Dark Bread, Beans Make Babies

Brown rice, dark bread, high-fat ice cream, and beans increase fertility, according to a recent Harvard study on diet. Foods not so great for making babies include breakfast cereal, potatoes, trans fats, and frozen yogurt, the researchers report in Newsweek. The study of 18,000 nurses' eating habits linked success getting pregnant to whole grain "slow carbs," according to the findings detailed in a new book "The Fertility Diet."

Processed "fast carbs," such as white bread, that are metabolized quickly by the body hindered fertility. The more protein a woman ate from plant sources such as beans, rather than meat, the better. Ice cream, whole milk, and other full-fat dairy boosted fertility, while low-fat dairy decreased it. (More fertility stories.)