1 week Ago By Erica Sloan
You’ve heard the line before: you’re born with all the eggs you’ll ever have, and as the birthdays pile up, the stash steadily shrinks. By 35, the decline accelerates, and the ominous “biological clock” gets louder. But fertility isn’t just about quantity—it’s about quality, too.
Which raises the obvious (and often whispered) question: Is there anything you can actually do to improve your egg quality? Here’s the short answer: sort of. But first, some context. A significant portion of egg quality, like quantity, comes down to age.
As we grow older, “not only do we lose eggs, but the ones we keep are more likely to accumulate DNA mutations,” Dr Anate Brauer, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist at RMA of New York, tells SELF . This can result in eggs with the wrong number of chromosomes, making them less likely to fertilise, implant, or result in a healthy pregnancy . Conditions like endometriosis or PCOS, along with treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, can add to the decline.
Certain lifestyle factors, particularly those that put the body under chronic stress, may also contribute, Dr Brauer notes (we’ll get into those in a moment). Beyond DNA integrity, other egg characteristics matter too—its shape, for instance, or how well its internal machinery is functioning. Mitochondria, the egg’s energy centres, are particularly crucial, since the process of becoming a human is, to put it plainly, an energy-intensive endeavour.
And here again, things like age, health and lifestyle may influence how well those mitochondria behave. Now for the catch: there’s no clear test for egg quality. AMH and FSH levels offer a peek at your egg quantity, not quality.
“We don’t know if there’s a quality issue unless we extract the eggs and inspect them under a microscope, as in IVF ,” says Dr Brooke Rossi, a reproductive endocrinologist at Ohio Reproductive Medicine. Still, because egg quality plays a central role in fertility, it may be worth supporting it where possible—if only because, in a sea of uncontrollable factors, this one might offer a modicum of agency. Let’s talk about what might (and might not) help.
What can harm egg quality? Let’s start with the usual suspects. Smoking, vaping, drinking alcohol, skipping sleep , using recreational drugs, and consuming excessive sugar—all these habits can generate oxidative stress. That’s when damaging molecules (free radicals) outnumber the antioxidants meant to neutralise them.
Over time, this imbalance can compromise cellular health, including your eggs’ DNA and mitochondrial function. Cue potential fertilisation hiccups, implantation failures, and higher miscarriage risks. These behaviours can also interfere with broader fertility metrics: think ovulation disruption or making the uterus less receptive to implantation.
That said, context matters. These risks tend to be dose-dependent. The occasional cocktail won’t tank your fertility, but a glass of wine every evening might.
Dr Rossi points to chronic alcohol use as a concern, while Dr Brauer flags processed foods (often loaded with sugar) as a quiet contributor to oxidative stress. And nicotine, with its addictive charm, tends to sneak into regular use more easily than you’d think. So it may be less about puritanical abstinence and more about balance.
What might improve your egg quality? Here, we enter two main lanes: how you eat, and how you move. On the diet front, the Mediterranean diet gets most of the attention. Rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, olive oil , and lean proteins like fish and poultry, it’s been loosely linked to better fertility outcomes, particularly in IVF settings.
Why? It’s high in antioxidants, which can neutralise free radicals. It’s also rich in key nutrients like folate, B vitamins, iron, and selenium—helpful for egg development and maturation. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish and some nuts and seeds, may also play a role.
In some studies , they’ve been linked to better embryo quality and higher birth rates, though the mechanism remains murky. Still, not all research agrees, and isolating diet as a single variable is tricky. People who eat well might also be sleeping more, exercising, or simply less stressed.
There’s also some indication that diet may have more impact on those under 35—once age-related decline sets in, even the most pristine eating habits may not offset the effects. As for exercise, moderate movement seems to help fertility overall, possibly by reducing inflammation and supporting ovulation, as per some studies . When it comes to egg quality specifically, evidence is thinner, but some compelling animal studies are showing that exercise can enhance mitochondrial function.
Whether that translates to humans remains unclear. What we do know: moving regularly without overtraining is generally good for reproductive health. And if it nudges your mitochondria in the right direction? Bonus.
What about supplements? A realm of big promises and questionable regulation. Unlike prescription drugs, supplements aren’t tightly overseen by the FDA. That means what’s listed on the label isn’t always what’s in the bottle.
Plus, nutrients from whole foods tend to be more bioavailable. Still, there are a few exceptions where supplementation may be helpful. CoQ10 : This vitamin-like enzyme has gained traction in fertility circles.
Some small studies have linked it to better embryo quality and higher pregnancy rates, especially in IVF settings. In animal models, CoQ10 seems to improve mitochondrial function and reduce oxidative damage. But evidence in humans is still tentative—many studies are small and haven’t shown a direct link to live birth rates.
Omega-3 fatty acids : Difficult to get in meaningful quantities unless you’re regularly eating salmon or mackerel. Supplements might help—some studies show improved fertilisation and pregnancy rates, while others don’t. One recent study found that omega-3 takers were 1.
5 times more likely to conceive, but even those researchers advised cautious optimism and called for more rigorous trials. Vitamin D : Hard to get enough from food alone, especially if you’re not getting much sun. Some studies suggest a link between low vitamin D levels and infertility or pregnancy complications.
It may also improve the uterine lining and support implantation. But whether it improves egg quality specifically is still up for debate— studies on egg donors, for example, found no change in outcomes based on their vitamin D levels. Most experts agree that if you’re trying to conceive, a prenatal vitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid is a good baseline.
Beyond that, it’s worth having a conversation with your doctor, especially before shelling out for pricey supplements that may or may not deliver. Tweaking your daily habits in line with the suggestions above is generally a low-stakes way to feel a sense of agency over your fertility. “You can’t control your age, you might not be able to control sperm quality, but you may be able to make some beneficial changes that aren’t risky or expensive,” Dr Rossi says.
As she points out: “It certainly won’t hurt anyone to eat more vegetables or exercise”—or to ease up on smoking or drinking, for that matter. To give yourself the best chance at improving egg quality, you'd want to make these shifts about three months before trying to conceive, Dr Rossi says. That’s roughly how long it takes for an ovarian follicle to grow into an egg that could be ovulated and potentially lead to a pregnancy.
How much you benefit, though, depends on your starting point. If you have few risk factors for poor egg quality—say, you’re under 35, have no reproductive health conditions, and generally follow a supportive lifestyle—you might not see much of a difference from skipping the occasional cocktail or taking fish oil, Dr Rossi points out. Another consideration: if you're already planning for fertility treatment.
“Patients often ask me, ‘Should I not do IVF or freeze my eggs now so I can take supplements for three months beforehand?’ And I always say, ‘No, you’re just losing time,’” Dr Brauer says. “Time is the most important supplement.” It’s worth following the recommendations that fit your lifestyle, without putting pressure on yourself to get everything exactly right.
Considering your age and other health factors, you may not be able to influence egg quality all that much, and it might not even be the biggest factor affecting your fertility, Dr Rossi points out. Other elements, like uterine and tubal factors, hormone levels, underlying health conditions, and, of course, sperm quality, could play a larger role. If you’re struggling to conceive, seeing a reproductive endocrinologist (an ob-gyn specialising in fertility) is the best way to understand what’s getting in your way—and whether egg quality is even part of the puzzle.
This article first appeared on SELF . Also read: Planning a baby? Bookmark these foods that boost fertility and can help you conceive How I dressed for my IVF treatment Everything you need to know about freezing your eggs.
