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CoQ10 and Egg Health

Many people so not realize how dangerous free radicals can be to the entire body – including the reproductive system. Free radicals are all of those dangerous toxins and chemicals that you come into contact with everyday. From the pesticides in the vegetables you buy at the grocery store and the hormones in the milk you drink to the chlorine in the water from your tap to the fluoride in your toothpaste, free radicals exposure is everywhere. Believe it or not the average person comes in contact with as many as 5,000 different toxins every single day. These free radical can attack your body’s cells, weakening them and keeping them from repairing and rejuvenating themselves like they should. Now consider what free radical damage can do to affect your fertility. Let’s begin with the ovaries. For years, many women were told that their eggs were “too old” to be fertilized and there was nothing they could do about it. New research says otherwise.

A woman may be born with a lifetime supply of eggs (this has been recently challenged by a Harvard study), but that does not mean that they age in the same way the rest of her body does. Until it is time for a particular egg to be released into the fallopian tube for possible fertilization, it is stored safely in the ovaries.

It takes one of those precious eggs about 90 days to go through an entire life cycle from preparation in the ovaries to release into the fallopian tubes to possible fertilization and implantation in the uterus. During this short time, it is vulnerable to all types of damage, including those form free radicals. Just some of the things which could affect an egg’s health at this stage are: blood flow and circulation; improper oxygenation; hormone imbalances; eating the wrong foods and even stress. It is during this important time when an egg needs special help to fight off free radical damage and other dangers.

CoEnzyme Q10 (CoQ10), is a fat soluble nutrient that is a potent antioxidant that has been used successfully to help boost a woman’s egg health and strength before invitro-fertlilization (IVF), to increase the chance of a healthy pregnancy. It can also be used to simply boost overall fertility health. CoQ10 is responsible for energy production within the cell. As we age our CoQ10 levels decrease, reducing the amount of energy each cell is creating/using.

Taken 2-3 months before a couple tries to get pregnant (either through an IVF procedure or more natural methods), CoQ10 may help to protect the egg from free radicles, but also inprove the energy and health of the ovum (egg) cells. This potent anti-oxidant can also help to reverse damage by aiding reproductive cells in rejuvenating themselves.

Men’s fertility can be enhanced by CoQ10 also. This important antioxidant has also been successful in helping to protect sperm from free radical damage that can inhibit its motility and form. An improperly formed sperm can not swim efficiently and will find it difficult – if not impossible – to make it to the fallopian tubes where the egg is waiting. If it does, but has been damaged in any way it may be unable to penetrate an egg for fertilization. CoQ10 can help to strengthen sperm and give it the protection it needs to ward off DNA damage.

Women's Fertility Supplements Guide

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You know the importance of taking a fertility supplement, but aren’t sure which one is best for your situation; here’s a list of the most effective female fertility supplements to choose from:

Baby and Me Multivitamin – every woman needs to take a multi-vitamin specially designed to improve fertility health and supply the body with all the vitamins and nutrients it needs to conceive and grow a healthy baby.
Fertilica Royal Jelly – a wonderful super food that is known to improve egg health and overall fertility.
DIM – Excess estrogen is a major culprit in many fertility cases. DIM helps the body to rid itself of excess estrogen and clear it from the body.
Alpha Lipoic Acid – used to help detoxify the body and build a stronger immune system that can help to protect the body’s cells from damaging free radicals.
Omega 3,6,9 complete – a completely safe essential fatty acid that is designed to improve overall health and strengthen the immune system, this complete Omega supplement also works to restore total hormonal balance in the body.
Fertilica Whole Food Daily Multivitamins – no one gets all the vitamins and minerals they need in their daily diet (no matter how hard they try). That is why it is so important to take a good multi-vitamin that is designed specifically for pre-conception to ensure that your body has the nutrients it needs. Fertilca made it easy with this one a day, whole food multivitamin.
UltraGreens – Getting enough healthy greens in your diet is the best way to build a strong foundation for healthy fertility. Containing such important products as Organic Alfalfa leaf, Organic Barley Grass, Organic Wheat Grass, Spirulina, Chlorella, Organic Flax Seeds, Spinach Leaf, Bee Pollen, Kelp and royal jelly, it offers many superfoods in one
Whey Protein – a fantastic way to get enough protein in your body to give your system the help it needs to build strong cells and grow a healthy baby.
Blood Builder by Mega Food – a healthy pregnancy requires the right amount of iron in your body to help build cells and make your enhance growth. Blood builder is designed to give your body just the right amount of iron.
Zymessence -- A blend of systemic enzymes to help remove scar tissue buildup in the reproductive tract; reduce inflammation; stop improper immunological responses in the body and reduce blood clotting that could impede a pregnancy.
L-Arginine – an important amino acid necessary to increase blood flow to the ovaries and uterus as well as increase sperm counts in men.
Alive Bee Powder -- a mix of some of the bets fertility super foods on the planet -- Royal Jelly, Bee Pollen, and Bee Propolis – Alive Bee Powder is a great way to regulate hormones, increase egg health and strengthen the uterus in order to boost your overall fertility.
Slow Flow Menstrual Flow Support – a mix of astringent herbs and nutrients to help normalize heavy bleeding during the normal menses.
Fem Rebalance – a woman’s hormones can be disrupted by a lot of different factors: stress; poor diet; oral contraceptives and more. Fem Balance is designed to help restore a woman’s natural hormonal state using a gentle mix of herbs.
Progesterone Cream – an imbalance in your progesterone and estrogen levels can make it impossible to get pregnant. By boosting progesterone levels, you may be able to restore balance to the entire body and enhance fertility.
Fertile CM – without fertile cervical mucus during ovulation, caption can be difficult. Fertile CM helps to restore the balance of a woman’s cervical mucus, while also strengthening the lining of the uterus.
Evening Primrose – a great cervical mucus enhancer and hormone balancer!
CoQ10 – A powerful antioxidant that has been show to protect both male sperm and female eggs from the damaging effects of free radicals
Adrenal Strength – stress can be a real fertility buster. Adrenal strength helps to replenish drained adrenals with the nutrients it needs to work properly.
Pyncnogenal -- a potent antioxidant that can benefit both sexes by improving both egg and sperm health. Although no woman needs to take all of the supplements listed above, it is a good idea to ask your doctor which ones will help you to improve your chances of getting pregnant.

Fertility Chart Your Way to Optimal Fertility

By Hethir Rodriguez MH, CMT

Charting your own menstrual cycle by creating a fertility chart is the best way to naturally increase your fertility. Understanding when you are most fertile is the first step of fertility awareness. The simplest way of doing this is charting the days when you produce the most cervical mucous, an indicator of ovulation. This mucous is essential for fertility and serves as nourishment and protection for sperm. The mucous you are looking for is viscous and wet. You will also feel greater sensitivity when you wipe. Indicate each day you find this type of mucous on a calendar. After three cycles you will begin to see a pattern that you can use to predict when you are most fertile.

If the first step is not enough, you should combine it with a temperature fertility chart. Keeping track of your basal body temperature and characteristics of your cervical mucous will help you create a very accurate and personalized fertility chart. To start, you want to make sure you are using a quality thermometerthat takes the temperature by mouth. Your body’s resting temperature will fluctuate during ovulation by approximately four-tenths degrees Fahrenheit and two-tenths a degree Centigrade.

To accurately chart when you are ovulating, take your temperature every morning around the same time and under the same circumstances. If you take your temperature before getting out of bed three days a week, do so for the other four days. When you notice the temperature increase it means your body is under the effects of progesterone and is an indicator of ovulation. You are most fertile on these days.

It is essential to learn how to interpret your fertility chart. The easiest way is to graph your daily temperatures (using the previously mentioned steps and a chart from the link below) and comparing all the temperatures per month. If you ovulated in a particular month you will likely see the characteristic biphasic pattern with full thermal shift. For this pattern, you will see a noticeable distinction of two phases, between low and high temperatures. The high temperature phase occurs immediately ovulation and will persist for several days to indicate fertility before dropping once more as the cycle starts again.

Becoming pregnant can be a difficult endeavor but by being aware of your body’s own natural rhythm you are more capable of determining which days are the best for conception. Here are additional tips to keep in mind while creating a fertility chart.
  • Be consistent. Do your best to take your temperature the same time every morning. This will ensure accurate results and will help maximize your fertility chart’s effectiveness.
  • Be aware. Jot down notes about your cycle while making sure to take extra care to record days you produce the most viscous and wet cervical mucous.
  • Be a team player. Regardless of how fertile you are or how carefully you plan your partner should know the basics of male fertility so your efforts are not in vein.
Free Fertility Chart: http://natural-fertility-info.com/wp-content/uploads/fertility-charting-fahrenheit.pdf


Fertility Drugs - How to Get Pregnant Without Them

Fertility Drugs - How to Get Pregnant Without Them
By Hethir Rodriguez MH, CMT

Sometimes keeping track of a fertility chart is not enough to become pregnant. Some women turn to fertility drugs to increase fertility, but before you take the leap consider some alternatives that are natural and inexpensive. There are a bundle of great alternatives to fertility drugs, these alternatives include herbs, massage, yoga, mind/body therapies, nutrition, and supplements. Yoga, massage, and mind/body therapies essentially fall under the same category of improving your reproductive system through physical engagement. Combining one or more of these alternatives to a healthy fertility diet can produce outstanding results without the risk of potential side effects found in fertility drugs.
Yoga, or fertility yoga as some call it, employs a variety of exercise techniques to improve the function of the endocrine and reproductive system. This form of yoga not only improves circulation to all the reproductive organs, it helps center your mind and body to reduce stress and prepare you for the long journey ahead after conception. Yoga helps the body cope with hormonal imbalance, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), reproductive organ scarring, problems with ovulation, and uterine fibroids. Both massages and mind/body therapies work in a similar way to reduce stress and tension and are great alternatives to fertility drugs.
Self fertility massages in particular offer great ways to promote a healthy menstrual cycle, regulate ovulation, increase cervical mucous, decrease cramps and blood clots, decrease pain from endometriosis, promote egg health, support hormone balance, and improve overall health.
Altering your nutrition habits, taking herbs, and obtaining supplements are all part of the other category of improving your reproductive health by dietary intake. There are dozens of herbs and roots that will help improve your fertility without having to take fertility drugs. These include Yellow Dock, Maca, and Vitex.
Yellow Dock is a detoxification herb that is used to cleanse the blood of excess hormones by improving liver function, ultimately preparing the body for a healthy conception. This is one of the main herbs we use in the Fertility Cleanse.
Maca is a wonderful root that helps to nourish the endocrine system, helping to balance hormones, increase progesterone in women and testosterone in men. Studies have shown maca root to decrease FSH levels (if they are high), boost egg health, sperm health and much more. This is one of my favorite herbs.
Vitex is a hormone-balancing herb best used long term. Vitex works well to lengthen the second half of the menstrual cycle (important for implantation of the fertilized egg). It is also used to promote ovulation, counter amenorrhea, and improve progesterone levels without the adverse effects of hormone therapy.
Nothing can replace a traditional fertility diet but by engaging in physical activity, whether you turn to yoga, massage, or mind/body exercises, or by supplementing your diet with herbs you can drastically improve your chances of conception without the need of fertility drugs.
Not sure which herbs and supplement are right for you? Consider booking a natural fertility consultation with our herbalist. Suggestions will then be made based on your personal health and fertility history.

Fertility Yoga

By Hethir Rodriguez MH, CMT

Yoga is a wonderful way to increase your chances of fertility success. No matter what other type of fertility treatment you are considering (or currently in the process of undergoing), adding some simple fertility yoga exercises to your daily routine can indeed help to boost the effectiveness of just about any treatment. Few people realize the detrimental effect stress can have on the human body, not to mention your ability to get pregnant. When the body initiates it natural fight or flight response to stress, the release of important sex hormones that cause the ovaries to release an egg for fertilization and even the right amount of hormones to create a nurturing environment for a fertilized egg can be hampered, creating intolerable conditions for an embryo to grow.

Combining specialized postures, breathing techniques and guided imagery, yoga can be used to offer a deeper sense of relaxation and calm to both body and spirit, freeing the internal systems of stressors that could actually be inhibiting a pregnancy.

But achieving more internal peace is not the only benefit yoga offers would-be parents. Yoga also offers these important fertility benefits:

  • Stress Reduction
  • Increased blood flow (especially to ovaries and uterus)
  • More flexibility as the pelvic and hip region are opened
  • Spine Alignment
  • Endocrine Regulation
  • Freeing the body of toxins
There have been numerous studies conducted in recent years to determine whether or not fertility yoga can indeed increase a couple’s chance of conception. In one research study, 55% of the patients who underwent yoga in addition to other fertility treatments (including IVF) became pregnant after just 10 weeks; compared to just 20% of patients who underwent the same fertility treatments without the yoga.

Considering these amazing documented results, it’s no wonder more fertility specialists aren’t urging their patients to begin a regular yoga routine with their fertility treatments.

Of course not every type of yoga is good at aiding fertility efforts. That is why it is important to learn about the variety of fertility yoga methods to find the one that best meets your needs:

The most popular fertility yoga is ashtanga yoga and bikram yoga; but these others can work well to help couples increase their chance of conceiving:

  • Hatha yoga is a slower form of yoga which uses slow, methodical postures and movements that are very meditative and relaxing. 
  • Kripalu yoga helps to improve the mind body connection by utilizing very basic postures combined with deep breathing techniques.
  • Couples yoga allows both partners the chance to work together, supporting each other through synchronized moves and complimentary poses. It is also a great way to improve communication between partners and increase intimacy between the two.
Yoga methods are not the only thing to consider when trying to enhance your fertility; the yoga postures you adopt are important too. Different poses allow the body’s energies and circulation to flow to different areas – including the reproductive organs. Here are a few of the most effective fertility postures to try:

The supported bridge pose: to do this pose, lie on your back. Keep your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor or ground. Slowly, bring your feet as close to your buttocks as you can comfortably manage. Using deep relaxing breaths inhale and exhale slowly and rhythmically as you bring your pelvis up off of the floor. Be sure that your feet stay firmly planted on the floor. Hold your hands clasped behind your head, bringing it too off of the floor and hold position for at least one minute, Continue to breathe slowly and deeply throughout the pose.

The legs on wall pose: for this pose, lie on the ground with your buttocks close to a wall. When your legs reach a 90 degree angle, hold for two minutes and then release. Rest your legs on the wall so that you create a 90-degree angle at your pelvis. 


The cobbler’s pose: a common yoga pose, this one requires you to stretch your legs out in front of you, and then slowly bring them toward your groin, while pushing the soles together. Next, slowly lower your knees to the ground, while holding tightly to your toes. Be careful not to strain your legs and hold this pose for 3-5 minutes.

Most people who try yoga love the way it makes them feel. Not only is it great for your health, but it is great for your mood. A relatively easy way to tone and strengthen the entire body, yoga can also help to rebalance hormones; reduce stress and increase circulation and blood flow to the reproductive organs.


Getting Pregnant... 5 Top Ways to Boost Your Fertility Naturally

By Hethir Rodriguez MH, CMT

Getting pregnant requires a healthy body, a lot of patience, and above all, a calm and stress-free life. Here are the 5 top ways to boost your fertility naturally while on your journey to getting pregnant. Step 1. Fertility Massage
Most women have not heard of this inexpensive and convenient way of improving fertility. Self Fertility Massage is essentially a series of massage techniques done on oneself that improve blood circulation, balance, and reproductive health. The massage techniques are easy to learn and confer everlasting benefits. Most importantly, these massage techniques will help you relax and reduce daily stress buildup – and important step to ensure fertility.

Step 2. Fertility Diet
A lot of women erroneously believe that the diet change should come after they become pregnant. What they do not realize is that fertility chances drop in a malnourished environment. If you are thinking about getting pregnant, you should alter your diet at soon as possible. Fertility diets are specially made to improve your body’s ability to deliver healthy eggs that remain intact during conception and strong well into your first trimester. A strong fertility diet will include fresh fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins, raw calcium foods, fats, and natural sugars. Each of these elements is absolutely necessary.

Step 3. Fertility Herbs
In addition to a balanced fertility diet, women often want to improve their chances of conception by taking supplements or fertility drugs. However, some of these options may not be the healthiest alternative for your body or for your baby. Instead, consider taking fertility herbs in moderation. These herbs have been shown to improve a woman’s chance at getting pregnant through a wide range of mechanisms that improve blood circulation, add vitamins and minerals, and offer hormone-balancing properties.

Step 4. Fertility Yoga
Fertility yoga is an extension to traditional yoga that pays particular attention to the movements and stretches that help strengthen the reproductive system. Additionally, the improved balance, flexibility, and toning prepare your body for the rapid physical changes that arise from pregnancy. The list of benefits that you receive from fertility yoga is endless.

Step 5. Fertility Superfoods and Smoothies
Sticking to a fertility diet does not have to be difficult. Fertility smoothies created by combining several fertility superfoods is the easiest and tastiest way to deliver your body the necessary nutrients it needs while getting pregnant. What are fertility superfoods? Superfoods are foods that are nutrient dense, have an abundance of minerals, vitamins, anitoxidants, and other beneficial ingredients in high amounts. Smoothies made from these fertility superfoods are great because they taste great, they retain all the fiber and nutrients in the original produce, and they are easy to prepare and drink. Learn more about fertility superfoods here...


Natural Fertility Cleanse

Performing a Fertility Cleanse is one of the best first steps you can take in preparation for conception and hormonal balance.

The Fertility Cleanse Kit focuses on clearing out any imbalances that may be present in the body, and on nourishing and balancing the uterus and hormones. Once we have created this balance, the body is able to function at its optimal level, which is from a very fertile place.

This Kit Includes:
  • Liver Renew Capsules
  • Liver Cleanse Flushing Tea
  • Milk Thistle Seed Extract
  • Conceptions Tea
  • Women's Best Friend Capsules
How the cleanse works:
The herbs, vitamins and minerals in the cleanse help the body to release toxins by:

- Detoxifying the liver. The liver is the filtering organ for the body, including hormones. If there is an over abundance of estrogen, the liver will be overloaded and in need of a little herbal help.

- Cleansing the Uterus. In some instances the uterus is not able to empty it's entire contents every menstrual cycle. Some symptoms that show up when this is happening are PMS, cramps during your period, brown blood/dark blood/purple blood during menstruation, blood clotting during menstruation, endometriosis, PCOS, absence of menstruation, long cycles (longer than normal), or bleeding less than 4 days per cycle.

If the uterus is not completely cleansed every cycle, old stagnant blood remains. As you can imagine this is not the best environment to house a new embryo.

- Increasing circulation to the uterus. When the uterus is getting proper circulation, it functions optimally, and the communication loop between the uterus and ovaries with the endocrine system is also able to function smoothly. This process is necessary for proper hormonal balance.
Benefits:
  • Supports the detoxification of the liver of excess hormones and toxins*
  • Promotes the uterus to cleanse out old blood & clots*
  • Supports the bodies ability reduce inflammation in the reproductive organs*
  • Promotes increased circulation to the reproductive system for optimal health*
  • Works with the menstrual cycle for optimal cleansing*

Human egg makes accidental debut on camera

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  • 11 June 2008 by Linda Geddes
  • Look closely: this is history in the making. These are the clearest pictures ever taken of what is the starting point of every human life: ovulation occurring inside a woman's body