Dr. Leah Gordon, ND @drleahgordon

“Although there will always be aspects of the journey to parenthood beyond our control, our nutrition is one major thing we can control for ourselves. One of the best ways to support fertility and the health of our next generation is to optimize our nutrition and lifestyle during the preconception period.”

Dr. Roxanne Pero, MD OB-GYN @drroxannepero

“It’s often recommended to allow a minimum of 3 months to optimize before conception, with 6 to 12 months being the ideal prep time frame. This is because sperm development takes around 72 -90 days and a key stage of egg maturation, known as folliculogenesis, takes 3-4 months before ovulation.”

Dr. Lucia Aronica, PhD Epigenetics Researcher, Stanford University School of Medicine

“A mother’s diet diet during pregnancy can affect her child’s epigenetics, which can last into adulthood. This is because the diet can modify epigenetic marks, like DNA methylation, which in turn alters gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. For example, animal studies have shown that a diet with too little methyl-donating folate or choline before or just after birth causes certain regions of the genome to be under-methylated for life.”