Produce Spotlight: Garlic
For many couples, difficulty getting pregnant is often preceded by years of outside influence telling a womans body not to get pregnant. Our systems are easily confused by the myriad of conflicting signals they take in from our environment, let alone the things we deliberately expose ourselves to. Unfortunately not all of these things are controllable, but there are some things we can do to improve our chances & make our bodies a healthier place to foster new life.
- Cleaning up the diet: reducing the amount of imflammatory foods such as the nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers), white grains (stick with whole grains or no grains), sugar, coffee, dairy & meat in excess as well as eliminating alcohol, drugs & cigarettes.
- Quitting drugs, alcohol & cigarettes are tough to do. The good news is that there’s help available to support you through cutting these out of your life- for good. Also, remember that nicotine replacement therapies (like the patch) will affect a new baby just the same as if they’re receiving the addictive drug via cigarette smoke. Smoking also ages your ovaries & eggs, making it more difficult to conceive. Investigate acupuncture or meditation techniques for a more natural approach.
- Hydrating properly: the commonly accepted 8 glasses of water is a great start, but if you’re marathon training you’re going to need to increase that number. Consumption of dehydrating things such as excess salt or caffeine will lead to needing more water down the hatch daily as well. For every cup of coffee you drink, you’ll want to compensate with two more of water (plus your 8 for the day!).
- Regular exercise is never a bad idea: if it’s not a regular habit, begin slowly with a lunchtime walk, or maybe borrow the neighbours dog after work. There’s no need to sign up for a boot camp right off the bat- take it slow to start and remember that doing something is better than nothing.
- Detoxing your home: consider ditching artificial fragrances including those found in scented candles, laundry soap, room sprays or air fresheners. They confuse our endocrine system, which throws our hormone balance out of whack. I’ve written more on this here. Tossing your microwave is a huge lifestyle change for many, but it’s absolutely possible. Microwaves not only kill all the enzymes in your food and alter it on a molecular level, but any hidden nasties in the container you’re heating it in may leach into your food. Many of those are also endocrine system disruptors. Yuck. Using a toaster oven for reheating leftovers or boiling the kettle to revive a forgotten mug of tea are common alternative to nuking.
- Detoxing your bathroom: it is said that women in particular use on average 20 some-odd products on our skin every day. The body’s largest organ, the skin is our barrier between the outside world & the delicate working parts that make up the organism that we are inside. Everything we expose our skin to is absorbed by our body. Use the EWG’s Cosmetic Database to determine just how toxic all the lotions & potions we slather on ourselves daily are. Try reducing how much or how often they are used.
Simply instituting these helpful tips is not a guarantee for instant pregnancy, but they’ll certainly give your body a better chance of hosting a VIP party in your womb. They will also set you up with some great habits & a healthier household to bring a new precious little one in.
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