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March 28, 2010

Want to Get Pregnant? Lose the French Fries!

Filed under: General Information — Tags: , , , , — Elizabeth Ward @ 11:19 am

Fat is good; you need it for several reasons,  including for the essential fatty acids it offers that your body cannot make on its own.

However, the type of fat you eat matters when it comes to fertility.

Higher intakes of trans fat, found in processed foods such as fast-food French fries, pastry, and stick margarine, may increase your risk of endometriosis, a condition that can reduce your chances of conceiving, according to a recent study in Human Reproduction.

The good news: Eating omega-3 fats, found in seafood, fortified foods, and dietary supplements, reduced the risk of endometriosis.

The study results are preliminary, but promising. And they add to the body of evidence that points to omega-3s as beneficial and trans fat as unnecessary and, worse, harmful.

In a related study, Harvard researchers have found that eating trans fats translated into a lower rate of conception in a large group of women with no history of infertility. Separate research related trans fat to weight gain in women.

Baked potato and grilled fish, anyone?

Have you seen my other blog at USAToday.com?  It features tips for feeding your family healthy foods, and offers a weekly recipe that I prepare with my children as part of Cooking With My Kids.  This week’s recipe is Quick and Easy Honey-Wheat Hot Cross Buns. Get the recipe, and many more at http://tinyurl.com/4×2e5x

June 15, 2009

Relax, Get Pregnant?

Filed under: General Information — Tags: , , , — Elizabeth Ward @ 12:54 pm

When conceiving a child is not going as you had planned, trying to become pregnant is more like work than pleasure. Enter stress, which often plays havoc with your fertility.

The topic of stress came up over and over at the workshop about mind/body medicine I attended last week. It was conducted by the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Learning about how to elicit the Relaxation Response (RR) was one of the components of the course. The RR is a state of quiet in the mind and body that reduces tension, and lowers blood pressure, breathing, and heart rate. To elicit the RR, you can do any number of activities such as meditate, pray, or practice progressive muscle relaxation. To get the desired effect of the RR, it’s important to sit in a comfortable position in a quiet environment for at least 10 minutes, two times a day.

It’s no great surprise that women who are having problems getting pregnant report feeling feelings of stress more often than more fertile women. Training yourself to feel calmer by eliciting the RR may be helpful when tension gets the better of you. It’s beneficial no matter what your stage of life, however. The Relaxation Response and Beyond the Relaxation Response are two books by Herbert Benson, MD, who has been teaching people about the benefits of calming down for more than 35 years.

If you’re struggling with getting pregnant, I suggest Conquering Infertility: Dr. Alice Domar’s Mind/Body Guide to Enhancing Fertility and Coping with Infertility as a resource. Dr. Domar is the head of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health Waltham, MA. She has conducted studies that show that there is a connection between your mind and your body when it comes to fertility. Check out her book and the Domar Center at www.domarcenter.com.