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Post by ouchy on Feb 28, 2007 7:20:09 GMT -5
The following quotes I will write come from The Infertility Diet: Get Pregnant and Prevent Miscarriageby Fern Reiss. (I'm going to lock the thread while I keep adding quotes. Once I'm finished, I'll unlock it for discussion.)
"Plan to go on the diet together. Sperm count, sperm motility, and sperm morphology can all be affected by diet, as can female fertility conditions. Also, the added support of working together towards fertility will be motivating and encourage you to maintain the diet. And at least ten to fifteen percent of infertility is attributed to unknown causes. Since you can never be one hundred percent sure what is causing your particular fertility problem, do the diet together."
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Post by ouchy on Feb 28, 2007 9:08:11 GMT -5
"Plan to stay on the diet for several months. Although sperm are produced daily, each sperm takes up to two and a half months to grow. And dietary changes, for both men and women, take time to yield benefits. In the same way that nutritional deficiencies over long periods of time may result in disease, nutritional corrections can only convey their benefits over time."
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Post by ouchy on Feb 28, 2007 9:11:39 GMT -5
"Although many of the nutrients discussed can be found in vitamin form, we recommend choosing the food equivalent rather than opting for the vitamin. One reason for this is that vitamin strategies alone can backfire: Too much of one vitamin (B6 for example) can create an inmbalance of B vitamins, whereas elevating your B6 levels withwhole foods does not present this problem.
Secondly, unpurified sources of nutrients can be harmful. Calcium from bone meal or dolomite, for example, has been found to be contaminated with lead, mercury, and arsenic; some herbal health pills have been discovered to contain lead.
Finally, too large a quantity of certain vitamins can be harmful, whereas an overabundance of a whole food is generally safe. Vitamins A and D, for example, are toxic if taken in doses only somewhat larger than the recommended daily allowance. To name another example, lecithin, a substance frequently found in vitamin supplements, in even slightly higher than normal doses, can cause brain abnormalities in rats. For all of these reasons, we recommend eating foods to get your nutrients, rather than popping pills."
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Post by ouchy on Feb 28, 2007 9:14:10 GMT -5
"To cook your organic whole food, we recommend sticking exclusively to extra-virgin olive oil and sesame oil. Several years ago, a small town in rural China experienced a sudden, alarming drop in pregnancies, followed by an equally precipitous and inexplicable rise in pregnancy rate. The phenomenon was investagated, and it was learned that the only dietary change had been as a result of a shortage of the area's usual soybean oil; in its absence, cold-pressed cottonseed oil was substituted. As soon as the cold-pressed cottonseed oil was eliminated from their diet, fertility rose."
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Post by ouchy on Feb 28, 2007 9:17:25 GMT -5
"Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol in moderation is now acknowledged for its possible health benefits at other times of life, it should be avoided completely during and while attempting pregnancy.
Even moderate drinking (one or two drinks a week) can elevate prolactin levels, inhibiting obulation and leading to infertility.
In addition, there was a 50% reduction in conception found in test animals given intoxicating doses of alcohol 24 hours prior to mating, according to a recent Science News article. Another recent study on alcohol showed that even one drink or fewer each week can reduce a couple's odds of conceiving that month by 40%. A 1998 study cited in Fertility and Sterility showed that women who consumed any alcohol had less than half the chance of becoming pregnant during a given cycle than abstainers. Their chances were even slimmer if they also drank more than 100mg of caffeine a day--the equivalent of about a cup of coffee."
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Post by ouchy on Feb 28, 2007 9:21:53 GMT -5
"Avoid over-the-counter prescription drugs as much as possible. Almost no studies have been done on the effects of these legal drugs on fertility.
In particular, headache and pain medication should be avoided, as it is thought that they might influence the quality of eggs produced. Headache and pain medication can also elevate prolactin levels, inhibiting ovulation. Aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as Advil and Aleve should not be used since these may impede ovulation. Aspirin has also been linked to male infertility. Antihistimines and decongestants can dry up cervical fluid. Oral antibiotics can destroy the B vitamins and vitamin K, a deficiency of which can cause hemorrhaging in the placenta. Antidepressants can elevate prolactin levels, hindering ovulation.
Other drugs linked to male infertility include anabolic steroids, ulcer medication, UTI medication, anti-hypertensive drugs (specifically calcium channel blockers), epilepsy drugs, and certain antidepressants. And one side effect of certain high blood pressure medications is a tendency to ejaculate backward in to the bladder (rather than forward out of the penis), effectively preventing fertilization. If you are currently taking any prescription drugs, be sure to discuss the issue with your doctor before discontinuing their use."
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Post by ouchy on Feb 28, 2007 9:30:10 GMT -5
"Eliminate caffeine, including coffee, chocolate, adn soda. Anacin, Midol, and some cold remedies also contain caffeine. Caffeine directly affects the nervous system, causing irritability, anxiety, and sleep disruption. In addition to its miscarriage risks, high levels of caffeine have been implicated in dleayed conception among otherwise fertile women. A 1997 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology observed that women with the highest levels of caffeine consumption had an increase in time leading to the first pregnancy of 11%. (The effect was relatively stronger in women who also smoke.) A 1998 study in Fertility and Sterility showed that women who consumed even small amounts of alcohol lowered their chances of pregnancy; their chances were even slimmer if they also drank more than a cup of coffee a day. In short, according to a recent study by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the more caffeine a woman consumes, the less likely she is to conceive. Women who darnk one cup of coffee a day were half as likely to conceive as women who conseumed no caffeine. (The good news is that the effects are short-term, so your past history of caffeine indulgence will not affect your future fertility.)
Although excess caffeine seems to impede fertility, tea, interestingly enough, seems to promote fertility. A recent study at Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program of Northeastern California found that women who drank at least 1/2 cup of tea each day were actually twice as linkely to conceive as coffee and soda drinkers. Further studies must be done to confirm these findings, but researchers speculate that tea may contain chemicals that nurture the fertilized egg through the first weeks of life. However, though it seems that tea may promote fertility, like all caffeinated beverages, it is implicated in miscarriage. (Herbal teas eliminate the caffeine problem but contain herbs that are harmful to fertility."
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Post by ouchy on Mar 11, 2007 13:41:35 GMT -5
"Some plastic wraps contain endocrine dsirupters, which interfere with the body's hromones, leading to reproductive effects including low sperm count. The dangerous plastic wraps are those that are composed of PVC and contain the plasticizer DEHA, the component that adds clinginess to the wrap.
Studies suggest tha the DEHA plasticizer leaches onto food on contact. in 1999, Consumers Union tested generic PVC cling wraps used to package supermarket deli cheese, finding that high levels of DEHA had migrated onto the cheese.
Polyethylene-based Handi-Wrap and Glad Wrap are apparently considered the best choices fro cling wrap, as neither contain PVC.
Never use any plastic wrap in a microwave; studies have conclusively proven the leaching of plastic into food in microwave use.
Although studies have not yet been conducted on PVC products other than cling wrap, couples worried about effects of PVC on fertility might choose to avoid all PVC plastics that come in to contact with foods, including PVC containers.
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Post by ouchy on Mar 11, 2007 13:44:31 GMT -5
"According to a 1996 study, commercial vaginal lubricants inhibited sperm motility by 60-100% after sixty minutes of incubation; sperm viability was also detrimentally affected. Petroleum jelly, plain gylcerin, even saliva can act as a spermicide and kill sperm. Thus, the use of vaginal lubricants during intercourse is definitely not recommended. In cases where a lubricant is required, the study suggests canola oil, which ahd no detrimental effects on motility or viability of sperm. We would recommend, instead, the use of egg whites (unless you have an allergy to eggs), since studies have shown that egg whites actually encourage sperm movement and are compatible with sperm viability."
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Post by ouchy on Mar 11, 2007 13:48:42 GMT -5
"If you are have had problems with miscarriage, completely eliminate ginger (also an ingredient in ginger beer, and some, though not all, ginger ale) from your diet. Ginger is referred to again and again in the herbal literature; it can be used to induce abortion. Evidence exists that women can bring on their menstrual cycle early, by as much as two or three days, simply by consuming ginger in quantity. But even small quantities of ginger can apparently be harmful. T aken by women who are trying to conceive, it may be an inadvertant cause of early miscarriage. Ironically, ginger is often prescribed for pregnant women who are experiencing morning sickness and while many women suffer no adverse effects from it, some significant number of women do. Avoid completely."
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Post by ouchy on Mar 11, 2007 13:50:21 GMT -5
"Herbs such as burdock, catnip, celery seed, chamomile, cohosh, fennel, hyssop, juniper, mint, motherwort, mugwart, parsley, pennyroal, saffron, sage, slippery elm, tansy, and thyme should be avoided, as all either promote menstruation or stimulate uterine contractions. Raspberry leaf tea, although touted by many as an anti-nausea drink for first trimester morning sickness, is also lauded as a way to induce uterine contractions and labor; therefore, it should be avoided."
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Post by ouchy on Mar 11, 2007 13:53:22 GMT -5
"Be sure your weight is within the normal range for your height. Obesity correlates directly to miscarriage. Obese, infertile women, regardless of their infertility diagnosis, who lose weight become more fertile and significantly more likely to carry to term. In a 1998 study, 18% of women miscarried after weight loss, as opposed to 75% previously. Thus, weight loss should be considered a first step for overweight women at risk of miscarriage. Any weight within twelve pounds of your ideal weight is acceptable."
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Post by ouchy on Mar 11, 2007 14:05:39 GMT -5
"Yams are ful of antioxidants such as beta-carotene, which prevents heart disease, cancer, strokes, and cataracts.
Many cultures have linked yams to fertility promotion. Yams are promoted as fertility enhancers in teh Ayurvedic literature. And studies on the native Yoruba tribe in Nigeria, which has one of the highest rates of twins in the world, suggest that their high rate of twins might be linked to their tremendous consumption of wild African yams.
Yams contain phytoestrogens, weak estrogens that inhibit the body's own estrogen. Acting much like the drug Clomid, which is prescribed for women who are not ovulating, yams can apparently use this anti-estrogen effect to stimulate ovaries to release an egg. (Like women given Clomid, Yoruba women have been shown to display high levels of FSH (follicle stimulating hormone in the first part of their cycle.)
Since it is apparently the high yam consumption that stimulates the release of more than one egg each month, scientists postulate that a daily diet of yams might increase ones's chance of having fraternal twins.
Yams are also beneficial for women with short or inadequate luteal phases. For women whose corpus luteum does not make enough progesterone, thereby causing them to menstruate too soon, yams can regulate the hormones, contributing favorably to fertility.
Unfortunately, yams may also exhibit the same downsides as the drug Clomid: Althought yams stimulate ovulation by increasing FSH early in the cycle, it is possible that they can also counteract the effects of estrogen on the cervix (making the cervical fluid too sticky to allow sperm penetration) and the endometrium (inhibiting the softening and receptivity of the uterine lining). Therefore, like Clomid, yams should be consumed only during the first half of the cycle, not after ovulation.
Yams are also helpful in treating endometriosis and poor cervical fluid.
One cautionary note: Excess phytoestrogen is linked to a decrease in fertility in some animal studies, according to a recent article in Gastroenterology. Since the only applical studies have been done on wild cheetahs, rather than humans, we recommend including yams in modest ammounts. Do not consume yams in excess. (It would actually be difficult to consume yams in such quantity, unless you were on a yam diet where you consumed nothing else.)
Also note that yams are not the same as sweet potatoes. True yams are of the tuber family known as "Dioscorea" and bear only a superficial resemblance to American sweet potatoes. Nor is it known whether sweet potatoes convey the same fertility benefits as their loo-alikes. Although some supermarkets mistakenly refer interchangeably to American sweet potatoes and yams, it is possible to find true Dioscorea yams. Ask in whole foods or health foods store for "true yams," or try markets specializing in Caribbean or African foods."
NOTE: I have read more about yams actually being high in progesterone, not phytoestrogens. There is a thread on that.
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