Dietary Approaches to Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health

Abstract

Over the course of the reproductive life span, it is common for women to experience one or more of the most common gynecologic conditions, including sexual dysfunction, polycystic ovary syndrome, fibroids, endometriosis, and infertility. Although current management guidelines often turn to the established pharmaceutical approaches for each of these diagnoses, the scientific literature also supports an evidence-based approach rooted in the paradigm of food as medicine. Achieving healthy dietary patterns is a core goal of lifestyle medicine, and a plant-forward approach akin to the Mediterranean diet holds great promise for improving many chronic gynecologic diseases. Furthermore, creating an optimal preconception environment from a nutritional standpoint may facilitate epigenetic signaling, thus improving the health of future generations. This state-of-the-art review explores the literature connecting diet with sexual and reproductive health in premenopausal women.

Keywords: diet; infertility; polycystic ovary syndrome; sexual health; women’s health.