Posts Tagged: Fertility

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Eating Seeds? Yes! Seed Cycling? Not so much.

July 06, 2021

What is Seed Cycling?

I remember first hearing about seed cycling over 10 years ago as a new acupuncturist. The idea of seed cycling is that you can eat different seeds at different parts of your cycle to optimize your hormone balance. Which seed depends on the unique micronutrients in each one, with certain seeds thought to balance estrogen in the follicular phase (before ovulation) and balance progesterone levels in the luteal phase (after ovulation). The concept of being able to truly use your food as medicine and take control of your own health is really appealing of course! Who wouldn’t want a DIY answer to things like irregular cycles, painful periods, or other hormonal symptoms like premenstrual bloating and acne? Not to mention a little help with fertility?

Seed cycling seems to have surged in popularity on social media, so I wanted to take some time to really dig into the research to see if this is worth doing. Also, as a practitioner of East Asian Medicine (TCM), I am excited to discuss our medicine’s view of seeds and how they’re used, as well as some information on how our medicine would approach hormonal health at different phases of the cycle. Read more

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Listen Up: Your Cervical Mucus Is Trying To Tell You Something

January 24, 2017

Vaginal discharge, cervical mucus, leukorrhea- it all refers to the same thing. Hereafter I’ll refer to it as “CM” (cervical mucus). It seems that generally speaking, women I see in my practice either are quite unaware of what changes in their CM mean or are worried that any CM is a sign of infection.  I hope this article will help to de-mystify your discharge and, just maybe, make you feel a little amazed by it. Possibly even happy to see it? By knowing what to look for and what it all means, you can feel more empowered and make better decisions. Read more

Managing PCOS Naturally

March 07, 2016

What is PCOS?

PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. It’s an endocrine (hormonal) disorder characterized by infrequent or absent periods, multiple cysts on the ovaries and high levels of androgens (such as testosterone and DHEA-S), which for some people leads to excess facial and body hair, hair thinning or male pattern baldness and acne. Many PCOS patients have insulin resistance, which means that your body isn’t able to properly absorb and process sugars and other carbohydrates, which leads to weight gain. Other complications include depression, self-esteem challenges, type 2 Diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and difficulty becoming pregnant. Read more

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Struggling To Kick The Caffeine Habit? Here’s How…

October 15, 2015

Over the summer, I accidentally got hooked on coffee. I didn’t even realize it until the first day I didn’t have any. I vowed to cut it out by the end of the summer, strictly because I didn’t like being reliant on something. In situations where a cup of coffee is difficult to get (camping), I didn’t want to deal with the headache (literally!) of not having it. Plus, I like the idea of having coffee as an occasional treat or energy boost when I really need it, as opposed to something I feel terrible without.

Is caffeine really so bad for you? It depends.. Read more

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What Is A Pulsatility Index, And Why Is It So Important For Fertility?

September 24, 2015

If you’re trying to get pregnant, you should care about your Pulsatility Index. What? One more thing to keep track of? By the way, what in tarnation is a Pulsatility Index?

A Pulsatility Index (PI) is a measurement of the blood flow through your arteries- specifically, the ones going to your ovaries and uterus. Read more