Fertility Diet

Sometimes, miracles do happen.  So, I haven't been posting lately.  I've just had other things on my mind because I am pregnant!  I really did not think this was ever going to happen.  My husband and I tried for 6 years, the last 3 with fertility treatments, and we had started the adoption process.  (We are still going to adopt a baby from India.)  We were on the very last IUI (Intra-Uterine Insemination) procedure before trying IVF.  ...and it worked! 

This was the 9th time I'd had an IUI.  What did I do differently?  Well, at the time I conceived, I was following this Fertility Diet.  I don't know if it was a coincidence or not, but it you're having issues in the area it's worth a shot, right? 

This book is based on a extensive Nurses' Study and has lots of good tips.  Here are some the things I did:

1.  Avoid all preservatives, MSG, trans-fats, and high-fructose corn syrup.

2. Take an iron supplement.

3.  Take fish oil supplements.  (Make sure they are mercury-free.)

4.  Stay away from peas.  They contain a substance that affects fertility.  (Who knew?!)  Apparently, they are studying it to possibly create a natural birth control pill!  Anyway, I hate peas so I was only too happy to  give them up.  (Ironic that the cover of the book has a picture of peas on it, isn't it?)

5.  You'll love this one:  Eat full-fat ice-cream!  Make sure there is no skim milk in it.  (Surprisingly hard to find.)   Full-fat dairy helps ovulation.  Skim or low fat dairy has had the hormones altered (it explains it in the book) and it is detrimental to ovulation.  Crazy!  At the time I conceived, I was eating 1/2 cup of Tahitian Vanilla Bean Gelato with strawberries and blueberries on top.

6.  Eat berries!  Also, dark chocolate, and green tea.  

7.  Limit caffiene.  (Other than green tea.) 

8.  Do Yoga!  I did only 5 minutes of sun salutations every morning.

I wish luck and good ju-ju to everyone who tries this.  Good luck!  :-)

Losing weight the baby-friendly way

Okay, so I weighed myself this weekend and I'm back up to 181.5.  Boooo!   At least I'm not back up to my weight of 195, but I don't like the direction I'm going.  (I had gotten down to 165.)  I had been doing so well, but for the past 2 months I've been doing fertility treatments after a year's hiatus from the last time.  Those hormones really mess you up!  I'm positive they had something to do with the weight gain.  :-/

Anyway, the new diet starts tomorrow.  I was going to do the whole low carb thing that worked so well before, but eating a lot of meat is not good for fertility.  SO, here's what I'm going to do:

Eating - 
1.  Eat lots of salads with a lot of mixed veggies.  (Like grape tomatoes, arugula, spinach, radishes, broccoli slaw, etc.)  and dress it with lemon juice and Canola oil.  (Canola oil has omega 3's in it, which olive oil doesn't.)

2.  Put a half cup of beans on the salad for protein.  Beans are supposed to increase fertility and it helps to limit meat.

3.  Only one serving of fruit per day.  (To reduce sugar.)  I will start the morning with my rice-protein powder shake and include blueberries in it.

4.  NO sugar, honey, artificial sweetners, etc.  (Sweets are my big weakness.  It's so much easier to keep the calories down if I just give them up altogether.)

5.  Eat one serving of full-fat dairy per day.  (Amazingly enough, this has been proven to increase fertility.)  I will make my yogurt with whole milk this week.  This way, I won't go for the ice-cream with all the sugar in it.

Work-out - 
1.  Two afternoons per week:  Curves gym (interval training) - 30 minutes

2.  One night per week:  Zumba! - 1 hour - (Gonna check it out for the first time tomorrow.)

3.  One night per week:  Indian Dance - 1.5 hours - (my latest passion!)

I have been bad about working out lately.  It's so hard to feel like working out when the fertility hormones make you feel horrible and bloaty.  My boobs are insanely sore and I feel like a stuffed sausage.  I've decided I don't have PMS, I have PMMS (Permanent Mexican Meal Syndrome).  You feel as if you have eaten a big disgusting Mexican meal.....all the time!  Even when you first wake up and haven't eaten anything.  I'm sick of it!  I'm going to take a break from it for the next few months and try to get my weight and health under control before I undertake IVF.  

The 6 Fertility Robbers. Beware!

In the book, "Getting Pregnant:  The New Fertility Diet Guide" by Niels H. Lauerson, M.D., Ph.D & Colette Bouchez, they list some foods to avoid if you're trying to get pregnant.  I'm going to list them for you here. 

The Six Fertility Robbers:

1.  Alcohol - (Although I thought alcohol HELPED a lot of women get pregnant.  Not so!)  In a British study, even one glass of beer or wine per day decreased the chances for conception by 50%.

2.  Caffeine - In a Yale study, those who drank more than 3 cups of coffee a day had a 176% rise in infertility in just one year.  Even as little as 1 cup of coffee per day had a 55% higher infertility rate.  (Exception:  green tea.  The caffeine content is lower than coffee and it has other compounds which aid in fertility.)

3.  Peas! - Who knew there is a natural chemical found in peas called m-xylohydroquinone that reduces sperm production by 50% and pregnancy rates by 60%.  They are actually testing this as a potential natural contraceptive!  I hate peas anyway so this is a good reason for me to avoid them.  Hooray!

4.  Diet Soda and Artificial Sweeteners - Is this a surprise?  They're just bad for you.

5.  Sugar & High Fructose Corn Syrup - also not surprising!

6.  Food Preservatives - The two mentioned were MSG and BHA.  MSG also goes by other names like hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), autolyzed plant protein (APP), autolyzed yeast, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate.  BHA is found in a lot of baked goods and snack foods.  Read labels and avoid these!

Six Foods that Boost Fertility

I'm currently reading two books about how you can improve your chances of conceiving by changing your diet.  One of these books is called "Getting Pregnant:  The New Fertility Diet Guide" by Niels H. Lauerson, M.D., Ph.D & Colette Bouchez.  (Click here for their website.)  In this book they list foods that can help increase your fertility.  I'm listing them here for you.


The Six Super Fertility Food Boosters:

1.  Wild Organic Blueberries - half a cup per day can help fertility, plus lower cholesteral, fight high blood pressure, and help protect you from cancer.  Remember, what's good for your body is also good for fertility!

2.  Cruciferous Vegetables - broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, bok choy, etc.  Also good for men's fertility!

3.  Onions and Garlic - also leeks, scallions, chives, etc.  Can help to repair damaged DNA and lowers inflammation.  Can help particularly those women diagnosed with endometriosis or PCOS.

4.  Green Tea - This is another paradox because caffeine is said to decrease fertility.  However, the compound known as EGCG which is found in green tea helps increase the number of eggs available for fertilization.  Effective when combined with IVF.  The book says not to drink more than 7 cups per week though.  (Probably b/c of the caffeine thing.)

5. Nuts!  Almonds, cashews, walnuts, and more - The good fats and antioxidants contained in nuts are why these are good for fertility.   Exception:  Peanuts!  They are BAD for fertility because of the plant estrogens which can affect hormone levels in women and slow down sperm production and motility in men.

6.  Sunflower seeds, Pumpkin seeds, and Wheat Germ - I'm gluten-intolerant so I'm going to avoid the wheat germ but I eat pumpkin and sunflower seeds regularly.  Apparently, it's the good fats, vitamin E, zinc, and B6 which make these fertility super foods.

Do any of you know about the fertility diet?  I'm just getting started reading about it.  Eat up and good luck to all!

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! 

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!