Category Archives: Fertility

Drinking Tea May Increase Fertility

A fact that was discovered 15 years ago by researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program of Northern California in Oakland hasn’t received enough attention.

Women who drink more than one-half cup of caffeinated tea every day may actually increase their odds of conceiving, according to findings published in the American Journal of Public Health.

“The study of 210 women who were trying to conceive found that those who drank as little as half a cup of caffeinated tea each day were twice as likely to become pregnant as women who did not drink tea.

Polyphenolic compounds in tea may promote fertility by inhibiting chromosomal abnormalities, thereby decreasing the number of nonviable embryos, suggested the researchers, led by Bette Caan, Dr.P.H.

And hypoxanthine, another chemical in tea, might be the primary component of follicular fluid contributing to maturation and fertilizability of oocytes.”

In other words, antioxidants in tea may destroy damaged eggs, so only healthy ones are released upon ovulation. AND, another component of tea helps the egg to mature and increases the odds of fertilization.

These facts are fascinating and great news for tea drinkers!

 

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Interview with Dr. AnneMarie Colbin

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing one of the most respected voices in the field natural health, Dr. AnneMarie Colbin.  Dr. Colbin is the Founder and CEO of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in New York City, the oldest natural foods cooking school in the US. She has also authored many best selling and invaluable books including Food and Healing and The Whole-Food Guide to Strong Bones: A Holistic Approach.   Dr. Colbin gave insightful answers to some of the questions I am most frequently asked.

Integrative Mom: What do you think is the biggest factor in the rise in infertility in recent years? What advice can you offer women trying who are trying to conceive?
Continue reading Interview with Dr. AnneMarie Colbin

Sugar In a Bottle

My toddler has been offered Sprite by well-meaning (albeit naive) servers at restaurants and though we always politely decline, I know there are many who innocently give these drinks to their children.  This drink (and all other soda) has no place in the diet of a healthy child.  One 12 ounce can of soda contains 39 grams of “sugar” in the form of high fructose corn syrup. (HFCS has recently been proven to be much worse for our bodies than regular table sugar! Read about it here.)

Maybe you’ve heard those numbers before- but have you seen what 39 grams of sugar looks like?


Would you give that to your child and say, “drink up!” ? I didn’t think so…

Don’t forget about yourself in this equation- that same amount of  sugar is in the soda you might drink too- but who only drinks a 12 oz can of soda in the land of 20oz bottles, big gulps and free refills?

Mmm- wouldn’t you just love this over ice on a hot day?

Need suggestions for what to drink?  CLICK HERE!

Wine All You Want

wine

Ok, not really- we must be sensible about such things.  But a recent New York Times article showed that women who drink gain less weight.  I have my own theory as to why this is true.  Women who drink wine are satisfying their craving for sweet flavor with the sugar in alcohol, whether they know it or not.  We all desire sweet food, which is good because in nature the healthiest foods with the most nutrients are naturally sweet.  So while a glass of wine can be one way to meet this craving, there are many other ways.  Eat sweet vegetables like yams, onions, carrots, squash and turnips, all kinds of fruit and whole grains.  You can also use honey, maple syrup and agave nectar to sweeten things up.

Also, if you’re trying to conceive, it would be wise to completely avoid alcohol.  I once appeared in an article for Men’s Health Magazine holding a glass of wine, and the title was, “Let Her Wine All She Wants.”  The article cited studies proving that even one glass of wine a week decreases fertility.  Their point was- “Dude, if you don’t want her to get pregnant, she should drink!”  I wish I still had that magazine article- it would be so fun to scan in to show you…

Can Foods Contribute to Infertility?

Are you having a hard time getting pregnant, and have no idea why?  I addressed one possible cause in my post Is Your Wheat Toast To Blame for Infertility? and it’s worth bringing up again.  The New York Times recently put a spotlight on this hidden factor in many couples difficulty trying to conceive.  My advice if you are experiencing unexplained infertility is to remove gluten from both you and your partner’s diets because untreated celiac disease is a contributing factor.  It might sound extreme, but if you’ve tried everything else, why not give it a shot?  It’s getting easier and easier to do, with most natural food stores dedicating entire aisles to gluten free foods.  It will probably open up your world to different grains and more fruits and veggies.

If you wonder what you can possibly eat if you’re avoiding gluten, check out this random list of gluten free foods:

  1. corn tortillas
  2. apples
  3. chicken
  4. rice
  5. coffee
  6. chocolate
  7. peanut butter
  8. milk
  9. cheese
  10. steak
  11. potatoes
  12. green beans
  13. salad
  14. eggs
  15. sunflower seeds
  16. mochi
  17. salsa
  18. corn chips
  19. nuts
  20. apple sauce
  21. yogurt
  22. beef
  23. cucumbers
  24. fish
  25. ice cream
  26. pears
  27. bananas
  28. hummus
  29. black beans
  30. pinto beans
  31. refried beans
  32. carrots
  33. corn
  34. lettuce
  35. cabbage
  36. wheat free tamari soy sauce
  37. tapioca
  38. bacon
  39. turkey
  40. rice noodles
  41. mushrooms
  42. sprouts
  43. zucchini
  44. peaches
  45. melons
  46. grits
  47. onions
  48. eggplant
  49. flour alternatives – sorghum, rice, tapioca, corn starch, buckwheat (technically a cousin to the rhubarb family), potato starch.
  50. raisins
  51. popcorn
  52. berries
  53. rice crackers
  54. peaches
  55. tomatoes
  56. fruit smoothies
  57. ketchup
  58. butter
  59. peas
  60. chick peas
  61. yams
  62. dried fruit
  63. pistachios

And the list goes on…