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If you are starting a new regime, a pre-IVF, pre-Summer, pre-holiday and pre-showing bits of yourself that have been hidden for the Winter, then starting your day as you mean to go on is the way to go. I love the way this green juice makes me feel, it is so clean and fresh and so very green! And when I have it in the morning it inspires me to keep going with the green theme.
I love soups; almost anything can go in them and for a Spring re-set it’s got be green! Dark green leafy vegetables contain a multitude of fantastic nutrients to help fertility, like beta- carotene for good ovarian function, magnesium for hormone balancing and omega three fatty acids and natural vitamin E. And the green pigment chlorophyll is known for having huge health benefits;
This is one of my all-time favourite recipes which really says welcome to Spring. You can transform a simple baked white fish or poached chicken with salsa verde; you can drizzle it over new potatoes, mix it through rice or pasta, and drizzle it over peas, tender stem broccoli and asparagus. It adds such a delicious fresh flavour, and aromatic herbs are stuffed full of nutrients too. With garlic and onion and earthy spicy olive oil it is a really simple way of making something plain delicious w
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month but unfortunately, sufferers of this particularly distressing condition are more than ‘aware’ of it.
The very word ‘holiday’ often induces an immediate panic attack in me in terms of what to pack in order to cover all potential disasters. I often have so much emergency medical equipment on me that I can barely fit any clothes in my bag!
Beetroot is not everyone’s favourite vegetable but it has had a bit of a revival recently thanks to its use by athletes at the Olympics for increasing blood flow to the muscles. For women undergoing IVF with thin uterine lining I often recommend 300mls of beetroot juice a day until embryo transfer for the same reason.
This just the most delicious soup EVER! It’s from my friend Ali Godbold’s lovely recipe book ‘Feed Your Health’. I give the recipe to all my clients because it includes so many good ‘fertility’ foods but everyone loves it. The original recipe isn’t blended but, for me, smooth is best. The recipe is exactly as it says, so if you follow it, it will be perfect and it is so simple to make.
OK, this is not for all men who are going through fertility problems; I see lots of men who are so willing to take on board anything that will help them to become fathers, even if it is not ‘their issue’. They recognise that sperm needs to be healthy, but also that their partners need the support, the acknowledgement that you are both in it together.
The recent headlines confidently claiming that omega-3 ‘causes’ prostate cancer have caused a bit of confusion for sure. I suggest omega-3 regularly for my clients for its anti-inflammatory and blood thinning properties, especially if they can’t or won’t eat fish, which in itself provides such a wealth of nutrients, as well as omega-3.
All my clients know I am mad about watercress; those peppery little leaves pack an amazing nutrient punch. It’s a bit of an acquired taste I know but absolutely worth it. Watercress is particularly good if you have ever smoked; it contains a specific compound that may protect against lung cancer, and like broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables it also seems to protect against other common cancers like breast and colon.
I think we have finally cracked it at last. If you can stick with the 5:2 diet, and try out different things I think it should work for almost everyone. Husband is now the weight and fitness level he was when he was 15 (so he says….) and best of all a client who had multiple failed IVFs and needed to lose weight before another one was attempted just did it, lost the weight, looks fabulous and is pregnant at last.
A recipe for delicious, nutritious soda bread made from spelt, kamut and rye flours. Best served warm!
When I first blogged about this (see 5:2 diet), I had just begun to inflict it on my husband and our hapless long-stay visitor, as well as my poor, unsuspecting clients. It was the early days and my enthusiasm knew no bounds; I forced us all to eat broccoli soup for lunch AND supper – why complicate it?
I have just returned from a great week working in Morocco where I met a fantastic chef who specializes in raw food called Hayley North. I am a bit of a relaxed nutritionist and not very interested in hard core food movements that restrict or only allow certain foods with a religious fervour.
I have a bit of a thing about chemicals and how they may affect both male and female fertility, according to more and more research. This latest study links premature ovarian failure with chemicals called PCBs (Poly Chlorinated Bisphenyls) and phthalates. PCBs (Poly Chlorinated Bisphenyls) are found in fatty animal products.
There is a bit of a myth that women are the ones with age-related fertility problems and a man can father children even when he’s ancient! Yes there are famous older Dads – Charlie Chaplin, Des OConnor and Bruce Forsyth to name but a few, but new research has shown that actually sperm ages too, with deterioration of the DNA leading to a higher risk of genetic problems in the offspring, such as schizophrenia and autism (Wyrobek et al).
One of the dilemmas of my work is convincing people that you can eat healthy food that actually tastes of something. When you are asking people to cut down the three things that make food taste good – salt, sugar and fat it can be a hard call.
Yet again vitamin D, or rather the lack of it has hit the headlines again. The completely tragic case of the young parents arrested for the murder of their baby, who turned out to actually have severe rickets, has reinforced the importance of this vitamin.
I must confess I am not good with holidays, usually leaving it to the last minute, and then slightly dreading them as the time to ‘get away from it all’ draws closer. Oh the expectations are so very high; the weather, the food, the mattress, the view, the other people if we’re in a hotel, the lack of other people if we’re half way up a mountain.