Should you become Vego to enhance your fertility? Maybe

Ovulatory infertility accounts for about 25% of all infertility cases. This is when ovulation fails to occur or occurs irregularly and is most common in women experiencing Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome aka PCOS.  A 2008 study* that followed 18555 women over 8 years found that the more meat in the diet, the greater the incidence of ovulatory infertility. And further, women who ate mainly vegetarian sources of protein where half as likely to have fertility issues as their meat eating counterparts. The authors concluded that focusing on mainly vegetarian sources of protein may enhance fertility. 

 I don’t think we should use this as a basis to completely toss all animal meats during preconception for most people. Organic, grass fed meat is an excellent source of essential minerals and fats that you need when making a baby, and traditional chinese medicine recommends building the blood with animal meats when wanting to conceive - albeit meat was much rarer for most of the world’s population in the past due to expense and availability, and so wasn’t consumed every day and at most meals, like it commonly is nowadays. Everybody would do well to have a couple of vegetarian days per week. 

 Conversely if you would like to continue your preconception and pregnancy journey as a vegetarian, all the power to you, you can absolutely do this with excellent nutrition and health. 

 There’s a few issues that may have impacted the results of this study. People with vegetarian diets tend to eat a wider variety of plant foods overall and therefore tend to enjoy better health. Those that eat a lot of meat are not only consuming less vegetables, but are perhaps more likely to be consuming fast and convenience foods such as from the local takeout, rich in unhealthy fats that contribute to inflammation and your glycemic index. The diet data was collected via survey four years prior to the study’s conclusion, so there’s plenty of time for individual diet choices to change and more rigorous and thorough study is required to clarify the results. 

 However, the association with meat eating and ovulatory infertility was significant so it’s worth considering. It was found that high intakes of chicken and turkey had the biggest association with ovulatory infertility, and red meat to a lesser extent. Eggs and fish didn’t have a negative effect. Consuming foods rich in vegetable protein had a slightly positive effect however. Vegetarians who ate more carbohydrates and less vegetarian protein also had higher incidence of ovulatory infertility. The consumption of good quality vegetarian protein seemed to be the ticket. And importantly, the positive effects of eating vegetable protein and negative effects of eating animal protein was more prominent in women over the age of 32. For younger women the types of protein didn’t seem to have an effect. 

 As always, moderation is key. This study is saying that with women who exhibit problems with ovulation - which was only 20% of the entire 18555 person study, meat eating tends to make it worse. It’s not saying that meat makes everyone infertile. If you are planning on a pregnancy and are otherwise in excellent health, 1 – 4 serves of red or white meat a week is completely fine and nothing to stress about. 

 If you would like support on your preconception journey you can book in for a discovery call here. If you have been diagnosed as PCOS or see to have irregular periods, there is so much naturopathy can do to relieve your symptoms so please seek assistance.

*Chavarro, J. E. et al. (2008) ‘Protein intake and ovulatory infertility’, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 198(2). doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2007.06.057.

Safe herbal immune support for Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

With a global pandemic and winter upon us (here in Perth), this is an anxious time for everyone but especially for those of us due to give birth in the coming months.  I love herbal medicine for protection from illness and immune support however not all herbs are proven safe in pregnancy - so what to do to nurture your health and immune defences while pregnant?

Pregnancy takes more nutrients out of you than any other time in your life - except breastfeeding, which takes more. In classical chinese medicine it is said that pregnancy depletes jing- life force - due to this very nutritionally taxing time. 

If you’re low on certain nutrients your natural immune defences may be reduced leaving you more susceptible to succumbing to illness or suffering a longer duration of infection. 

Eating lots of wholesome, clean and fresh foods is the best response. Think the rainbow of vegetables and fruits, whole milk, whole grains, avoid flour based foods, deep fried foods, overly refined foods (chips, milk chocolate, lollies) Get as much nutrition as possible into your day, and leave out foods that are inflammatory and drain your energy to digest them. this means no overeating, not too much sugar, you know right from wrong. 

Our culinary herbs containing rosmarinic acid are have wonderful immune boosting properties, these include rosemary, thyme, lemon balm, sage and oregano. These are all delicious in soups and stews so add plenty to your meals. Lemon balm is lovely as a tea, is easy to grow, and also calms your nerves and helps you off to sleep. Enhance your connection to the herbs by thanking the plants for helping protect you against illness as you sprinkle them into your dinner.  

IF you are nutrient deplete, supplements are a good way to build up your reserves again. Iron is commonly depleted during pregnancy so get your levels checked and ensure you’ve got good reserves. Zinc, B vitamins and other micro-minerals are important and a good pregnancy multi-vitamin will ensure you get adequate levels of these in combination with a nutritious diet. 

Plant Medicines can help you

Not all herbs are deemed safe in pregnancy however there are plenty of herbs that can be used to help you get over an infection, prevent a virus from doing serious damage, or to boost immunity beforehand.  Echinacea builds up the immune system and staves off colds and flus,  and has been proved quite safe for pregnancy and breastfeeding. Elder flower is  beautiful and nurturing, as well as delicious. Astragalus and Baical skullcap are especially supportive against Coronaviruses and are both quite safe in pregnancy. I recommend chatting with a qualified herbalist for specific doses. 

And Sleep. 

Personally for me, pregnancy was the only time in my life when I would crash as soon as my head hit the pillow and slumber all night long - until the very last weeks when my belly got in the way. Melatonin is produced at night time and especially while we sleep. Melatonin is also one of the best defences we have against the Coronavirus sweeping the globe right now. This powerful antioxidant repairs and prevents damage caused by the virus and researchers are investigating the possibility of using supplemental melatonin in treating Covid-19 patients in hospital. You can boost your natural reserves by getting up just after sunrise, spending a good amount of time outside during the day (and boosting your vitamin D levels - another important immune defence nutrient) and making sure you turn off screens an hour before bed and have some wind down time. 

Also every hour of sleep you get before midnight is worth twice as much as the sleep you get after midnight. I find for me, lights out at 10pm is optimal, and I’m a night owl, so lights out earlier as you wish. 

Pregnant: The difference between sexy & beautiful

I’ve never been so in awe of my body and also so shocked by it. I’ve never felt so much like an animal. Especially anticipating in another 19 weeks or so I will birth this bubba and feed her from my now more-then-ample breasts.  

I giggle with glee at seeing my bump enlarge week after week, a smile that becomes a little stretched out of shape as I catch site of my thighs that now rub together and the butt that won’t quit (getting bigger).

There’s a few things going on here, cravings for carbs and cheese aside. My capacity for exercise has reduced, a desire for rich, fatty and nutritious foods has increased.

My hormones are padding my body out, gearing it up for the many breast milk feeds that are destined for the future.

Breastfeeding can take 2000kj a day, with that in the pipeline I’m not surprised my body is becoming super efficient at storing fat. I’m just like that. Any periods of excessive exercise are usually coupled with weight gain for me rather then loss.

A few weeks ago I read a blog written by an anonymous father-to-be, who expressed, quite bluntly, that his ‘previously 10/10 wife’ who was now 6 months pregnant was not sexy at all. She was a zero, a turn-off. He couldn’t bring himself to make love to her, even though she was super horny (a pregnancy thing) and wanted him.

He then went on to talk about how her growing belly reminded him of his own personal anxieties about becoming a father. His disgust for his wife’s body was way more about him then it was about her.

Whatever ‘Man,’ I read this just two days after my husband left for a two week trip. Had he been coming home that evening, I would devised ways and means to coax whatever reassurance I could out of him. But he wasn’t here, nor was I going to see him for two weeks.

“Thanks Mamamia for posting this” I commented, “Participate in the denigration of the self esteem of your target audience why don’t you. “

The next day the words of the article still haunted me. I didn’t want to become repulsive for making this gorgeous, perfect, gift-from-God soul baby, who is an absolute treasure to the both of us. Who I already love so much it scares me.

I don’t want to lose my attractiveness. I’m a young woman. Who wants to be un-sexy?

I checked out my reflection often in the days that followed. I began to realise, Pregnant bodies aren’t, technically, sexy. It’s true, there’s no biological requirement for a pregnant women to be sexy, she can’t get any more pregnant then she already is.

What’s the point?

And further more, I don’t want to appear sexy to any man right now, (apart from my soul mate husband). I have no interest in having another man anywhere near me, I’m sure this is another biological mechanism for protecting my baby.

I became at peace with my inner struggle. I decided it’s okay to not be sexy. I’m okay with that. I’m growing a baby, and that’s where my energy needs to be. I can be sexy again after the baby’s born with breastfeeding, gentle exercise and a healthy diet. And time.

Then my husband came home from his trip.

I didn’t ask him directly, but I can tell from our conversations and the way he feasts his eyes on this protruding womb of mine….

He is just as excited at my growing belly and milkmaid breasts as I am. More than excited, he is absolutely enamored with his unborn child.

This morning I got dressed to take the dog for a walk down by the beach. I put on a singlet top that no longer quite covers my abdomen, with bump just slightly sticking out from under the fabric.

Is this a bad look? I asked him. He said, ‘I don’t think pregnancy is a bad look. It’s let it all hang out, It’s ‘I’m pregnant and I’ve got a flower in my hair, and I’m growing another little flower in my body’ “

His very sincere way of saying pregnancy is beautiful. It made me smile.

He’s so in love with his baby girl, he’s totally embracing all the change that comes with it, all the changes that happen to me. And I am too, and this is how it should be.