How to boost fertility

I often get asked how to boost fertility. Sadly, there’s no straightforward answer, as it’s so individual. Fertility is complex, but if you have been trying for a baby and are struggling, then assessing your nutritional status is really important. There are some nutrients that are vital for fertility and producing healthy babies, and we’ll look at three of those here today.

Vitamin D

I LOVE vitamin D (summer baby here) and you can read my full post on Vitamin D and Fertility here.

The reasons why it’s so important is that:

1. It improves egg quality (especially when undergoing IVF)
2. It increases the chances of conceiving by helping the body to create sex hormones, which in turn affects ovulation and hormonal balance.

Good sources:

Oily fish, fortified eggs, cod liver oil and sunlight.

Iron

So many women complain of low energy, and a lot of this has to do with poor iron levels. Remember that we lose iron when we have our periods!

We need good iron levels so that our bodies can carry all of the important nutrients around our body. This is so important for the uterus as we need to ensure it has a good, thick lining to enable a fertilised egg to grow.

We also need iron for good egg health and to help with ovulation, so if you’re struggling with either, it’s worth getting your levels checked.

Good sources:

Lean red meat, spinach, lentils, pumpkin and sesame seeds.

Folate

Not to be mistaken with the synthetic form, folic acid. You need folate (or the natural, active form, 5MHTF) to help prevent birth defects. It is especially important to take a natural form of folate if you have the MTHFR gene, where your body can’t convert folic acid into its usable form.

Good sources:

Leafy greens and legumes

If you have any questions, as always, please ask. X

The post How to Boost Fertility appeared first on Neema Savvides | Fertility Nutrition.

One way of balancing your hormones is through seed cycling. Yep, you heard me correctly. Seeds. Salad topper, smoothie thickener, bird food. Hormone balancer? PMS reliever? Cycle regulator?⠀

Yes, seed cycling for healthy hormones is an actual thing, and I use it in clinics with my clients as it’s a great way of supporting the female body.⠀

How seed cycling works:

Our menstrual cycles are regulated by two key hormones: oestrogen and progesterone. Oestrogen levels rise during the first half the cycle and progesterone levels rise during the second half of our cycle (whilst oestrogen falls).

Any imbalance between these two hormones is thought to contribute to irregular cycles, the emotional and physical symptoms of PMS, cramps, spotty skin, lack of ovulation and short luteal cycles, to name a few. A short luteal phase (the second half), can affect conception.

Seed cycling helps to balance these hormones by consuming different seeds (flax, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower) during the two different stages of your cycle.

How do seeds help? They contain chemicals called lignans, which help to bind up excess hormones (which then get eliminated from the body). They also contain essential fatty acids which are the building blocks of healthy hormones.

Essentially, the different seeds will help to support the body’s natural oestrogen and progesterone requirements at different points in your cycle.

How to seed cycle:

Menstrual Cycle Day 1 (first day of bleed) to Day 14: Flaxseed and pumpkin seeds

During the follicular phase (first 2 weeks of your cycle) we need more oestrogen in order to build up the uterine lining. This is called the follicular phase.

Eating 2 tablespoons of freshly ground flaxseed and pumpkin seeds can naturally increase your oestrogen levels.

Flax seeds help to bind up excess oestrogen and the zinc in pumpkin seeds helps to support progesterone production and release for the second half of your cycle

Menstrual Cycle Day 15 to Day 28: Sunflower and sesame seeds

During the luteal phase (last two weeks) the corpus luteum (what is left behind from the egg rupturing) begins to release progesterone. This sex hormone helps to thicken the uterus lining.

Eating 2 tablespoons of freshly ground sesame seeds or sunflower seeds daily gives your body a nutrient boost that favours progesterone production. This is due to their high zinc content.

Sesame seeds also help to bind the excess oestrogen, and sunflower seeds contain selenium which helps the liver to process excess hormones.

What if I don’t have regular cycles:

Start day 1 on the first day of the new moon—the moon cycle is a great marker since it’s actually 28 days long (just like the female reproductive cycle).

Alternatively, consume flax/pumpkin seeds for 2 weeks, then rotate onto sesame/sunflower and repeat.⠀

3 easy ways to add seeds to your diet:

1. Add to smoothies
2. Use as a topper on porridge, yoghurt, and salads
3. Add to soups

Have you tried seed cycling? Has it helped? I would love to know!

The post How to Balance Hormones for Irregular Cycles appeared first on Neema Savvides | Fertility Nutrition.

Serves 4 (2 each)

Ingredients

• 4  salmon fillets (use more if you want a higher salmon ratio – I would probably do this next time).
• 450g sweet potato (use less if you want a higher salmon to potato ratio)
• 3 tablespoons of red thai curry paste
• 1 tablespoon Cajun spices (optional)
• large bunch of chopped coriander
• Coconut oil for frying

For the coating

• 1 cup ground almonds (use more if needed)
• 4 tablespoons sesame seeds
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
• Place the salmon fillets on a large sheet of foil and season each with salt and pepper, chilli, garlic and coriander.  Cover with another sheet of foil (making a pouch) and bake for 12 minutes.
• Cube the sweet potato into small pieces. Place in a pan boiling salted water until soft (about 15 minutes), drain and mash.
• Flake the salmon into a large bowl and add the thai red curry paste.
• Mix in the mashed sweet potato, coriander and Cajun spices if using.  Taste and season accordingly.
• On a large plate mix together the coating ingredients.
• Divide the mixture into 8 small fishcakes, using your hands to form a ball shape.  The mixture can be quite soft so handle them gently.
• One by one, gently press each fishcake into the coating mixture, ensuring each side has a light covering.
• Place the fishcakes in the fridge for 15 minutes to chill (this helps to hold them together when frying).
• Heat the coconut oil in a pan on a medium heat.  Cook the fishcakes until golden brown (about 3-4 minutes on each side). Serve with a spinach and avocado salad (mine was simply dressed with olive oil and lemon and it went together really well!)

The post Spicy salmon and sweet potato fishcakes (wheat free) appeared first on Neema Savvides | Fertility Nutrition.

Reports came out this week about McDonald’s producing a ‘healthy’ fizzy drink for kids which contains 12g of sugar (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2141631/McDonalds-launches-healthy-drink-children-contains-12-spoonfuls-sugar.html). I could go on and on about why people should not be eating there and especially why they should not let their kids be eating there but that’s another post altogether so let’s stick with the drink for now.  It may contain more nutrients than a coke given the fruit content however 12g of sugar for a large portion is still a LOT of sugar.  People will argue that these are ‘fruit sugars’ otherwise known as fructose, which makes it ok.

It doesn’t.

Fructose is processed in the liver (unlike glucose which can pass directly into the bloodstream for energy or storage) which tends to turn the fructose into triglycerides (a type of fat found in your blood and a major cause of heart disease).  Elevated triglycerides has been shown to lead to leptin resistance.  Leptin is the hormone that signals the brain that we are full, and thus we should stop eating.  High triglycerides are thought to prevent the leptin from reaching the brain.  When the body stops responding to leptin, it causes the appetite to run out of control.

Fat storage is also thought to be increased after fructose consumption as lipogenesis – the process of converting sugars into body fat increases with fructose consumption.

So all in all, too much fructose decreases the body’s response to to leptin to stop eating, and it increases fat storage.  So you eat more and the body stores more as fat.  And we wonder why the nation is getting obese?

All of this coupled with the effects sugar has on teeth makes this drink a no no.  If you add the rest of the meal into the equation and you have a sugar time bomb….

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