Hippocrates

Fertility is the ability to fully inhabit a moment, to be completely present. That is where life happens—and that is the creative force of the mother. When we can learn how to connect consciously with what is happening in each moment, however painful, allowing and trusting the unfolding of life on life’s terms—rather than controlling and forcing outcomes—we more simply open, to life. Robin Tiberi, DAOM, L.Ac, Clinical Director The Fertile Soul

INTRODUCTION

We have put a lot of energy and resources into creating the Acubalance Fertile Diet. Its inspiration came from years of counseling couples in our clinic on how to eat to optimize their fertility.

While Chinese physicians have been treating infertility with diet for centuries, Western science is just starting to catch up to the significant role that diet plays in the ovulatory causes of infertility. A landmark study published in 2008, based on the Harvard Nurses Study, makes startling connections between diet and conception. As the most comprehensive research to date on diet and fertility, this study associates a slow carb, whole food, mostly plant based diet with a six-fold increase in fertility.

The Acubalance Fertile Diet is an effort to blend the wisdom of Chinese medicine with groundbreaking western research to help women and couples learn what and how to eat to optimize fertility. The diet includes meal plans, recipes, shopping lists, and tips on mindful eating to help you get started.

But before you launch into this diet (or any other), you might want to take a minute to think about the following.

In my clinical practice women ask me daily about what foods to eat and what foods to avoid in order to lose weight and to be fertile. And to my surprise, when I pursue this question further with them, they all seem to already know the answers. So I began to wonder why, when we have tons of information about nutrition and diet, we still eat in ways that we know are not healthy for us? Even Oprah, with her access to the very best nutritional expertise, can’t maintain a healthy weight. What’s going on?

I think Bob Greene (Oprah’s trainer) is onto something when he says “that when someone overeats, they are hungry—but what they really crave isn't necessarily food.”

He goes on to say that “people often turn to food as their drug of choice” when that can’t get what they need in other areas of their life.

I was inspired to reconsider the whole issue of healthy eating and weight loss when I attended a presentation by Paul Pitchford, author of Healing with Whole Foods – Asian Traditions in Modern Nutrition. During his years of experience counseling people on diet, Paul realized that getting someone to change their diet was like getting them to convert to a new religion. And most people don’t have the discipline it takes to make that change.

He found that if he took the focus off diet and instead concentrated on getting his patients to exercise more and take care of their well-being through meditation and walks in nature, they began to feel better emotionally and could then naturally gravitate to eating better.

This was an AHA! moment for me. I was in the process of developing the Acubalance Fertile Diet. But despite providing all the great resources it contains, I knew the trick would be in helping my clients feel motivated to make the change to this new way of eating.

It became clear to me that you don’t first focus on changing eating habits; rather, you start by “feeding” the underlying aspects of body, mind and spirit that are undernourished. You need to find balance and emotional and spiritual satisfaction in other areas of your life so you won’t be so inclined to use food to fill a void. This led me to come up with three simple steps to feeling better and getting on the path to healthy, joyful, fertile living.

I call my three-step program: Move, Nurture, and Connect.

1. Move your body

Exercise. Move your body. When you exercise, your body rewards you by releasing a cascade of feel-good hormones (endorphins). These endorphins are Mother Nature’s antidepressants, lowering your stress and boosting your sense of well-being.

And to boot, exercise burns calories and helps regulate your insulin levels, reversing some of the metabolic imbalances that are contributing to your weight gain and your fertility issues. Just walking for 30 minutes every day has a positive effect. You can also make an effort to incorporate more activity into your daily routine by parking your car a few blocks from work or your destination, taking stairs instead of an elevator, or hiring a trainer.

2. Nurture

You can’t be positive or give to others if your own basket isn’t full and you are feeling depleted. So the first thing to do is put yourself on your agenda. Take time to nurture yourself: read an inspiring book, have a massage, go to the spa, keep a journal, garden, pamper yourself with a bubble bath with candles and music, or have a walk in nature. Take time each day to meditate and connect to what’s important to you and what you have to be grateful about.

3. Connect

Humans are social beings, and studies have shown that having a supportive community of family and friends is the most important determinant of mental and physical health.

Malcolm Gladwell tells a fascinating story in his book The Outliers. He describes a small town called Rosetta in the US that had been settled by immigrants from a village in Italy. The town is renowned for the health and longevity of its inhabitants. Residents of Rosetta are astonishingly immune to the normal North American diseases like heart disease and cancer. Researchers were at a loss to explain this phenomena as they could find nothing different in the diet or genetics of Rosseta compared to other towns in the region.

Finally, they identified the differentiating factor—the community itself. Three generations of families often lived together. Everyone knew their neighbors and people felt safe and supported. Whenever a family or individual was in difficulty, neighbors rallied together to take care of them. The researcher finally concluded that it was this culture of caring for each other that was the source of the remarkable health of the residents.

More and more studies are showing that feeling connected is a potent elixir of health—lowering blood pressure, boosting your immune system and creating feelings of happiness and well-being.

Start combining all three: Move, Nurture & Connect by going for a walk in nature with family or friends at least once a week, and then come home for a tasty lunch or dinner made from some of the recipes we have in this book. I bet you will feel great!

A Story

This story is an example of how lifestyle and diet can have a remarkable impact on fertility.
Karen and Mike had been trying to conceive for 10 years and were feeling desperate. Even though they didn’t live in Vancouver, they contacted me and and asked if I would be willing to help guide them through the complex and emotional journey of fertility testing and treatment.

So I think it was the diet, and I also think it was the luck, and, more importantly, I think it was the letting go, taking the stress away—that helped create a healthy environment for mother nature to do her magic.


I hope this will inspire you to feel that there are many things you can do to optimize your fertility—including diet. But to begin with, you may need to take care of the emotional needs that may be causing you to eat poorly. That is where Moving, Nurturing and Connecting can help you make the change.

Once you have made the decision to embrace a fertile way of eating, the Acubalance Fertile Diet makes it easy for you to begin. If you love the science behind why certain foods negatively impact your fertility and why others positively increase your chances of conceiving and having a healthy baby, this book is a great resource. (Chapter 1: Fertility Diet Research & Recommendations)

If you want to know how to restock your pantry and where to shop for whole, locally grown foods, then we have that information for you. (Chapter 4: Getting Ready for Change, Chapter 5: Shopping for Fertility Foods )

If you just want some menu plans and tasty recipes, then check out our recipe section. (Chapter 8: Recipes )

If you have a complex condition like PCOS, endometriosis or male factor, then we have chapters specifically dedicated to help you manage these conditions naturally and, perhaps, avoid expensive invasive treatments. (Chapter 3: Fine Tuning for Special Conditions)

The essence of research and ancient practice is that healthy eating
for fertility is based on a natural, whole foods, plant based,
anti-inflammatory diet that includes the following:

Whole Foods
Whole foods are minimally processed and refined as little as possible
before being eaten. Whole foods provide maximum nutrients, fibre,
enzymes, antioxidants and taste without added artificial flavours,
colours, preservatives, sweeteners or trans fats. Whole foods are
simple, local, unrefined foods, where processing is limited to
enhancing digestibility (soaking, fermenting) or to food preservation
such as canning, smoking, curing and drying.

Slow Carbs
Slow carbohydrates are a group of carbohydrates that are slowly
digested causing a slower and lower rise in blood sugar after being
eaten. They include beans, peas, lentils, whole grains and most
vegetables. Eating slow carbs help to minimize insulin resistance,
regulate blood sugar, improve fertility and prevent gestational
diabetes.

Plant Based Foods
Plant based foods include a rainbow of high fibre, high antioxidant
fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains. A plant
based diet means that most (but not necessarily all) of the diet is
based on plant foods and is associated with health promotion, disease
prevention and longevity around the world. It may be vegan, vegetarian
or include small amounts of meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy.

High Antioxidant Foods
High antioxidant fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices help to decrease
oxidative stress and cellular inflammation associated with decreased
fertility. Organic produce has been shown to be higher in antioxidants.

Healthy Fats
Healthy fats and oils that are pressed (slow, low temperature &
unrefined - free of chemical solvents) expressed? (suggests
expeller-pressed oils are unrefined, which is not the case) naturally
from whole plant foods (coconuts, nuts, seeds, avocado, olives) and
found in wild, deep sea, short-lived fish. Healthy fats combat cellular
inflammation, and improve hormonal sensitivity.

High Quality Dairy
Small amounts of full fat (non-homogenized) dairy products –
particularly live culture plain yogurt and kefir, and high quality
artisan (naturally fermented) organic cheese – as these are associated
with increased fertility.

Healthy Weight
Weight balance, through attention to balanced diet, portion size, daily
exercise and mindful eating. Weight balance for optimal fertility
includes a healthy body mass index (BMI) between 20 and 25 and a waist
circumference (WC) of less than 35” for women and less than 40” for men.

Mindful Eating
Mindful eating as a way of eating that can help you slow down and tune
in to your body, mind and spirit. It offers a daily way to practice
mindfulness (paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment,
without judgment), which has been shown to be helpful to manage stress,
blood sugar, blood pressure, anxiety, depression and unbalanced
(disordered) eating.