Patient Resources and Recommendations for Fertility Enhancement to Complement Acupuncture and Herbal Therapy
You're seeing this page because you're a patient and we've recommended one or more of these tools for you to enhance your fertility
Lifestyle Tips
- Do your best to achieve a healthy weight (not overweight or underweight)
- Do moderate exercise - not too strenuous
- Very little alcohol (no alcohol would be better) - 1 glass of wine is okay for most people, but no more than that
- Very little caffeine to no caffeine (switch from coffee to green tea if you can). Caffeine raises cortisol levels and can disrupt female hormones
- Prioritize your sleep and rest - this is one of the best fertility enhancers and hormone balancers out there! Acupuncture can help with this, but also ask us for other tips to improve your sleep if need be.
- The more you hurry, the more you wait - if we've recommended waiting 2-3 months to try to conceive while we balance you out, your results will often be better
- Avoid NSAID medication (Asprin, Advil, Motrin, Aleve, etc), especially during the first part of your cycle. These medications can inhibit ovulation.
- Have intercourse every 2nd day (or about 3 times a week). There is no need to have intercourse every day, and in fact, sperm regenerates every 48 hours. If you usually ovulate on day 14 - shoot for having intercourse on day 9, 11, 13 and 15 of your cycle. It’s important to have intercourse before ovulation. Sperm can live in the uterus for up to five days and we want it to be waiting there when the egg is released.
Diet & Nutrition for Optimal Fertility
- Eat whole foods in their natural form as much as possible
- Select from a variety of veggies, fruits (limit to about 2 servings a day), whole grains, beans, seeds and nuts, very limited dairy products (this can interfere with your hormones - eat organic if you do eat dairy) and very limited animal protein, meaning meat, poultry and eggs (about 1 serving a day is fine -- choose organic or pasture raised/grass fed)
- Some patients will need more specific dietary recommendations - please discuss with your practitioner
- Take a high quality prenatal - we can recommend one
- Have a functional blood chemistry analysis if you want more guidance on nutrition that is guided from your unique blood results
Seed Nutrition
Seeds are an excellent addition to your diet to promote hormonal balance, normal cycling and healthy ovulation. Some experts recommend something called "seed cycling," which is taking different seeds at specific times in your cycle. I don't believe you need to be that specific, but adding seeds to your diet is an excellent idea.
Ground flax seed is very helpful for fertility. I'd recommend you get some organic whole flax seeds and grind about a cup in your blender once a week. Store the ground seeds in the fridge. Grinding yourself makes sure the oils in the seeds are super fresh, and storing them in the fridge preserves them. Sprinkling 1-2 Tbl on your foods or in your smoothie once a day, especially during the first half of your cycle, but they can also be continued the whole month long. Flax seeds help with estrogen metabolism, which is very important for hormonal balancing and most women have an issue with this.
Other than the flax seed, please add other seeds to your diet such as pumpkin, sesame, sunflower and hemp to your foods. About 1-2 Tbl a day is good, you don't have to do each seed every day, you can rotate according to your preference. Try to buy organic seed.
Ground flax seed is very helpful for fertility. I'd recommend you get some organic whole flax seeds and grind about a cup in your blender once a week. Store the ground seeds in the fridge. Grinding yourself makes sure the oils in the seeds are super fresh, and storing them in the fridge preserves them. Sprinkling 1-2 Tbl on your foods or in your smoothie once a day, especially during the first half of your cycle, but they can also be continued the whole month long. Flax seeds help with estrogen metabolism, which is very important for hormonal balancing and most women have an issue with this.
Other than the flax seed, please add other seeds to your diet such as pumpkin, sesame, sunflower and hemp to your foods. About 1-2 Tbl a day is good, you don't have to do each seed every day, you can rotate according to your preference. Try to buy organic seed.
Plastics as Hormone Disruptors
Personal Care Products/Cosmetics/Environmental
It is important to use cosmetics, toiletries and personal care products that are
Understanding Your Cycle
Fertility Massage/Femoral Massage
Femoral massage is a self-care technique you can use to increase the blood flow to your pelvic organs, including the ovaries, uterus, and testes.
Reproductive response depends on many factors, including proper nourishment of the reproductive system. As we age, our circulation naturally declines, and this is especially true for those of us who exercise infrequently or are overweight.
Undernourished reproductive organs cannot function at full capacity. Nor can they properly manage toxins that build up as a part of normal metabolic processes. Therefore, doing all we can to eat nutrient-rich foods, and ensuring that these nutrients are carried into the tissues of our reproductive organs, we ensure the best chance of overcoming any fertility challenges we currently face.
When to Do It
Women: You will start at the end of your period and do the exercise 3 times on each leg up to 2 times daily (i.e. morning and evening). Once ovulation is confirmed, you will stop until the end of your next period. Do not do the exercise if you fall pregnant.
If you are undergoing IVF, do the exercise from the end of your period until the day before retrieval. Do not do the exercise after retrieval. Do not do the exercise if you fall pregnant.
Men: You can do this exercise daily 3 times on each leg, up to 2 times daily. How to Do It
Do not perform this exercise if you:
Reproductive response depends on many factors, including proper nourishment of the reproductive system. As we age, our circulation naturally declines, and this is especially true for those of us who exercise infrequently or are overweight.
Undernourished reproductive organs cannot function at full capacity. Nor can they properly manage toxins that build up as a part of normal metabolic processes. Therefore, doing all we can to eat nutrient-rich foods, and ensuring that these nutrients are carried into the tissues of our reproductive organs, we ensure the best chance of overcoming any fertility challenges we currently face.
When to Do It
Women: You will start at the end of your period and do the exercise 3 times on each leg up to 2 times daily (i.e. morning and evening). Once ovulation is confirmed, you will stop until the end of your next period. Do not do the exercise if you fall pregnant.
If you are undergoing IVF, do the exercise from the end of your period until the day before retrieval. Do not do the exercise after retrieval. Do not do the exercise if you fall pregnant.
Men: You can do this exercise daily 3 times on each leg, up to 2 times daily. How to Do It
- Compress the femoral artery with your fingers, fairly heavy pressure will be required.
- When you feel the flow has ceased, hold for 15 - 30 seconds.
- The femoral artery can be located level with your pubic bone, just beneath the crease in your groin
between your thigh and lower abdomen. - The blood will then back up and increase the pressure gradient in the iliac arteries which forces more
blood into the pelvic arteries. This floods the pelvic organs and genitals with more blood. - When the hold is released, you should feel a sensation of warmth rushing down your legs as the blood
supply returns to the lower extremities.
Do not perform this exercise if you:
- are pregnant
- have high blood pressure
- have heart disease or circulatory problems (aneurisms, varicose veins, phlebitis, thrombosis)
- have a history of strokes
- have detached retinas
- are diabetic
Recommended Lubricant
Sperm Friendly Lubricant - Good Clean Love BioGenesis Fertility-Friendly Lubricant
Some intimate lubricants have either nasty preservatives that can be hormone disruptors, or can be unfriendly to sperm motility. The above lubricant is my recommendation to solve these issues!
Some intimate lubricants have either nasty preservatives that can be hormone disruptors, or can be unfriendly to sperm motility. The above lubricant is my recommendation to solve these issues!