Pineapple and IVF

I was telling some friends about the upcoming cycle, and the crazy things people do to try and boost the odds. Just so you all know: I am participating in all of the crazy ideas.

Because why the hell not? What do I have to lose? Absolutely Nothing.

None of the things I am going to do hurt my odds, I have checked with my doctor and IVF nurse, so commence the pineapple core eating!

Supposedly if you eat 1/5th of the core of a pineapple for the first 5 days after transfer it boosts success. this is because of Bromelain, which is an anti-inflammatory agent. There is some correlated research, which is def. not the same as causal, but still I will take it!

Check this out, it's from an acupuncturist who specializes in fertility:

Pineapple for Embryo Implantation & IVF Success

Posted on May 30, 2013 by admin

Have you ever heard of eating pineapple to aid embryo implantation? After doing some medical super sleuthing, Dr. Elise Schroeder has come up with a few logical and plausible ideas as to what pineapple’s got that might aid in conception.

If you are reading fertility blogs or talking with other women going through IVF, you have probably heard of the pineapple trick. The idea is to eat a whole pineapple, including the core, before and after the day of implantation. OK, sounds good, and couldn’t really hurt, but as usual I am asking the questions:

“What’s the mechanism?” and “How does that work?”

After doing some medical super sleuthing, I have come up with a few logical and plausible ideas as to what pineapple’s got that might aid in conception.
The main nutrient in pineapple that might be contributing to this affect is bromelain. Bromleain is an enzyme, meaning it help reactions take place in the body. When taken with food bromelain helps us break down or digest our foods. When taken on an empty stomach bromelain has some other actions on the body:
It acts as a blood thinner and anticoagulant.
Like aspirin, bromelain can increase blood flow to the uterus via its action as a blood thinner and anticoagulant. It is also thought that using a blood thinner like aspirin can help in women who have had repeat miscarriages, especially if they are also positive for phospholipid antibodies.
Bromelain acts as an anti-inflammatory agent
Conception and implantation requires an intricate shift in the immune system. Specifically a shift from TH1 immune cells to TH2. Another way of saying that is that conception requires an anti inflammatory shift. It is possible that bromelain helps with this shift which allows implantation to occur. If you’re a little nerdy like me and want to see a study that looks at bromelain and immune cells, check out this abstract.

So there, it's happening. Along with acupuncture the day of retrieval and transfer, massage just before retrieval, seeing a funny movie after transfer, eating sweet potatoes, and standing on my head every day.

Just kidding about the last one, but I am doing everything else!

:)