingly associated with a range of conditions that affect reproductive health, including endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and implantation difficulties.

Chronic low-grade inflammation can affect fertility through several overlapping pathways. It can disrupt the hormonal signalling that drives ovulation. It can affect the quality of the egg environment during follicular development, the window that begins roughly 90 days before an egg is released. It can impair the uterine environment that an embryo needs to implant successfully. And it is associated with reduced sperm quality in male partners, so the conversation about anti-inflammatory eating applies to both people in a couple trying to conceive.

The research evidence for anti-inflammatory dietary patterns and fertility has strengthened considerably in recent years. A 2022 evidence review published in the journal Nutrients, involving researchers from Monash University, the University of South Australia, and the University of the Sunshine Coast, examined the existing body of research on anti-inflammatory diets and fertility outcomes. The review found consistent associations between adherence to anti-inflammatory dietary patterns and improved fertility outcomes in both women and men: higher natural pregnancy rates, improved assisted reproductive technology success rates, and better sperm quality parameters.

The Mediterranean diet is the most studied anti-inflammatory dietary pattern in the fertility literature, largely because it is well-defined and has been consistently measured across research populations. It serves as a useful proxy for anti-inflammatory eating more broadly: it is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and extra virgin olive oil; it includes regular fish consumption; and it limits processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and red and processed meats. These are not arbitrary choices. They reflect the foods and dietary patterns with the strongest evidence for modulating inflammatory markers.

A large 2025 meta-analysis involving more than 17,000 participants confirmed that women who follow more anti-inflammatory dietary patterns experience significantly fewer fertility problems than those with pro-inflammatory diets. This is population-level data rather than a clinical trial where anti-inflammatory eating is tested as a specific intervention, and it is important to interpret it with appropriate care. But the consistency and scale of the association makes it meaningful evidence for the preconception period.

Australian data specifically is relevant here. A study drawing on data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health examined more than 5,400 women and found associations between diets high in pro-inflammatory components and greater self-reported fertility problems. What makes this particularly useful is that it was conducted in an Australian population, with Australian dietary patterns, which aligns closely with what the Nella Vosk community is navigating.

The herbs used in quality fertility blends often have anti-inflammatory properties as one of their biological mechanisms. Nettle, raspberry leaf, and shatavari all have documented anti-inflammatory activity. This is one of the reasons that herbal fertility support and an anti-inflammatory dietary pattern are genuinely complementary rather than separate approaches. They work on overlapping mechanisms, and using them together creates a more comprehensive preconception environment.

For a detailed look at the evidence behind the key herbs used in fertility blends, the complete guide to the best fertility teas in Australia covers what is in quality blends and what each ingredient contributes.

If you are using a fertility tea that contains nettle, the guide to nettle tea for conception explains why its nutritional profile is particularly relevant for building the preconception foundation, alongside an anti-inflammatory dietary approach.

While anti-inflammatory eating is a meaningful approach for any woman trying to conceive, it is particularly relevant for those with specific inflammatory conditions that affect reproductive health.

Endometriosis

Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition by definition. Research has found that women with endometriosis who adopt anti-inflammatory dietary patterns experience improvements in pain and, in some studies, in pregnancy outcomes. Preconception dietary counselling that includes anti-inflammatory principles is increasingly recognised as part of a comprehensive management approach for women with endometriosis who are trying to conceive.

PCOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome involves both hormonal dysregulation and a chronic inflammatory component. Women with PCOS often have elevated inflammatory markers, and the insulin resistance that characterises many PCOS presentations is both pro-inflammatory and directly relevant to ovulation. Anti-inflammatory eating, particularly the blood-sugar stabilising elements such as lower glycaemic index carbohydrates, more fibre, and less refined sugar, addresses the metabolic and inflammatory dimensions of PCOS simultaneously.

Unexplained infertility

For couples with unexplained infertility where no specific structural or hormonal cause has been identified, chronic low-grade inflammation is one of the factors clinicians are increasingly examining. Adopting anti-inflammatory dietary patterns is a low-risk, non-invasive approach that addresses a plausible contributing factor, even when a definitive diagnosis is not available.

Treating it as an elimination diet

Anti-inflammatory eating is not primarily about restriction. The evidence base focuses on what is added to the diet rather than what is removed. A diet rich in colourful plants, omega-3s, whole grains, and extra virgin olive oil will naturally crowd out many of the pro-inflammatory foods, without the restriction and rigidity that can make dietary change unsustainable during the emotional demands of the trying-to-conceive period.

Expecting rapid results

The research on anti-inflammatory diets and fertility measures outcomes over months, not weeks. This is consistent with the biology: follicular development, hormone regulation, and the building of a nourishing uterine environment are processes that operate on a 90-day cycle. Starting early in the preconception period and maintaining the changes consistently is what creates meaningful impact.

Focusing on individual ‘superfoods’

No single food will meaningfully change the inflammatory profile of an overall diet. The research is clear that it is the dietary pattern that matters. Eating a handful of blueberries while the rest of the diet is high in ultra-processed foods and refined carbohydrates will not create an anti-inflammatory effect. The whole dietary direction is what counts.

Neglecting the male partner

The most common framing of preconception nutrition focuses on the woman. But sperm are as vulnerable to inflammatory damage as eggs, and the research on anti-inflammatory dietary patterns and male fertility is as consistent as the research on female fertility. Including both partners in a shared anti-inflammatory dietary approach for the preconception period is both practically and biologically sound.

Food first is the consistent recommendation of the evidence base. The nutrients that support anti-inflammatory activity, including omega-3s, vitamin E, folate, iron, and zinc, are most bioavailable and most effective when consumed from whole food sources embedded in a whole dietary pattern.

That said, some targeted supplementation has a meaningful evidence base in the preconception context. Folate or folic acid (400–800mcg per day) has one of the strongest evidence bases in preconception nutrition, reducing the risk of neural tube defects and supporting early foetal development. Iron, if stores are low, is worth addressing before pregnancy. Iodine supplementation is recommended by Australian guidelines for women planning pregnancy. An omega-3 supplement (fish oil or algae-based for those who do not eat fish) is worth considering if oily fish intake is infrequent.

The important nuance is that supplements do not replicate the effect of an anti-inflammatory dietary pattern. They address specific nutritional gaps but do not replace the broader systemic effects of a diet rich in whole, anti-inflammatory foods.