Healthy Pregnancy

Sometimes the idea of going gluten free makes people feel like they are going to have to “give up” some of their favorite dishes. Lasagna has always been a favorite of mine and even though this recipe is not dairy free, I like to have it enjoy it every once and awhile.   I firmly believe it is most important not to overly restrict with food, and more important to focus on healthful alternatives that you  will like just as much.  Of course, if you are sensitive to dairy or cutting it out for a short period of time to find out if you are sensitive, this isn’t the best recipe for you. If your acupuncturist has shared the diagnosis of dampness with you or you have cysts or weight to lose it may be best to avoid dairy for the time being. But keep it on file and when I learn to make an equally great lasagna using dairy alternatives, I will be sure to share.

I love this lasagna because it is easy to make and even better the next day as the flavor sets in. The original recipes came from my dear friend Julie and her mother Christine. The very first time I tasted this lasagna was at Julie’s 16th birthday party, many years ago.  Enter the gluten intolerance and therefore italian food deficiency for some years until I discovered the joy of brown rice and quinoa pastas.  I can say with confidence that the gluten free version is just as delicious!  I like to use gluten free brown rice lasagna noodles in this recipe.  Important Note: To maintain a good relationship with gluten free pastas, it is important not to overcook them because they can get soggy– think al dente.

Ingredients:

1 package brown rice lasagna noodles

Filling

1 large container organic cottage cheese
2 small containers organic ricotta cheese
125 grams organic parmesan cheese
2 organic eggs
8 ounces of organic spinach, steamed

Sauce

1 bottle (700 ml) organic pasta sauce
14 ounces organic stewed tomatoes
Italian seasoning to taste

Topping

4 cups organic mozarella cheese
125 grams organic parmesan cheese

Boil brown rice noodles as directed on package. At the same time, steam the spinach and warm the tomato sauces, adding desired spices. In a 9 x 13 glass pan spread a thin layer of tomato sauce. Follow by two layers of noodles, filling and sauce. For the final layer add remaining tomato sauce with mozarella cheese and parmesan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45- 1 hour. If top begins to brown too much before center is hot, cover.

I LOVE making fresh spring rolls! They are so delicious and refreshing, and although they take a little bit in terms of learning the technique.. they are super easy once you get all that down! I mean you can have dinner ready in 10 minutes. The freshness, and green of the veggies helps support liver function which in turn keeps cycles moving smoothly. It is also a good idea to eat more fresh foods and less at one time during these warmer months.

Enjoy.. and let me know what you think!

Garden Fresh Spring Rolls

Dry weight: 3 to 4 ounce thin, rice noodles, cook as directed (I like Eden brand)

1 tablespoon wheat-free tamari

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

½ to ¾ cup of 3 to 4 different veggies sliced julienne style – I like bell pepper,

carrots, diakon radish, mung bean sprouts, and avocado

1 small bunch of fresh basil and or 1 small bunch of cilantro

Thin slices cooked shrimp (optional)

Rice “paper” wrappers (usually made with tapioca)

Mix cooked rice or mung bean noodles with tamari and sesame oil in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Set up an area with a clean surface and place sliced veggies and noodles nearby. Place room temperature water in a large plate or pie dish. Slide rice wrapper into water (make sure it is completely covered) and let sit about 1 minute, or until soft and slightly sticky.  Remove rice wrapper and place onto clean surface.

Add the veggies and noodles in the lower third of the wrapper (the part closest to you). I like to start with laying down a few sprigs of cilantro or fresh basil leaves, then layer the rest on top. Leave about 1 inch open space on either side. Roll away from yourself, tucking in at the top and on the sides as you go – just like rolling a burrito! The rice wrapper should stick together just fine.

Now they are ready to eat. Choose your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy! Visit

http://community.eatingforevolution.com/ for other gluten-free dipping sauce ideas.

The wisdom that what you eat is a direct reflection of your health is now widely accepted as science continues to prove that certain foods do in fact improve reproductive function. For years, clients have requested more delicious tasting fertility friendly recipes. From this desire emerged the idea for my cookbook: Cooking for Fertility: Foods to Nourish Your Fertile Soul and an instructional Cooking for Fertility DVD for those wanting to learn how to cook to conceive. Cooking for Fertility is a simple approach to nourishing reproductive function that combines modern science with the ancient wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

While enhancing your chances of conceiving, the bigger picture of living a fertile life is important including learning lifestyle, exercise and food choices that are fertility promoting. For those experiencing infertility, specific meal plans address common Western and Chinese Medicine imbalances with healing foods. By optimizing your digestion, you naturally absorb more nutrients and prepare yourself for a healthy pregnancy. Above all else, the key to eating for fertility is pleasure: over 100 delicious recipes included for your enjoyment including a healthy chocolate mousse, smoothies, salads and more!

We are endowed with a primordial pool of follicles during fetal development. At birth they measure near one million; by the time we enter menarche, they number about 500,000, and by the time we approach the perimenopausal years we have around ten thousand. These primordial follicles do not undergo any change or deterioration until they begin to circulate within the ovaries’ response to its internal environment, which is an inner result of how we relate to our external environment.

The hypothalamus interprets our emotional response to our environment (via neurochemicals), and translates it into hormonal messages in the form of GnRH or Gonadotropin Inhibitory Hormone. These chemicals then trigger the appropriate response from the pituitary gland, whose hormones signal the gonads to release their germ cells and hormones. The resulting blood laboratory values are a manifestation, not a cause. These circulating hormone levels feed back to the hypothalamus, along with our emotional response, to regulate its ongoing release of brain hormones. Because of this adaptive feedback system, supplying external hormones will not improve the function of the ovaries; only suppress their release. In order to improve the functioning of any part of this system, the entire system must be addressed.

Tiny follicles leave their primordial pool (again, not changed since before birth), and enter into the growing pool of follicles, where the dominant follicles are activated by FSH fire from the pituitary gland. The number of circulating follicles depends upon many factors – blood flow to the ovaries (which can be enhanced), nutritional and hormonal fuel to the ovaries (which can be enhanced), our emotional response to our environment (which can be enhanced), our ability to restore and access the follicles to allow them to enter into a healthy internal environment (which can be enhanced.) The number of follicles in the growing pool determines the levels of AMH. Only the chosen dominant follicle will mature in response to the pituitary gland’s release of luteinizing hormone during ovulation. LH can be viewed as the energetic trigger, causing the entire cascade to produce the potential for release, fertilization, implantation and continued growth.

An early antral follicle releases estradiol in the form of yin. If the endocrine system provides messages that this system is conducive to new life, the ovaries perceive a great internal potential to produce more follicles. They will respond with more yin, access more essence, and the entire cascade will dance into full expression. AMH values will rise. FSH values will tend to lower, as very little flame is necessary to keep the fire going. More follicles will produce greater levels of inhibin B. The body will select a dominant follicle; LH will mature its residing egg, and allow the release of a healthy potential.

The Fertile Soul Method ® is proven to maximize your reproductive potential. Most of our patients are 40 or over; most have high FSH, low AMH, other hormonal abnormalities, or have been diagnosed with poor ovarian reserve, poor egg quality, endometriosis, or recurrent miscarriages. Most have not found their answers solely within Western reproductive medicine. Most have been able to rectify their internal energetic imbalances through our program, and produce new life.

Dr. Randine Lewis is the founder of The Fertile Soul, the president of the Continuing Excellence in Fertility Professionals, the author of The Infertility Cure, and The Way of the Fertile Soul. Find out more about Dr. Lewis’ retreats at www.thefertilesoul.com.

A simple analogy – FSH is the flame. The uterus is the oven. LH is the opening of the flu. The ovaries are the wood; Estradiol measures the available wood for burning, inhibin B could be seen as the damper that keeps the fire from burning out of control, and AMH could be seen as the lighter fluid. If we are trying to ignite the spark of life and keep it going, we need to ensure all of our provisions are adequate. Assisted reproductive technology gives you one tool – more fire. However, if we need a drier oven, if we need to gather more wood, soak it in more fluid, or reduce the wind that is keeping the spark from igniting, more fire is not the only answer. In fact, sometimes more fire actually keeps the materials from being able to burn on their own. A flame-thrower is not the best way to tender the gently burning fire of life. Some ways you can improve your capacity on your own:

Reduce stress   Perform reproductive and femoral massage

Take anti-oxidants  Eat organic, natural fruits and vegetables

Get adequate rest  Practice internal deep breathing techniques

Energy Balancing  Keep yourself in supportive environments

Acupuncture   Herbal therapy

The Fertile Soul Method ® is proven to maximize your reproductive potential. Most of our patients are 40 or over; most have high FSH, low AMH, other hormonal abnormalities, or have been diagnosed with poor ovarian reserve, poor egg quality, endometriosis, or recurrent miscarriages. Most have not found their answers solely within Western reproductive medicine. Most have been able to rectify their internal energetic imbalances through our program, and produce new life.

Dr. Randine Lewis is the founder of The Fertile Soul, the president of the Continuing Excellence in Fertility Professionals, the author of The Infertility Cure, and The Way of the Fertile Soul. Find out more about Dr. Lewis’ retreats at www.thefertilesoul.com.

Within the last ten to 15 years, reproductive medicine has made quite a fuss made over high FSH levels. Chinese medicine doesn’t focus so much on the unqualified meaning of laboratory values like Western medicine does; we view lab results energetically according to what is behind them, rather than providing meaning to the absolute numerical value.

The body energetically views the ovaries as “essence”, an elemental potential, like the primordial follicles within them. Follicles are only potential until they begin to interact with their internal environment, which is responding to cues coming from our interpretation of our external environment. All of this is subject to change, when we change our internal environment, and our response to our external environment. FSH, on the other hand, is viewed as “heat”, which activates the potential of the ovaries’ essence in the form of eggs, and resulting blood levels of estradiol (or yin). When the essence is adequate, it doesn’t require much heat to ignite the ovaries. When the essence is weak (due to stress, lack of restoration, follicular malnourishment, and the demands of life), it takes more heat to induce the necessary ovarian response, indicative of present ovarian health.

To put it simply and in energetic terms, those who have high FSH and low estradiol levels generally have too much heat, in relation to the underlying essence capable of responding to FSH stimulation. Although optimal FSH values are seen as <10, The Fertile Soul Retreat process has helped women whose FSH values are well over 100 conceive naturally. First, however, we have had to energetically reduce their heat, and maximize their essence, which allows the FSH to activate healthy follicles.

Although Western medicine views the reproductive system as an ever-deteriorating disease process waiting for intervention, Chinese medicine employs a different lens. We view the body/mind/spirit as an ever adaptive system, which, when given appropriate environmental cues, has a miraculous ability to manifest its highest potential.

To hear a personal experience of someone who lowered their FSH naturally please watch the following video.

The Fertile Soul Method ® is proven to maximize your reproductive potential. Most of our patients are 40 or over; most have high FSH, low AMH, other hormonal abnormalities, or have been diagnosed with poor ovarian reserve, poor egg quality, endometriosis, or recurrent miscarriages. Most have not found their answers solely within Western reproductive medicine. Most have been able to rectify their internal energetic imbalances through our program, and produce new life.

Dr. Randine Lewis is the founder of The Fertile Soul, the president of the Continuing Excellence in Fertility Professionals, the author of The Infertility Cure, and The Way of the Fertile Soul. Find out more about Dr. Lewis’ retreats at www.thefertilesoul.com.

As if high FSH values, and low estradiol/inhibin-b levels weren’t enough to convince you of your need for drastic intervention and donor eggs, the newest craze in ovarian reserve testing is a hormone known as Anti-Mullerian Hormone or AMH.

Again, some reproductive physiology will be helpful to make sense of this hormone.

During embryonic development, male testes produce AMH, to inhibit the expression of Mullerian ducts, which become female sexual organs. In the presence of AMH, the primordial urogenital ridge bears Wolfian expressions of prostate, testes and vas deferens, rather than the female Mullerian expressions of fallopian tubes, uterus and vagina. We could look at Anti-Mullerian Hormone as a “holding back” hormone. After birth, AMH becomes expressed by females, within the granulosa cells of the ovary, where it inhibits the responsiveness of growing follicles to FSH. Since human beings aren’t made to raise litters, the body’s internal wisdom does not allow the recruitment of all of the primordial follicles, as only one dominant follicle is chosen for ovulation during each menstrual cycle. If FSH is viewed has heat, and estradiol is viewed as yin, AMH is viewed as the “essence potential”, or the ability to hold back the ovarian essence from interacting with the pituitary gland’s igniting fire. The greater the body’s ability to hold back ovarian essence, the easier it is for the FSH igniting potential to activate a response in the form of a healthy egg and its resulting estradiol levels. Therefore, higher AMH values are indicative of a greater abundance of interactive follicles. The “normal” values of AMH are between 0-6 ug/L. The closer you are to 6, the greater the force behind the dam. Once again, The Fertile Soul Retreat Process has helped women whose AMH values were zero conceive naturally.

The Fertile Soul Method ® is proven to maximize your reproductive potential. Most of our patients are 40 or over; most have high FSH, low AMH, other hormonal abnormalities, or have been diagnosed with poor ovarian reserve, poor egg quality, endometriosis, or recurrent miscarriages. Most have not found their answers solely within Western reproductive medicine. Most have been able to rectify their internal energetic imbalances through our program, and produce new life.

Dr. Randine Lewis is the founder of The Fertile Soul, the president of the Continuing Excellence in Fertility Professionals, the author of The Infertility Cure, and The Way of the Fertile Soul. Find out more about Dr. Lewis’ retreats at www.thefertilesoul.com.

Markers of Ovarian Reserve Viewed Through the Lens of Chinese Medicine

Estradiol   FSH – Follicle Stimulating Hormone

Inhibin B   AMH – Antimullerian Hormone

“Ovarian reserve” testing can be intimidating and daunting. The results often feel like a fertility death sentence. When viewed through the eyes of Chinese medicine, however, these laboratory markers of ovarian potential can actually make diagnostic sense, and help determine the best natural therapeutic course for you.

It will be helpful to understand a little reproductive physiology first.

Brain Hormones:

The pituitary gland, which sits behind your eyebrows, emits FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) in response to messages translated by the hypothalamus, which secretes Gonadotropic releasing hormone (GnRH) in response to the hormone levels in your blood, and your emotional response to your environment. This hormonal command post, like all of the hormones in your body, responds to internal chemical messages conveyed through the blood, and emotional interpretations of your external environment.

These external and internal messages determine how the pituitary hormones interact with and are able to communicate with your ovaries, and how the ovarian output communicates back to the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.

Ovarian Hormones:

Activin and Inhibin B are protein complexes within the ovarian follicule. Activin enhances FSH secretion, cellular proliferation and plays a role in menstrual regulation. Inhibin B, on the other hand, down regulates and inhibits GnRH from the hypothalamus, and FSH secretion from the pituitary gland.

When the system is in sync, the hypothalamus secretes GnRH to trigger the pituitary gland to release small amounts of FSH during the last few days of the previous menstrual cycle, which rise until the beginning of the next follicular phase. FSH recruits Graafian (or antral) follicles, which have been growing within the ovary for the better part of a year.  Around three months before these follicles are ovulated, they enter the tonic growth phase, where protein synthesis occurs.  Follicles that have interacted optimally with the internal environment have the potential to become dominant follicles, primed by FSH. They then secrete estrogen, and express LH receptors, which allow the chosen dominant follicle to mature and become capable of ovulation.

Higher levels of Inhibin B indicate that the ovarian follicle is doing its job of putting out adequate estradiol. Inhibin B provides negative feedback to the hypothalamus and pituitary gland to let them know to turn down the GnRH and FSH, as output is sufficient.

The Fertile Soul Method ® is proven to maximize your reproductive potential. Most of our patients are 40 or over; most have high FSH, low AMH, other hormonal abnormalities, or have been diagnosed with poor ovarian reserve, poor egg quality, endometriosis, or recurrent miscarriages. Most have not found their answers solely within Western reproductive medicine. Most have been able to rectify their internal energetic imbalances through our program, and produce new life.

Dr. Randine Lewis is the founder of The Fertile Soul, the president of the Continuing Excellence in Fertility Professionals, the author of The Infertility Cure, and The Way of the Fertile Soul. Find out more about Dr. Lewis’ retreats at www.thefertilesoul.com.

Sometimes when you are craving something sweet, chocolate is the only thing that will do the trick. Since it’s my sister-in-laws birthday and the weather is getting warmer, I wanted to make something that would be light, refreshing and delicious for dessert. So I pulled out this recipe that Tif and I created for the cooking DVD and am not going to tell anyone it’s made with tofu and avocado! Yes, you heard me correctly, what makes this chocolate mousse most unique is its use of tofu and avocado instead of whip cream and eggs. Experimenting with different ingredients is fun and sometimes surprisingly delicious. You’ll probably have to try this one to believe it!

Healthwise, we used a low glycemic sweetener to stabilize blood sugar levels, which is important for women in general, but even more so during conception and pregnancy. Dark chocolate has numerous health benefits including it’s arginine content which encourages blood flow to the uterus and ovaries for fertility. Tofu is a healthful alternative to whip cream and eggs and it preserves the creamy texture of this delicious mousse (along with the avocado).

Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Serves 4 to 6

10 ounces dark chocolate, melted
1 package silken tofu (optional: 1/2 an avocado)
2 to 4 tablespoons agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a blender or food processor, puree tofu and optional avocado, with agave, vanilla and cinnamon until perfectly smooth. Add melted chocolate and mix until fully combined.

Pour mixture in a bowl, and let sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Source: Cooking for Fertility DVD

If you are considering eliminating dairy from your diet, it’s important to find some great milk alternatives for your favorite dishes. Nut milks are delicious, easy to make at home and packed with protein and vitamins. All you need is a few basic ingredients and a blender. Enjoy almond or hemp milk frothed in tea, poured over oatmeal or blended into the fertility berry smoothie. You can also experiment with other nuts using similar proportions.

Almond or Hemp milk

1 cup almonds or chia seeds, pre-soaked overnight
3 cups purified water
1 tablespoon of agave (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Blend pre-soaked almonds or chia seeds with water. Strain to remove pulp and put back into the blender. Add sweeteners if desired. Yields 2½ to 3 cups.

Source: Cooking for Fertility: Foods to Nourish Your Fertile Soul