How to Improve Egg Quality: 7 Evidence-Based Ways
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If you're trying to conceive, you've probably heard the phrase “egg quality” everywhere.
Improve your egg quality. Take supplements for egg quality. Eat for egg quality. Start three months before trying.
But can you actually improve egg quality — and if so, what is genuinely worth doing?
The answer is more complicated than social media often makes it sound.
You can't change your age or increase the number of eggs you were born with. But the environment in which your eggs develop is something you can influence.
Here are seven evidence-based things worth thinking about when preparing for pregnancy.
1. Give yourself around three months
If you're planning to make changes before trying to conceive, don't wait until the month you want to become pregnant.
The egg released during ovulation hasn't suddenly appeared that month.
Follicles undergo a lengthy process of development before one becomes the dominant follicle that ultimately ovulates.
This is why you'll frequently hear fertility specialists and researchers discuss the months leading up to conception.
It doesn't mean that taking a supplement for exactly 90 days will suddenly produce a “better” egg.
But it does mean that preconception health starts before the month you conceive.
This is also why the NHS recommends beginning folic acid before pregnancy — ideally around three months before you start trying.
2. Consider CoQ10
Of all the supplements marketed for “egg quality”, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is one of the most interesting.
CoQ10 is naturally present within the body and is involved in mitochondrial energy production.
That's particularly relevant to eggs because oocytes have exceptionally high energy requirements during their development and maturation.
Does CoQ10 improve egg quality?
CoQ10 has been investigated in women undergoing fertility treatment, including women with diminished ovarian reserve.
Research and meta-analyses have reported improvements in some ovarian response and embryological outcomes in certain groups receiving CoQ10 before IVF or ICSI.
That makes CoQ10 promising — but it does not mean that taking CoQ10 guarantees pregnancy.
How much CoQ10 should you take for fertility?
This is where it's worth reading the back of your supplement bottle.
The doses investigated in fertility research can be considerably higher than the token quantities included in many multivitamins.
Rather than simply checking whether your fertility supplement contains CoQ10, check how much it actually contains per daily serving.
CORE3 contains 450 mg CoQ10 in one daily capsule, alongside Vitamin D3 and Methylfolate.
3. Stop smoking
If you're looking for genuinely meaningful ways to support reproductive health, smoking deserves far more attention than most “fertility hacks”.
Smoking is associated with adverse reproductive outcomes and can negatively affect ovarian function.
And this includes more than cigarettes.
If you're preparing for pregnancy, quitting smoking is likely to be considerably more worthwhile than obsessing over individual “fertility foods”.
If you need help stopping, speak to your GP or NHS stop-smoking service.
4. Make sure you're getting enough folate
Folate is essential during the earliest stages of pregnancy — often before you even know you're pregnant.
That's why supplementation begins before conception.
The NHS recommends taking 400 micrograms of folic acid every day while trying to conceive, ideally starting around three months before pregnancy, and continuing through the first 12 weeks.
Some women are advised to take a higher prescribed dose because of their individual circumstances.
Folate is involved in normal cell division and contributes to maternal tissue growth during pregnancy.
CORE3 contains 1,000 mcg of Calcium L-Methylfolate, a bioactive form of folate.
However, if your doctor has specifically prescribed folic acid, continue to follow their advice.
5. Check your vitamin D
Living in the UK makes this one particularly relevant.
Our bodies produce vitamin D in response to sunlight, which means vitamin D levels can become inadequate — particularly during autumn and winter.
Vitamin D has several established roles in the body, including contributing to normal immune function.
There is also ongoing research into vitamin D and reproductive health.
That doesn't mean taking enormous quantities of vitamin D will make you more fertile.
It means adequate vitamin D matters for general health, and deficiency is something worth addressing when preparing for pregnancy.
If you're concerned that you're deficient, particularly if you have risk factors for vitamin D deficiency, speak to your GP about whether testing is appropriate.
CORE3 provides 4,000 IU (100 mcg) Vitamin D3 per daily capsule.
6. Don't underestimate the basics
The fertility industry has a habit of making conception feel like an optimisation project.
Brazil nuts.
Pomegranate juice.
Pineapple core.
Expensive powders.
Ten different antioxidants.
Meanwhile, the boring things often matter more.
Aim for a balanced diet containing plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, healthy fats and adequate protein.
Exercise regularly.
Maintain a healthy weight where possible.
Avoid smoking.
Keep alcohol intake within recommended limits — and remember that the safest approach during pregnancy is not to drink alcohol at all.
And get enough sleep.
None of these things are glamorous.
But reproductive health doesn't exist separately from the rest of your health.
7. Don't take every fertility supplement you see
This might sound strange coming from someone who created a fertility supplement.
But more isn't automatically better.
It's easy to end up taking a prenatal multivitamin, separate CoQ10, vitamin D, folate, NAC, omega-3, inositol and another “egg-quality complex” simultaneously.
Suddenly you're taking 10 capsules a day and potentially duplicating several nutrients.
Look at the dose, not the number of ingredients advertised on the front.
And ask yourself why you're taking each one.
This philosophy is exactly why I created CORE3.
After going through six pregnancy losses myself, I became frustrated with fertility supplements containing huge ingredient lists but relatively small quantities of the nutrients I was actually looking for.
So I created something deliberately different.
The Highest-Dose One-A-Day Fertility Supplement
CORE3 isn't another 20-ingredient fertility multivitamin.
It combines three carefully selected nutrients:
450 mg CoQ10
4,000 IU Vitamin D3
1,000 mcg Methylfolate
All in one capsule, once a day.
If you're thinking about the months leading up to conception, CORE3 is also available as a 3-month supply.
[Shop the 3-Month CORE3 Supply →]
Can you improve egg quality naturally?
This is probably the question you actually came here to answer.
There is currently no proven method of guaranteeing that an individual egg will be chromosomally normal or result in a healthy pregnancy.
Age remains one of the strongest determinants of egg quality.
So be wary of anyone promising that a supplement, diet or programme can “fix” your eggs.
What you can do is optimise your general and preconception health, avoid known harmful exposures such as smoking, ensure important nutritional requirements are being met and discuss your individual situation with your doctor if you have concerns about fertility.
How long does it take to improve egg quality?
There isn't a scientifically established point at which your egg quality suddenly improves.
The commonly quoted three-month window comes from the extended process of follicular development before ovulation — not because an egg takes exactly three months to develop from start to finish.
This distinction matters.
Think of the months before conception as an opportunity to optimise your preconception environment, rather than a countdown after which your eggs suddenly become “better”.
The bottom line
If you're wondering how to improve egg quality, don't get lost trying to perfect every tiny detail.
Focus on the things that actually matter.
Prepare before pregnancy rather than after the positive test.
Don't smoke.
Eat well.
Exercise.
Make sure your nutritional requirements are being met.
Take folic acid according to NHS recommendations.
And if you're interested in fertility supplements, pay attention to the actual ingredients and doses rather than how many claims are written on the bottle.
For women looking for a focused preconception supplement, CORE3 provides 450 mg CoQ10, 4,000 IU Vitamin D3 and 1,000 mcg Methylfolate in just one capsule a day.