"NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Reducing carbohydrates and boosting protein intake can significantly improve a woman's chance of conception and birth after in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a new study.

The effect is "at the egg level," said lead investigator Jeffrey Russell, MD, from the Delaware Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Newark. He presented the findings here at American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 61st Annual Clinical Meeting.

Carbohydrate-loaded diets create a hostile oocyte environment even before conception or implantation, he explained.

"Eggs and embryos are not going to do well in a high-glucose environment." By lowering carbs and increasing protein, "you're bathing your egg in good, healthy, nutritious supplements," he said."