Diet taboos during down-regulation period

Health products/supplements containing extra estrogen and progesterone, raw/cold/spoiled food that may cause acute gastroenteritis, highly irritating spicy/heavy food, and high-sugar and oily junk food that will increase metabolic burden. Most of the "cannot eat beans, seafood, and cold fruits" circulating on the Internet are over-interpretations, and there is no need to be overly anxious.

To put it bluntly, the core purpose of down-regulation is to press the "pause button" on the ovaries, lower the hormone levels in the body to the baseline, and allow all follicles to grow at the same starting line. Therefore, any food that may disrupt hormone balance and drag down the body is a real minefield. When I accompanied my best friend to the reproductive department two years ago, I saw a girl in the same clinic who was afraid that her follicles would not grow well during the down-regulation period. She took snow clams and royal jelly supplements every day, and also bought self-made pills sold by WeChat merchants called "Egg-Raising Magic Pills." However, after a hormone test at the end of the 14-day down-regulation period, the estradiol level did not drop to the standard value at all. She had to wait an extra week to enter the ovulation promotion cycle, which cost a lot of money and delayed the process. The doctor specifically told us at the time that these supplements, which were explicitly added with animal estrogen, and egg-nurturing and endometrium-replenishing health products with unknown ingredients, were 100% to be avoided during the down-regulation period. As for the small amount of content in daily food, it would not cause any trouble at all.

Oh, by the way, there is also the issue of soy products that is quite controversial. Different doctors currently have different opinions: the mainstream view of Western reproductive medicine is that soy isoflavones are phytoestrogens, and their activity is less than one thousandth of human estrogen. Normally, drinking a cup of soy milk and eating a piece of tofu will not affect the lowering effect at all, so there is no need to eat anything.； There are also some conservative doctors who advise against eating large amounts in a short period of time, such as drinking three or four cups of thick soy milk a day. Ingesting small amounts is completely fine. If you are really confused, just follow the instructions of your attending doctor. You don't have to worry about it for a long time just because you took a sip of soy milk.

As for the cold and spicy food that many people are afraid of, it is actually not so absolute. A girl I know usually has a physique that doesn't like spicy food. It's okay to eat mildly spicy hot pot occasionally during the down-regulation period. As long as she doesn't challenge the abnormal hot pot that will definitely cause diarrhea - after all, the hormones themselves fluctuate during the down-regulation period, and the gastrointestinal sensitivity is higher than usual. If you really have diarrhea for two or three days, it will easily affect your condition if your immunity is down. The same goes for iced milk tea and iced watermelon. If you usually drink iced drinks, you may get upset, so don’t touch them. Drinking iced coke every day will be fine. Drinking a few sips less will not be a big problem. If you believe in the traditional Chinese medicine saying that "cold in the palace affects implantation", there is no loss if you drink less iced drinks. It all depends on your body habits.

There are also the crazy rumors on the Internet that "you can't eat seafood" and "you can't eat cold fruits" are purely creating anxiety. As long as you are not allergic to seafood, high-quality proteins such as shrimp and fish are more reliable than any other supplements. I have a sister who has successfully downregulated. During that time, she ate steamed seabass every day to supplement protein. During ovulation, the quality of her follicles was very good, and she implanted immediately. Not to mention common fruits and vegetables such as apples and broccoli. As long as they are washed well and don’t upset your stomach, there is no problem eating them normally.

To be honest, I have seen too many people make lowering the tone like "overcoming a tribulation". They have a long list of forbidden foods and do not dare to touch this or eat that. In the end, nutrition cannot keep up, and the follicles grow slowly during ovulation. In fact, it’s really not that particular. Just treat yourself as an ordinary person trying to get pregnant. Eat home-cooked meals with meat and vegetables, drink some milk and eat an egg every day, don’t take supplements with strange things, and don’t eat bad things. It’s better than anything else. If you are really unsure, just ask your attending doctor casually. Everyone's lowering plan and physical foundation are different. Following the doctor's advice is always the safest choice.