Can Diet and Lifestyle Improve Fertility with Low AMH?

If you’ve been told your AMH is low, you may have walked out of your doctor’s office feeling hopeless, as if your only option is to rush into IVF. AMH (anti-Müllerian hormone) is one of the most talked-about fertility markers today. But here’s what many women aren’t told: AMH is only one piece of the puzzle. It reflects ovarian reserve, not your ability to conceive, and it does not predict natural pregnancy outcomes.

The good news? Nutrition, lifestyle, and functional strategies can directly improve egg quality, reduce inflammation, and help you prepare for conception, naturally or with IVF.

The Conventional View on AMH

In conventional fertility medicine, AMH is used primarily to forecast ovarian response to IVF. A low AMH is often presented as a reason to move quickly into assisted reproduction. While AMH testing is useful, studies show it should not be used to predict spontaneous conception.

• A landmark JAMA study (Steiner et al., 2017) found that low AMH did not predict reduced natural fertility in women aged 30–44.

• Research also shows AMH can fluctuate and even rise when underlying health factors are addressed.

Yet many women are told “time is running out,” without exploring the role of health, diet, and lifestyle.

Inflammation and Fertility

Chronic inflammation is one of the most overlooked barriers to fertility. Elevated inflammatory markers such as hs-CRP have been linked to poor ovarian response, lower IVF success, and impaired implantation (Forges et al., Human Reproduction Update, 2006).

How inflammation affects AMH and egg quality:

• Damages mitochondria in eggs, reducing energy for fertilization

• Disrupts hormone signaling and endometrial receptivity

• Increases oxidative stress, which accelerates ovarian aging

The Role of Diet in Supporting Egg Quality

Diet is one of the fastest ways to calm inflammation and improve fertility outcomes.

Anti-inflammatory foods:

• Leafy greens, colorful vegetables, and berries

• Omega-3 rich fish (or algae oil if plant-based)

• Nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocado

Foods to minimize:

• Gluten and dairy (linked to inflammation and gut permeability)

• Processed sugar and refined carbs (disrupt blood sugar + insulin)

• Industrial seed oils and processed foods

👉 See our related article: Gluten and Fertility

Gut Health and Fertility

Gut imbalances such as dysbiosis, leaky gut, or hidden infections can drive systemic inflammation and autoimmune activity, both of which affect ovarian reserve.

• Research links altered microbiota with endometriosis, PCOS, and unexplained infertility (Khan et al., Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, 2016).

• Functional testing like the GI-MAP helps uncover pathogens, parasites, and yeast that may silently block fertility progress.

👉 Explore more: How Gut Health Impacts Egg Quality and Ovarian Reserve

Blood Sugar and Hormone Balance

Stable blood sugar is critical for ovarian function. Insulin resistance is associated with poor egg quality and diminished ovarian reserve (Zhang et al., Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2019).

Simple steps:

• Include protein at every meal

• Pair carbs with healthy fats and fiber

• Consider continuous glucose monitoring to see how your body responds

Toxins and Fertility

Environmental toxins from BPA in plastics, to mold and heavy metals, place an invisible burden on the ovaries.

• Phthalates and BPA have been linked to reduced ovarian reserve (Zhou et al., Environment International, 2020).

• Mold exposure is increasingly recognized as a hidden fertility disruptor.

Detoxification isn’t about harsh cleanses it’s about reducing daily exposures and supporting the body’s natural pathways.

👉 Listen to our Functional Fertility Detoxification episode

Foundational Fertility Supplements

Evidence-informed supplements can target mitochondrial function and egg health:

• CoQ10 (ubiquinol): improves ovarian response in women with diminished ovarian reserve (Xu et al., 2018)

• Omega-3 fatty acids: reduce inflammation and support hormone balance

• Magnesium: calms the nervous system and aids hormone regulation

• Vitamin D: essential for ovarian and endometrial function

Stress, Mindset, and the Nervous System

Stress doesn’t just affect mood; it directly impacts fertility. Chronic stress dysregulates cortisol, reduces blood flow to the ovaries, and raises inflammatory markers (Roney & Simmons, Hormones and Behavior, 2015).

Mind-body practices, mindset work, and nervous system regulation are essential fertility tools.

Next Steps in Your Fertility Journey

Subscribe to Get Pregnant Naturally for evidence-based guidance on functional fertility, and share this episode with anyone on their fertility journey.

Not sure where to start? Download our most popular guide:  Ultimate Guide to Getting Pregnant This Year If You Have Low AMH/High FSH it breaks everything down step by step to help you understand your options and take action

For personalized support to improve pregnancy success, book a call here.

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Low AMH Panic: Why Your Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Why AMH alone doesn’t define your fertility potential and why other health markers matter.

01:30 – Functional Fertility Lens: Looking Beyond AMH and FSH
How to shift focus from just lab numbers to whole-body health for improved egg quality.

03:00 – Inflammation and Fertility: How It Impacts Egg Quality and Implantation
The link between chronic inflammation, ovarian reserve, and successful implantation.

05:00 – Elimination Diet & Anti-Inflammatory Foods for Low AMH
Foods that lower inflammation and how a personalized elimination diet supports fertility.

07:00 – Gut Health and Fertility: Why Dysbiosis, Leaky Gut, and Infections Matter
How gut imbalances can drive immune issues and impact ovarian function.

09:00 – Balancing Blood Sugar: Protein, Continuous Glucose Monitors, and Egg Health
The role of blood sugar stability in hormone balance and mitochondrial function in eggs.

11:00 – Environmental Toxins and Fertility: Mold, Plastics, Heavy Metals
How toxins burden fertility and practical steps to lower everyday exposures.

12:30 – Foundational Fertility Supplements: Magnesium, Omega-3, CoQ10, Vitamin D
Evidence-informed supplements that support ovarian health and egg quality.

14:00 – Advanced Functional Testing: GI-MAP, Food Sensitivities, Genetics, Biomarkers
The value of deeper testing to uncover hidden factors affecting fertility.

16:00 – Nervous System Reset: Stress, Mindset, and Calming Inflammation for Egg Quality
Why stress management is crucial for hormone balance and ovarian reserve.

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[00:00:00] I recently saw someone on Reddit say, my A MH was already low and now it's dropped even further. What can I do to raise it? So this is the exact fear that so many of us face when you get those A MH numbers back and it feels final, like your fertility is out of your own hands. But here is the truth.

While am MH is one piece of the data, it does not tell the whole story. And so this episode we're talking all about how nutrition supplements, lifestyle strategy, and targeted testing can reduce inflammation. Support a quality and improve the chances of pregnancy success. Even when you feel your numbers are discouraging, safe for you to listen.

Let's go. Welcome back. I'm Sarah Clark, founder of Fat Fertile. For over a decade, my team and I have helped hundreds of couples improve their chances of pregnancy success, whether naturally or through IVF. We specialize in supporting those with low A MH, high FSH, diminished ovarian reserve, premature ovarian insufficiency, and recurrent pregnancy loss through functional lab testing and personalized fertility strategies.

Today we're digging into a MH and what are [00:01:00] the specific diet and lifestyle strategies and testing and do to improve those numbers. This episode is for you. As you've been told, your A MH is low or dropping, and you wanna know the steps you can actually take. You feel overwhelmed by all the advice from going gluten free to taking a bunch of supplements, and you want a clearer, more functional fertility lens to really be able to improve your numbers and improve pregnancy success.

You've ready to learn daily practices like balancing blood sugar, targeted supplementation, nervous system support, and really can help improve the chances of pregnancy success and improve your a quality. Thanks so much for listening. I'm so thankful that you're here. Make sure you hit subscriber follow.

If you know someone else who's on the fertility journey, please share this podcast with them. Today we're talking all about a MH, where it's not just about, we need to know the number, but it's not just about hanging our hat on this a MH number and thinking there's nothing we can do. So we're talking about nutrition and lifestyle strategies that can help low mh and diminish ovarian reserve.

Everything we do here is to talk about how to reduce inflammation. I've done a whole podcast episode [00:02:00] about inflammation, but really from a food sensitivity. So definitely send me a message at hello@fabfertile.ca. Subject line 10 day. I'll send you the elimination diet, talks about how to take out the top allergens systematically, reintroduce them.

It's for 10 days. You can do anything for 10 days. Figure out how food impacts your body. We need to take the right supplements that are gonna be right for your fertility. I see so many people taking a boatload of supplements, which can just really have you having expensive pee. There's specific ones that are the foundational supplements.

Anything beyond that, we have gotta do testing. Otherwise, you can just be throwing good money out after bat. Looking at your, the health of your gut microbiome. If you got a parasite in there, a worm, a overgrowth of bad bacteria, fungal issues going on in your gut microbiome, that could be why you have low mh or diminished brain reserve.

And your REI is not going to look at this. So the health of the gut microbiome is key. I have done multiple episodes on this and we've got to take our health in our own hand, address the infection and repair the health of the gut. [00:03:00] We need to work on our sleep. If you have dysregulated sleep, that is a huge clue.

It's not about you pounding down more benzos or melatonin or magnesium, which magnesium can be helpful. Melatonin can be helpful, but we need to dig deeper. Why is your sleep off to begin with? From a magnesium deficiency, liver support, blood sugar imbalance, your adrenaline is spiking 'cause you're so stressed out.

And then nervous system work. So if your nervous system is dysregulated from all the stress you're under here to try to figure this out because you've got the low A MH diagnosis and it's got you so wound up. That could be why. That could be driving inflammation in your body, tilted your biomarkers all the wrong way, and that could be why it's not working.

So it's not about you avoiding stress, it's looking to see exactly what's driving it and making some targeted steps to actually be able to implement this. To make some changes. So inflammation is gonna impact your A quality. If you've gone through IVF Retrievals and been told you have poor a quality that the embryos are all being tested abnormally and you're wondering what to do, [00:04:00] there's lots you can do.

We need to take our health in our own hands. IVF is there, it is not a or where I gotta save all my money for IVF and not work on my health. That is a definition of insanity. Being able to tweak the IVF protocol without going back to see why, if the majority of us can get pregnant, naturally, what has been missed?

The inflammation's going to impact egg quality hormone signaling implantation, and the pregnancy loss miscarriage risk. So it is extremely important to be your own advocate. Don't let someone have you second guess that something has been missed. We need to look at our own health use testing. We ship testing worldwide, north America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand.

Being able to use testing and looking at your biomarkers, blood work, and making sure the right strategy for you. And so if your body's inflamed, that could be why. When you're doing all the PRP, you're putting in inflamed cells into your ovaries, no wonder that it's not working. The reproduction is gonna take a backseat because your body thinks it's on fire, [00:05:00] it's inflamed.

And so we need to be able to do this in a targeted manner. So looking at the nutrition, looking at that elimination diet, anti-inflammatory foods, yes, the Mediterranean diet can be good. But we need to look beyond that. The elimination diet is the gold standard. Send me that message at Hello at Fab Fertile.

Do ca 10 day to get that elimination diet guide you wanna take out dairy, gluten, soy, corn, peanuts, eggs, processed sugar, alcohol, 10 days systematically reintroduce tells you exactly how to do it. You wanna add in some anti antioxidant rich foods, berries, greens, healthy fats. We wanna look at that gut health.

So we're doing the stool test here and it's showing that there's an imbalance going on in there and maybe you have leaky gut from all the antibiotics and the stress birth control that can then predispose you to leaky gut. And so your body just bouncing immune response to your favorite foods let's in all the nasty critters, and that could be why they're being told you have poor a quality.

We need to be able to heal that and reduce the immune activation. Blood sugar [00:06:00] imbalance. So if your glucose is on a little rollercoaster, you're getting hangry, you got mood swings, poor sleep. You know you want to tear your partner's eyeballs out because your blood sugar's all over the place. 'cause you start every morning with a bowl of oatmeal and wonder why your blood sugar's on a rollercoaster.

We need more fats and protein, way more protein than we think. I have a whole protein guide. Send me a message at hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line protein, and we'll send you that guide. Looking at your blood sugar, sometimes we need to have that continuous glucose monitor. We can put that on our arm here and see how our blood sugar is impacting our health.

And that is a definite theme that we see with low A MH is key. Environmental toxins. If you've got heavy metals, mold, we just gotta be careful. But going, doing all these one-off protocols and chasing mold down that down a rabbit hole. So obviously if you have a leaky basement or a leaky house, we need to be able to address that.

You can do mold remediation. We need to be very careful on how we address that. But we need to work on the foundational pillars here of the [00:07:00] diet, the sleep, the movement, the stress management, and then we can do other strategies. But we do use the testing to determine what's going on. Sometimes people go down a whole sibo, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or a mold, and we just miss the foundational pieces.

Yes, we can address those as we go along, but just be careful. Oh, I did this and I did that. It didn't work well. We didn't work on the foundational pieces. So we do food sensitivity testing, stool testing, looking at the DNA of the stool genetic testing, different than the karyotyping you're gonna do at the fertility clinic, and then looking at all your biomarkers and also looking at your partner.

Yes, looking, even if he's been told his semen is amazing. We need to look at his semen analysis with A DNA fragmentation and all of his biomarkers. And we see couples with similar microbiomes passing infections back and forth. So we need to be able to address that. And then taking out the plastics, going organic as much as possible.

We wanna reduce the, if you got a guy in a, a suit spraying our food and farmers dying in a cancer and we wonder why [00:08:00] genetically modified food, we don't wanna be exposed to that. And so if you're gonna argue about it, then you know, we want you to have an open mind. And so obviously some of it can be cost prohibitive, but we need to be the dirty dozens.

So the foods that are the most highly spray, we wanna avoid those. And there's the clean 15, so you can opt for those, but basically offer it organic as much as possible. Is it perfect? No, but it's better than the ones that are fully sprayed with all the pesticides, genetic testing, and then to really be able to support those detox pathways.

And so nervous system stress in itself is inflammatory. So if we gotta calm your system through breath, work through meditation. Sleep hygiene and not watching TV before sleep and getting exposed to blue light watching impact your melatonin. I did a whole podcast episode on sleep, so check that out. So looking at our nervous system, we have a whole mindset checklist where people are like, I don't need the mindset side of things.

I'm totally fine. Just give me the testing. I'm gonna tell you right now, the people that tell me they don't need the mindset are the ones that need the mindset the most. The [00:09:00] stress just because you're a type A controlling get it done kind of person, you're like, I'm totally fine. I'm not stressed out at all.

I'm gonna tell you the theme that we see with low A MH and diminished ovarian reserve is nervous system dysregulation. And that has tilted all your biomarkers the wrong way, where you do the food sensitivity tests and it blows up with all your favorite foods. Yes. That was me. I have a whole bunch of gut infections which have impacted your egg health.

Yes. That was me as well. And I actually would've said when I was going through it, that's when I was diagnosed with premature ovarian sufficiency. At 28, I would've said I was not stressed, I was completely stressed. I just was a energizer bunny and just kept going. And so we need to be able to step back.

For me, it's getting into nature. Doing things, hanging out with friends and people that make me happy, not just keep going and pushing ourselves. We have mindset coaches that can help identify. Those different things for you. If it's the perfectionist, if it's the controller, if it's the avoider, if [00:10:00] it's the victim, if it's the hypervigilant, you gotta check the protocol, recheck the thing that someone gave you.

You're always hypervigilant, or the hyper achiever. I can't tell you how many people are like, I'm doing IVF, I'm working 50 plus hours a week, and now is the perfect time for me to sign up for a graduate program. No. Now it is not the perfect time for you to do that. That is, is causing so much stress in your body.

And I got people telling me that I'm doing a, I'm like, what graduate program are you doing? Oh, I'm doing an electrical engineering graduate. No. Is that Im impacting your fertility? Yes it is. So we need to be able to have someone call you out on your staff just because you're a get it done kind of person that is your superpower.

We don't beat ourselves up for that. Great. It got you here, you've. Discover me in this podcast 'cause you're probably researching night and day like I do. But we need to be able to then give it over to someone else so our body can then know it's safe. 'cause right now the body's gotta do it all. If I don't do it, who will?

Some insight that we see. So [00:11:00] this high sensitivity C reaction protein, you wanna have that below one. I cannot tell you how many people I see that it's over one. So inflammation, chronic inflammation in the body from either from your diet, from your gut microbiome, from blood sugar, from stress. Can then impact that.

And I've got a whole episode on that. So that's really important and it's regularly missed by your REI and that inflammation, when you comment it can help improve your energy. PMS, your cycle should not be PMS symptoms, mood swings and bloating and cramping. That knowing you shouldn't have that, that's a clue that something's off.

And then your ovarian function can shift. We want to. From the nutrition standpoint, look at whole foods, antioxidants, healthy fats. You wanna avoid processed foods. I think we all know that, but we kinda avoid them. Yep. Blood sugar, we wanna have more protein and fat fiber at every meal. Avoiding caffeine as much as possible, but we don't wanna do the elimination diet.

And then avoid caffeine too. If you're still having caffeine, you do the elimination diet and then take caffeine out later. Otherwise, it's just too much. [00:12:00] And we wanna take up those triggers like we talked about with the elimination diet, dairy, corn. Gluten, soy, eggs, peanuts, processed sugar, alcohol, 10 days.

And then we can consider some supplements. So these ones are our foundational supplements. Anything beyond this we really wanna get some testing to. Otherwise you could just have expensive pee. So you want the magnesium glycinate. It's good for your nervous system, your sleep, your blood sugar support you and your partner.

Take this Omega-3 lowers inflammation supports your egg membranes. Coq 10. Good for the mitochondrial energy for your eggs. Coq 10. Key prenatal. You want methylate? Do not take a folic acid. You want methylated prenatal. It's gonna support your methylation pathways and a proper prenatal that has all the nutrients you need.

Men's multi. You want your partner to take that For sperm health and oxidative stress, vitamin D three K two can't tell you the number of people that with low A MH and diminished variant reserve have. Low vitamin D. We need vitamin D. We want it 60 to 80 for hormone [00:13:00] signaling, egg health, immune balance.

We want a good probiotics so it's good for your gut health. Estrogen clearance, reducing inflammation. And then we're gonna do some of those advanced testing. And we talked about doing the stool test. We do the GI Map test, addressing those infections, repairing the health of the gut, looking at the food sensitivity tests, along with the elimination diet, doing the genetic testing different from the karyotyping.

This is epigenetics. Even though you might have a history of cancer, diabetes. High blood pressure, heart attacks in your family, that is not your destiny. So there's things you can do from a diet, lifestyle, and supplement recommendation to really personalize this so you're not just throwing spaghetti at the wall and guessing, using your genetics, developing and personalized plan to help improve pregnancy outcomes, prevent gestational diabetes, prevent preeclampsia because you can push yourself and go through IVF and then have a horrible pregnancy and postpartum.

I've got people telling me they didn't even bond with their child because their health was so bad afterwards. But I consider a continuous glucose monitor, so it's gonna track your blood sugar in real time. We have [00:14:00] people just do that so you can actually know exactly how blood sugar is impacting your health, that high sensitivity, C reactive protein, do you have systemic inflammation?

Maybe that's the clue. It's multifactorial of how we go and address that. And then looking at your thyroid, our whole thesis on this, is it actually early menopause or is it your adrenals that impacts your thyroid, which impacts your A MH and your FSH and your foic count. Looking at your iron, you want your ferritin between 80 to a hundred.

For IVF, we see it super low. So the iron can impact the thyroid, the homocysteine. We've done a whole podcast episode on that that's impacted by your methylation pathways inflammation. A NA. Have you got a positive anti-nuclear antibody? Are you turning towards autoimmune disease? What can we do to reduce inflammation in the body?

And so that's not gonna turn that on. Nervous system reset. So the supplements can be helpful. Epson salt, bath and magnesium glycinate, omega threes, daily practices, meditation, breath work, prayer, yoga, [00:15:00] journaling, EFT. So emotional freedom technique can be help. Be helpful, acupuncture can be helpful.

Anything to reduce stress. For me, it's getting out in nature and so stress is inflammatory. You need to be able to calm the nervous system. That is equally as important with us saying, let's reduce. Inflammation from your diet and from a gut infection, a food sensitivity, it might have just been the stress was the thing that pushed everything the wrong way.

So it's not about avoiding stress, it's building in boundaries, building in strategies to then be able to nourish the body and bring the adrenals and everything back online. I do hear it all the time where I'm like, I went gluten-free and got pregnant. So yes, it can happen where we do change our diet and people go on and get pregnant, but a lot of times it would diminish ovarian reserve.

Premature ovarian sufficiency, low mh, it can be multifactorial. So we need to be able to look at this in a targeted way. And so it's not usually just one thing, it's, it's all the things that we do. And right now you might just be reading a bunch of books and blogs and [00:16:00] following generalized recommendations.

So we need to do things that are customized for your health. Being able to work on your nutrition and lifestyle. The really powerful tools, if you've got low MH or Hi FSH, dues in the testing, IVF can be there for you when you're ready. But we need to actually make a determination of when to bring it in.

You're bringing in prematurely. I know you're in a panic really, to have your child, right. They feel this is pausing, but this is the actual thing that's going to then either help you get pregnant naturally, or if you do go to IVF, you're gonna improve the chances of it working. Definitely things for you to do in a targeted manner, so I'm ready to get my eyes on your specific situation.

Send a message to hello@fabfertile.ca, subject line fertile. I'll give you some options to help. Take care.

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How to Get Started With Functional Fertility Support

Book your call here to get your personalized plan and options to help improve pregnancy success either naturally or with IVF treatment. 

Check out our Fab Fertile functional fertility program here and learn how to improve AMH levels naturally.  We work with couples that have low AMH, high FSH, diminished ovarian reserve, premature ovarian insufficiency, and recurrent pregnancy loss.

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FAQs

Can diet improve low AMH?

Diet can’t increase egg count, but it can improve egg quality and ovarian environment, which is critical for conception.

What foods help with egg quality?

Leafy greens, berries, nuts, seeds, omega-3s, and antioxidant-rich foods.

Should I try IVF right away if my AMH is low?

IVF may still be an option, but preparing your body with nutrition and lifestyle first can improve outcomes and reduce failed cycles.

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Key Takeaways

• AMH is not the full story - it doesn’t predict natural pregnancy.

• Addressing inflammation, gut health, toxins, and blood sugar improves egg quality.

• Diet and supplements are powerful tools to support ovarian function.

• Stress management is just as important as lab numbers.

• Functional testing can uncover hidden factors that conventional medicine often misses.

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RESOURCES 

📩 Get your free 10-day elimination diet plan! Email hello@fabfertile.ca with the subject line 10 DAY to receive your guide and take the first step toward reconnecting with your fertility.

Why Genomic Testing Can Help With Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Birth Outcomes and Preconception Health: https://fabfertile.com/blogs/podcasts/why-genomic-testing-can-help-with-recurrent-pregnancy-loss-birth-outcomes-and-preconception-health?_pos=6&_sid=3b42aa431&_ss=r

Stop Ignoring hsCRP and the Role of Inflammation in Diminished Ovarian Reserve: https://fabfertile.com/blogs/podcasts/stop-ignoring-hscrp-and-the-role-of-inflammation-in-diminished-ovarian-reserve?_pos=7&_sid=f6ac7e389&_ss=r

Blood Sugar and Egg Quality: The Fertility Link You Can't Ignore: https://fabfertile.com/blogs/podcasts/blood-sugar-and-egg-quality-the-fertility-link-you-cant-ignore?_pos=5&_sid=e0fa5a4b0&_ss=r

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