A lot of people ask me what I am doing extra to increase my chances of a successful cycle, or just fertility in general.  See, I am a little bit of a hippie girl and have always believed that changes in what we eat can translate into big stuff involving our health and well-being.  I have personally witnessed my husband’s sperm count do a complete 180 after changes in his diet.  He went from a count in the 4-15 million range to a count > 250 million with excellent motility and morphology. (I’ll post more about that later).  While I obviously believe in the miracles of science (Hello IVF!), I am also a big believer in herbal/holistic remedies.  So what am I doing this cycle?…

1)  Bee pollen/Royal Jelly- This is what is feed to the queen bee in the hive.  Royal Jelly is rich in amino acids, lipids, sugars, vitamins, and proteins. It contains high levels of vitamins E and D, and also has iron and calcium. The way I see it, anything that helps that queen lay up to 2000 eggs per day has GOT to help this little bumblebee make more than one!

2)  Super-B complex-So must of us know that a prenatal and folic acid are especially important when trying to conceive.  Folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects in your baby. So I take these and then add a Super-B complex vitamin every other day.  The  B-complex family of vitamins are necessary to produce the genetic materials DNA and RNA. Together with vitamin B12, folic acid works to ensure that your baby’s genetic codes are intact.  All of the B vitamins seem to be pretty essential during the pre-conceptual period.

3) I haven’t been eating much meat, so I have to make sure I am getting plenty of protein and iron, as well as whatever I feel will help.   I was soooo tired of trying to find a way to fit all the things I needed into my day-to-day eating habits.  One day I realized, “I don’t really care what this takes like!  Just get it into my body so it can do its thing!.”  My solution was to make what I now refer to as my “baby-makin’ casserole”.  Going back to my southern roots, I convinced myself that if I didn’t like the way it tasted, I could just cover it in hot sauce.  The thing is….I think it tastes AWESOME!!  So in my biggest casserole dish I combine..

• A layer of quinoa (a  great “complete” protien and high in iron)
• A layer of black beans (protein, folate, fiber, B1)
• A layer of sweet potatoes (Vitamin A, Vitamin C, @ Beta Carotene-which promotes a healthy hormone balance and may decrease risk of miscarriage)  mixed with butternut squash (B6, Fiber, folate).
• DIced red onions and a variety of chopped hot peppers for improved circulation and antioxidant/anti-inflammatory benefits
• Two cut up bananas (Potassium, B6, and B12)
• Chopped up fresh garlic because garlic is one of those superfoods that does just about everything awesome

I then pour some sort of Indian curry sauce over the dish…the hotter the better for me.  I have tried both Jalfrezi and Vindaloo–both worked (I consider “worked” as making me fan my mouth after the first couple of bites).  I cover with foil and back at 375 degrees for about 1.5 hour until the potatoes are soft .  Sometime I eat the dish plain or with spicy humus and chips.  The result is what feels like a Caribbean/African/Indian dish…hot, with a little sweet, and LOADED with good stuff for me and my fertility!

4)  An Acai/Goji/Noni/Mangosteen super juice blend.  One ounce a day. This provides the wealth of benefits you get from juices including free radical scavenging, immune system support, and lots of energy!

Whew!  That is a lot of stuff!  But I feel healthier, happier, and like I am somehow acting as a partner to all this crazy science, IVF stuff.  I have cut out alcohol (BOOOOO!), caffeine (double BOOOO), and limited my meat and white carb intake.  If you are on this crazy infertility ride, please remember that there is always conflicting  information out there on that lovely beast called the Internet.  I encourage you to do your research and make the choices you feel are right for you.  But seriously…try the baby makin’ casserole….especially if you like it HOT!!