Essential Oils

The most important thing a woman can do when she finds out she is pregnant is eat nutrient dense foods. Pregnancy is not an excuse to eat whatever you want, it’s a time to nourish yourself and your baby. Ideally, it’s best to start preparing your body (and your partner’s body!) about 6-12 months prior to conception, but obviously, this is not realistic for everyone. So whether you are planning on getting pregnant or already are, here are my top 10 foods to eat to ensure a healthy mama, healthy baby and healthy birth. To preface the top ten foods for pregnancy, it is important to recognize that these are the exact foods to heal and boost fertility. Women experiencing infertility often turn to doctors, hormonal treatments and IVF, when the first place women and men should start are their diets. Our bodies are designed to reproduce. If they are…

I am not currently trying to get pregnant but it is definitely something that is on my future agenda. Both Scott and I want kids, and when the time comes to have them I plan to prepare with a preconception diet (Scott will do this also, it’s equally as important for dudes). But this got me thinking: the levels of infertility are higher than they’ve ever been. I have two girlfriends (that I know of) that are both infertile, both are young (under 33) and both are vegetarian. While this could just be a coincidence, I don’t think it is. With all the propaganda about plant-based diets, I think most people are just unaware of the shortcomings of this nutrient deficient diet. And it’s blatantly obvious to me that a plant-based diet is not the optimal diet to prepare the body for pregnancy. Cholesterol As I explained in this post, cholesterol is the precursor to the steroid hormones,…

Fat bashing began in the early to mid 1900s. Prior to this, animal fats in the form of butter, lard, and tallow were largely consumed without any epidemic of heart disease. It was not because doctors did not have a diagnosis for heart disease at that time – they absolutely did. It was because saturated fat actually protects, nourishes and allows our bodies to thrive. So let’s explore how cholesterol is so beneficial. Cholesterol is in every cell of the body. As for cell membranes, roughly 50% are made up of saturated fat and the brain is at least 60% fat. Cholesterol helps the molecules of the cell membrane to maintain durability, keep the environment suitable for proteins in the membrane and maintain its fluidity. Seems pretty important for our cells, huh? A proper intake of cholesterol also regulates the steroid hormones. As for steroid hormones, there are five: glucocorticoids, mineralcorticoids, estrogens, androgens, and progestins.…