Fertility can make people feel as though every meal, supplement, workout, and lifestyle decision might determine their outcome. In this nümama Real Talk conversation, Krista sits down with reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Jaime Knopman to talk candidly about nutrition, prenatal supplements, egg freezing, inflammation, and the pressure to do everything perfectly.
The biggest takeaway is simple: support your health, but do not mistake extremes, expensive supplement routines, or food rules for control. Fertility is complex—and no one should blame themselves for navigating it imperfectly.
Note: This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length. It is for educational purposes only and is not personalized medical advice. Please speak with your own clinician before changing medications, supplements, diet, or fertility treatment.
Meet Dr. Jaime Knopman
Krista: I’m Krista, founder of Nunona, and we are here today with Dr. Jaime Knopman. We wanted to ask some of the common questions we hear around fertility, nutrition, pregnancy, and health.
Dr. Knopman: I’m Jaime Knopman. I’m a fertility doctor in New York City, and I’m very excited to be here.
Dr. Jaime M. Knopman, MD, is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist at CCRM Fertility of New York and National Director of Fertility Preservation for the CCRM Fertility network. Her work includes fertility preservation, oncofertility, IVF, IUI, PCOS, gestational surrogacy, and LGBTQIA+ family building. She is also Medical Director of Chick Mission and author of Own Your Fertility: From Egg Freezing to Surrogacy, How to Take Charge of Your Body and Your Future.
Why balance matters more than extremes
Krista: You see patients every day who are navigating fertility challenges. What is the one nutritional piece of advice you find yourself repeating most often—and why does it matter?
Dr. Knopman: Balance or moderation, because I think that is the most realistic, healthiest approach.
Unfortunately, we often want to go to extremes. I was a child of the ’80s, when nobody ate fat and everything was fat-free. Then it was Atkins, when we never ate carbs and only ate fats. That is not realistic.
We want people to eat healthy amounts, in moderation, from all food groups, and make sensible food choices.
Krista: That is such an important reminder. Fertility and wellness conversations can make people feel like they need a completely perfect diet, when what they may need most is a sustainable way of eating that supports their lives.
Dr. Knopman: Exactly. A healthy approach should be something you can live with—not something that takes over your life.
The truth about supplements and egg quality
Krista: There is a lot of noise in the supplement space. Brands promise better egg quality, hormone support, and higher success rates. What is your honest take when patients ask whether a vitamin can improve their fertility outcomes?
Dr. Knopman: I wish there were one. I would retire and be living on a beach somewhere. But there is no vitamin or supplement that is going to dramatically change your egg quality or egg health.
We encourage patients to identify supplements they may need, or food groups they may be missing in their diet. But that does not mean it will translate into better fertility success. We have to be very careful in how we view these supplements.
Krista: That is where it gets frustrating when brands overpromise—especially in fertility. People want control. They are looking for the golden ticket that will change everything.
Dr. Knopman: Exactly. Our job is to be honest and help patients weed through false information so we can help them get to where they want to be: building a family.
Inflammation is not a simple fertility explanation
Krista: Inflammation comes up a lot in fertility research and wellness content. How does what someone eats—or the supplements they take—actually show up in fertility outcomes?
Dr. Knopman: There is definitely a component of inflammation in many medical diseases, whether it is infertility, cancer, or another chronic illness. Inflammation can propagate disease and make things worse. But to what extent certain supplements or food groups cause that? I do not think we know.
When we are treating a couple or an individual with infertility, we do try to mitigate inflammatory processes. If a patient has autoimmune conditions, for example, we may talk about their diet, potential triggers, or gut health as one component of their broader health picture.
But it is very hard to say, “If you eat sugar, that causes inflammation, and that causes infertility.” We have to be careful about how we communicate that.
Krista: That distinction matters. It is easy for someone to hear a broad wellness claim and turn it into another reason to fear food—or blame themselves.
Dr. Knopman: Right. We can talk about improving health, but we should not turn every food choice into a direct explanation for infertility.
Food, prenatal vitamins, and nutrient forms
Krista: Most prenatal vitamins are built around isolated nutrients. From a clinical standpoint, does the source of a nutrient matter? How do you think about real food compared with a lab-made version?
Dr. Knopman: My opinion is that real is better because I think our bodies absorb it in a better way. I am not saying that I have data to back that up, but I would rather my kids eat a plate of broccoli than take a vitamin that mimics what broccoli is supposed to provide.
Krista: Food comes with a broader nutritional context—the fiber, cofactors, and the experience of eating a meal rather than taking an isolated nutrient.
Dr. Knopman: Exactly. But it is important to be clear about where opinion ends and evidence begins. Food can be an important foundation, while supplements may still have a role when someone needs them.
Editor’s note: A prenatal vitamin should be selected with a qualified clinician, especially during fertility treatment, pregnancy, or breastfeeding. “Food-based,” “natural,” and “synthetic” are marketing and formulation descriptions; they do not independently establish that a product is safer, more absorbable, or more effective for a specific person.
Why more is not always better
Krista: Folate is an area where there is a lot of conversation—around dose, timing, and form. How do you counsel patients who think taking more supplements will necessarily be better?
Dr. Knopman: I follow the recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. I tell patients: take what we recommend you take.
Sometimes people think, “I am going to overdo it, because if I do extra, it will be better.” But doing extra is not always better. Especially with supplements, you can take too much. You have to filter it out.
Too much of anything is not good. We should follow recommendations as they are outlined.
Krista: It is a good reminder that a longer supplement list is not necessarily a smarter plan.
Dr. Knopman: Correct. We want patients to use what is appropriate for their individual needs—not add things out of fear.
Making prenatal nutrition easier to maintain
Krista: What excites you about the option of a real-food vitamin bite compared with a conventional prenatal pill?
Dr. Knopman: First, it tastes good, so you may actually look forward to having it each day. It feels like a little treat. That can be a big plus for compliance, because you are more likely to take something consistently.
And for people who struggle with pills, a chewable format may simply feel easier. Chewing starts the digestive process, and some people may find the experience more comfortable.
Krista: A lot of women report nausea with standard prenatals. Why can that happen?
Dr. Knopman: It can be more than one thing. Swallowing a pill can be hard for some people, especially when they are nauseated. It can also create anxiety or a feeling of something sitting in the stomach. A chewable product may feel easier for some people to take.
Editor’s note: Prenatal-related nausea is common, particularly in early pregnancy. People who cannot tolerate their current prenatal should speak to their OB-GYN, reproductive endocrinologist, midwife, or pharmacist. Taking a product with food, changing timing, or using a clinician-approved alternative format may help. Do not discontinue a recommended prenatal without discussing it with your care team.
Pregnancy and postpartum require real nourishment
Krista: Nutrition is not supposed to be an isolated micronutrient. It is carbohydrates, fats, protein, fiber—actual energy. And breastfeeding can be incredibly demanding.
Dr. Knopman: You need to eat when you are breastfeeding. I remember how hungry I felt when my milk was coming in. It was intense.
Krista: I always say: eat the cookie if you want a cookie. Just do not mistake it for the entirety of your nutrition. Exactly. If you want a cookie, eat a cookie. But then plan your nutrition too.
Dr. Knopman: Sometimes, if we deny ourselves the thing we want, we end up eating around it—and then eating it anyway. It can be much more peaceful to enjoy it and make space for nourishing foods throughout the day.
Krista: Right. We are aiming for balance, not restriction.
Egg freezing does not require a perfect reset
Krista: For a patient preparing for egg retrieval, does nutrition in the months leading up to treatment actually help? What are your priorities?
Dr. Knopman: I may be controversial here, but I am not a huge believer in a “trimester zero” approach where someone changes their entire life for three months before treatment. There is not great data that a short-term, extreme reset changes egg quality.
Should you be healthy? Of course. But can I tell you that eating a more balanced diet for three months before you freeze eggs will improve egg quality? I cannot tell you that.
I saw someone who wanted to freeze her eggs and told me she used cannabis every day. I advised her that we should pause, help her get into a better place, and then proceed, because it is not great for her overall health. But even then, I have to be careful about claiming exactly what it means for egg quality when there is not definitive data.
Often, egg freezing gives people a goal, and that can motivate them to make positive changes. If someone says, “I am going to drink less often,” great. If they say, “I am going to have a home-cooked meal once a day,” great.
But if the changes are so extreme that they cannot stick with them—and then they feel devastated if the retrieval does not go the way they hoped—I am not sure that is beneficial.
Krista: Back to balance. Healthy choices can be positive, but they should be sustainable over the course of life, not a high-pressure sprint before one appointment.
Dr. Knopman: Exactly.
What is within your control?
Krista: Fertility can feel incredibly out of a woman’s control. When you are sitting across from a patient, what do you tell her is within her power—especially around nutrition and lifestyle?
Dr. Knopman: For many women and men, an infertility diagnosis is the first time in their lives that they feel thrown off course. They are used to working hard, checking the boxes, and getting a result. Suddenly, they do not know how to respond.
Having the ability to control small things can make the process feel less overwhelming. But I also try to help patients understand that they should not blame themselves.
You are not having infertility because you like rosé and pasta. We have to remove blame. We can talk about ways to improve overall health and potentially become a healthier version of ourselves, but we have to say: “I did not cause this.”
Krista: That is such an important and healthy message.
Dr. Knopman: It is. Supportive lifestyle changes can help someone feel cared for, but they should not become evidence that someone is at fault.
Where reproductive medicine is heading
Krista: We are seeing more integrative thinking in reproductive medicine. Where do you think the field is heading, and what role does nutrition play in that evolution?
Dr. Knopman: I think the influx of women into medicine has been a real game changer in how we practice. Women physicians often tend to be more collaborative. We ask for help, lean on our colleagues, and look at multiple avenues.
We can involve nutritionists, mental-health providers, and other specialists. We can ask: how can we collectively, as a team, create a better outcome and experience for this patient?
I do not have all the answers. I am happy to lean on colleagues and ask, “What do you think? How can we make this better?”
Krista: That team-based approach feels especially important in fertility care. People need medical expertise, but they may also need support with nutrition, stress, identity, relationships, and day-to-day life.
The counseling change Dr. Knopman wants to see
Krista: If you could change one thing about how women are counseled on nutrition during their fertility journey, what would it be?
Dr. Knopman: I would come back to moderation. People are often told to make extreme changes, and it is unrealistic.
It can make people obsess. It can take away the joy of life. Infertility is not a joyful process, and then someone may think, “I am not getting pregnant, I cannot eat anything, I cannot go out to dinner, so I might as well sit here by myself.” It becomes isolating and takes over their life.
Krista: That is why our philosophy is real food, no fakes: authentic food, balance, and avoiding the idea that a shortcut is the answer.
Dr. Knopman: We live in a culture where everyone wants a shortcut. But hard work is hard—and sometimes the fact that it is hard is part of why it matters.
Final takeaway: care for yourself without carrying the blame
Fertility nutrition does not need to be another arena for perfectionism. A supportive approach can include varied meals, practical prenatal support, clinician-guided supplementation, movement, sleep, hydration, and small habits that make you feel more like yourself.
But these choices should be tools for health—not conditions you must meet to deserve a family or explanations you use to blame yourself for infertility.
If you are navigating fertility treatment, egg freezing, pregnancy, or postpartum, consider returning to these reminders:
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Choose sustainable habits over extreme rules.
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Discuss supplements with your own medical team.
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Be wary of products that promise dramatic fertility outcomes.
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Focus on overall health, not a flawless short-term “optimization” period.
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Make room for food, connection, pleasure, and life outside your treatment plan.
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Remember: fertility challenges are not a personal failure.
Medical disclaimer
This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It does not replace individualized care from a reproductive endocrinologist, OB-GYN, primary-care clinician, registered dietitian, or other qualified healthcare professional. Speak with your care team before starting, stopping, or changing supplements, medications, dietary patterns, or fertility treatment.