Eat your way to Pregnancy

The weekend is nigh and the topic of food is always on the menu when meeting up with friends to decide what foods to indulge and plan for the weekend ahead. We even use food idioms in our everyday language such as ‘sweet as honey’ or ‘bearing fruit’ to describe different meanings.

Food is considered much more than the basic need to maintain our body. It is associated with celebrations and emotions that is enjoyable and comforting.

This love and association of food continues to be ignited with media and TV shows exciting us with the concepts of food art that gets our salivation glands working as we anticipate the taste of great looking food. It’s no wonder we are a society of foodies with a desire to chase world cuisines and visit as many Micheline star and good restaurants around the globe where food is taken to ‘another level’.

I too am a foodie and like to celebrate with good food in restaurants as well as in the home where the hub of conversation takes place. However, my love of food goes beyond what looks and tastes great, for me it’s about choosing good quality sourced ingredients that not only look and taste good, but bring to the table an intelligence of food with health matters in mind. When prepared a variety of food in any one meal brings an abundance of nutrients with natural co-enzymes, that allow your body to absorb the many vitamins and minerals to allow your cells and your body to work effectively.

Strapline… Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food

The link between food and health has been documented since Antiquity, and the Hippocrates statement of ‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’ is a very real factor towards a healthy mind and body. We all know food affects how we feel especially associated with celebrations, and food should make us feel good. It tastes great and nourishes our bodies.

With one in four couples world-wide having difficulties conceiving, it is no surprise that many are leaning towards natural concepts to ultimately help improve their pregnancy outcomes. Food is essential to maintain our bodies and I see fertility and pregnancy health benefits for those eating a range of good natural foods.

In previous articles, I discuss the concepts of Traditional Chinese nutritional therapy as well as western concepts of nutrition to bridge the gap to help improve egg, lining and sperm quality. Most couples suffering infertility issues attending our clinics have seen improvements in their egg and sperm quality health, enabling positive and healthy pregnancy outcomes.

Eating towards fertility is about ensuring your body has a varied and wide variety of nutrients for the body’s needs which is supported by the growing evidence of research.

Many of our patients are encouraged to eat food that include iron, omega fatty acids and good sources of protein along with a wide range of vitamins and minerals based on bridging the nutritional gap using traditional Chinese nutritional concepts of foods. These foods have nourishing, warming, cooling and moving energetic properties to them which when a diagnosis is formulated help address individuals needs towards fertility.

What is amazing is that traditional Chinese nutritional concepts of food can be found in many everyday meals. Have you ever wondered why Lamb with mint source taste so good? and ginger with lemon just makes us feel better? Lamb in Chinese medicine is considered to have warming properties and mint is cooling which together provide an energetic balance in food, let alone the nutrient value of protein with its good source of vitamins and minerals.

We all know that our eyes and the taste buds determine a good meal, but how do we know what foods we should eat when we’re feeling tired, or just need a boost of warmth? Instinctively, we are likely to crave certain foods, and yet too much of a certain food is not good either. The concept of Chinese medicine nutrition and its 5 flavors of Salty, Sour, Bitter, Sweet and Pungent is found in all our foods that together provide a balanced meal with a good range of nutrients too.

Many ask, “what can I cook?’ or “what can I do with spinach?” It is in this concept that I have developed health cooking workshops where I really combine my passion for food, nutrition and its benefits for health in these fun interac