Any patient working with me has heard about the importance of diet in a fertility treatment plan.  We talk about a whole foods diet, reducing sugar and other stimulants, and cooking more.  After all, we know that diet affects our cardiovascular system, our nervous system, and others—so why should the reproductive system be any exception?

Now we have some research to back up this intuition (and common sense).  Here are a few resources that my patients have found helpful.  A Newsweek article last year pointed out that diets high in refined sugar and white carbs (which are quickly transformed into simple sugars once consumed) can inhibit ovulation.   This was based on findings by Dr. Jorge Chavarro who studied women trying to conceive.  Dr. Chavarro published his findings in The Fertility Diet.

Great, we know which foods might block our path to conceiving, but still, what should we make for dinner? The Fertile Kitchen is a cookbook I often recommend.  The author is a woman who was given a 2% chance of conceiving by a reproductive endocrinologist, after which she determined to reach her goal by her own efforts, including a diet overhaul.  Her cookbook includes all the recipes she and her amateur-chef husband created to eat deliciously while also cutting out sugar, wheat, and dairy.

Greater attention to feeding ourselves only makes sense.  To create and grow a new life we must feed ourselves food that is itself vital and full of life.

Good news for women who struggle with depression in pregnancy.  A study by Stanford researchers published in the March 2010 volume of Obstetrics & Gynecology reported that acupuncture is an effective treatment option for major depression.   This information is especially helpful, considering that pregnant women face a tough decision about anti-depressant medication—weighing the risks of benefits both for themselves and their babies.

The study included 150 pregnant women diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Some received depression-specific acupuncture treatments.  Others had needles inserted in acupuncture points not known to relieve depression, and a third group received massage therapy.

The researchers found that 63% of the women at the 4-week and 8-week marks reported decreased symptoms.  That’s compared to 44% of women in the other two groups combined, (non-depression acupuncture treatments and massage therapy).

“I hope that people will respect the rigorous methodology used in this blinded, randomized, controlled trial and accept the result,” study researcher Deirdre Lyell, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University School of Medicine, said in a news release.

It is gratifying to see a study confirm what I have so often observed as a practitioner—that acupuncture consistently helps promote positive mood and a sense of well being.
Also, hats off to Standford OB/GYN researchers for exploring the full spectrum of treatments beneficial to patients.

Here’s a link to the abstract.

This month I donated $115 for relief efforts in Haiti.   I recently learned about Gheskio Clinic in Haiti and sent my donation there.   It is the oldest AIDS clinic in the world.  But since the earthquake, they have 5,000 Haitians living on their campus with no shelter and inadequate food, water and medical care.  So they have suspended all research work and are directing all efforts and donations to relief work.  Here is a recent Wall Street Journal article about this situation.

At One Medical Group (sister clinic to Noe Valley Clinic) we heard from an amazing physician last week, Dr. Serena Koenig, who has worked in Haiti for many years with Gheskio researching AIDS and TB treatment strategies.  She flew to Haiti the day after the earthquake to do emergency medicine and let us know some of the conditions on the ground.

Many people, besides lacking food and water, are suffering from broken bones and crush injuries, which can lead to massive infection and organ damage.  Like the Wall Street Journal article explains, she reported that Gheskio’s director, a Haitian doctor named Dr. Bill Pape, knows the country and supply channels so well that aid through his organization translates into temporary shelter, food, water and life-saving medicines like antibiotics much more quickly than the large aid organizations.    The faster we get supplies to them, the more lives can be saved.   Dr. Koenig also let us know that unfortunately, the Red Cross’ main station in Haiti was destroyed, so they, like many of the larger aid organizations are struggling to provide immediate services.  Donations to the Red Cross are not in vain, of course.  But practically speaking, they will probably go towards rebuilding efforts about three months from now, rather than aid for sick people fighting infections now.

I decided to give to this organization because of the quick and direct effect it can have on saving lives now.

The Cornell Global Health Initiative receives donations to Gheskio and 100% of donations go to the aid effort.  Click here to read more or to donate yourself.

By now we’re all apprised of the January 12th earthquake in Haiti that has wreaked so much havoc.

The Haitians need our help, both short and long-term.  I will donate 10% of January 2010′s treatment proceeds to Doctors Without Borders’ efforts to get essential medical care there now. www.doctorswithoutborders.org.

Of course, Haiti was one of the poorest nations in the Western hemisphere prior to this latest tragedy.  Hopefully as Haiti emerges out of this crisis with the support of the world community, local leadership can rise to meet this nation’s long-term needs for dependable basic services and stronger infrastructure.  But for now people need medical care, clean water, and food.

Soy has seen much conflicting publicity over the past years.   In my practice patients are often confused about this food, asking whether to eat more, less, or none.  Here are some basic facts to understand more about soy.
•    Certain soy products can be part of a healthy diet and others pose risks.
o    One of the reasons soy causes so much confusion is because the preparation method makes it either edible or harmful.  The soybean is a tough legume that requires fermentation to render it absorbable.  In fact, unfermented soybeans have compounds called phytates, which can actually block digestion.  For more on this topic see http: //www.westonaprice.org/soy/ploy.html

o    With soaking and proper fermentation, however, soy becomes a great condiment or soup base. Fermented soy products include miso, tempeh, and tamari and soy sauce.

o    Soy products that are not properly fermented include most commercially produced soy milks, tofu, soy ‘meats’, and the soy protein found in many health bars and protein powders.   Improperly processed soy as mentioned, can have negative impacts on nutrient absorptions.  (However investigation shows that eating tofu with meat or fish can lessen the impact of phytates.) It can interfere with estrogen metabolism, which is undesirable for any fertility  or hormonal imbalance patient.   Further, anyone with hypothyroid conditions should avoid all soy, as it has been found to suppress thyroid function.

•    Soy is also a commonly identified food allergy.
This again, is probably due to consuming non-fermented soy.  However, some are allergic to any and all soy.  Consider a temporary elimination of soy if you’ve experienced any chronic digestive problems.  (Be prepared to read labels through!  Soy derivatives are used frequently as a food additive now due to its overabundance in the US agricultural market.  Michael Pollan writes lucidly on this topic in the Omnivore’s Dilemma.)

•    Interestingly, Chinese medicine defines soy as ‘cold and damp’ in nature.
Essentially cold and damp means difficult to digest in Chinese dietary therapy.  Foods that are energetically too cold for you may leave you feeling full after eating, with bloating and possibly pain, like your food’s just sitting in your stomach.  (If this is the case, preparing soy dishes with fresh ginger can help balance it.)

•    Don’t freak out.
o   Despite all the evils I just enumerated, folks with no thyroid or hormonal problems and who do not have any reactions to soy can eat the occasional tofu dish without disasterous consequences.   Most problems with food come from chronic overconsumption—too much of any one thing without awareness.  As the counterpoint to my point, Chinese medicine believes that moderation is key in most aspects of life.  A strong healthy body can adapt and assimilate a little of everything.

I’m thrilled to be sharing information on my favorite health topics with you!  Here I will write about practical tips for improving health, acupuncture and botanical medicine studies, and occasionally bigger concepts to spark the imagination…

Feel free to drop me an email at jeannie@acupuncturecentersf.com if you’d like to suggest a topic or have a question.