The road to wellness isn't straight, clear, or predictable. It's a path you forge yourself.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

The Fertility Sundae

I am currently reading two books on "The Fertility Diet".  Apparently, there are foods that can help (or prevent) you from becoming pregnant.  Who knows if it actually will make any difference, but I'm willing to try.  (At this point, if someone told me that my fertility would improve if I stood outside and recited the alphabet backwards whilst standing  on one leg by the light of the full moon, I'd totally do it!)  At least it makes me feel like I have control over SOMETHING to do with the whole process.

Most of the information I've come across so far isn't surprising.  Eat more veggies and fruit, stay away from refined carbs and sugars, eat good fats, etc.  BUT - I did come across something that was pleasantly surprising.   The ice-cream paradox! 
Even though saturated fat in general can negatively affect fertility, eating full fat ice-cream increases fertility in women!  It has to be full fat though.  Low fat ice-cream was shown to  be detrimental to fertility.  Both books I have say the same thing so it must be true, right?  Apparently, there was a Nurses Health Study at the Harvard School of Public Health that confirms this.  The following was discovered:
  • The more low-fat dairy products in a woman's diet, the more likely she was to have had trouble getting pregnant.
  • The more full-fat dairy products in a woman's diet, the less likely she was to have had problems getting pregnant.
Crazy, right? Currently, I'm not eating any dairy at all because I feel better when I avoid it.  However, if the potential life of my future baby depends on it.....well, I guess I'll have to make the sacrifice and eat some ice-cream!  I mean, who am I to argue with Science, right?

My book says that only about a half pint of ice-cream per week is advisable.  You don't want to just eat as much ice-cream as you want because that will cause to gain weight and excess weight is BAD for fertility.  SO - once a week, only on the weekends, I'm adding this "Fertility Sundae" to my diet:

1/2 pint of ice-cream (I used vanilla this week)
2 T Chocolate sauce (the polyphenols in chocolate boost fertility)
walnuts (the omega 3 content and fiber make them good for fertility as well)

Yay!  This the best news I've heard all week.  Yum!

3 comments:

  1. Have you heard anything about Indian diets (the Indians in India) that help with fertility? I know they must have something out there they do because a neighbor of my grandmothers said they have certain diets they eat to help their bodies conducive to having a boy or a girl baby. I know PH has a lot to do with it. But I would think they have some sort of diet they recommend to help with fertility. I have no idea who would be the person to talk to about this or where to look this up, but thought you might find it interesting enough to investigate. I am sure there is a lot that would correspond with what you are already doing.

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  2. Hmmm. I have heard that curry and turmeric (used in a lot of Indian food) are anti-inflammatory and that anti-inflammatory foods are good for fertility. But other than that, no. I'll look into it. It can't hurt, right? Thanks!

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