Local Food Beat

Sharon New January 29th, 2010

Cara Bergman is the founder and owner of Stillwater Fertility Clinic - Maryland’s Natural Fertility and Women’s Care Clinic in Severna Park, Maryland.  In 2004, Cara received a Master’s Degree in Acupuncture from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute (TAI Sophia) in Maryland.  She is also Nationally Board Certified in Acupuncture (Diplomate, Ac.) by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.   Cara also has graduated cum laude from the University of Delaware in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration.  Cara is the Leader for Weston A Price chapter of Anne Arundel County (and that’s how I know her!).  She has given numerous talks about the importance of nutrient dense foods especially pre-conception and for growing children.   Here are the 2009 stats for Stillwater Fertility. I was very impressed with these numbers.  If you know of anybody who is trying to get pregnant, think about recommending Cara.

•  Out of the 34 women that received acupuncture treatments for at least three months at Stillwater Fertility Clinic…I am happy to report that 21 of you became pregnant!   
•  2/3 conceived naturally and 1/3 conceived with the help of IVF or IUI. 
• On average, women were trying to conceive for 14 months before coming into the clinic.  After beginning acupuncture, 70% of you conceived within three months.  
• The average number of treatments before conceiving was 10 this year which means on average women spent under $1,000 to become pregnant. 

Cara’s Top 10 Foods to Enhance Fertility

 

1. Bone Broth – old fashioned chicken soup made with the bones.  Add a splash of vinegar to the water so that the nutrients come out of the bones and into the broth. 

2. Liver - especially from grass-fed animals.  Eating liver once a month provides nearly the same nutrients as eating red meat every day of the month.  

3. Lacto-fermented Vegetables - if you haven’t tried these, read more about my favorite brand Fab Ferments

4. Fermented Cod liver Oil – If you only take ONE supplement ever, it should be fermented cod liver oil in my opinion.  It is an excellent source of Vitamin D among other things.

5. Wild-caught Salmon high in Omega 3’s -

6. Red Raspberry Leaf Tea – Great uterine tonic.  Good to drink throughout pregnancy.

7. Greens - especially wild greens like dandelion.

8. Kefir - both yogurt and kefir have beneficial bacteria.  The difference is that the bacteria in yogurt is transient – it will do good things and then leave your system where as the bacteria in kefir colonizes and continues to fight off pathogens in the gut.

9. Nettles tea – look for this in health food stores.  It supports the adrenals and helps your body build blood.

10. Grass-fed meat  – Animals need to be outside eating a natural diet to be healthy. 

Top 10 Food to Avoid

 

1. Trans-fat - it will say “partially hydrogenated oil” on the label

2. Margarine - is usually made from rancid oils and is full of chemicals.  Butter (especially from grass-fed animals) is a much better choice.

3. Soy – the only soy I recommend is fermented soy and only in small amounts.  However, if you have any thyroid problems or if you are trying to conceive, it is best to avoid all soy.  Most is genetically modified and the estrogen-like compounds may disrupt the endocrine system.

4. Fat free or low fat dairy – most low fat milk has powdered milk added to it which has oxidized cholesterol. 

5. Enriched Flour = White flour + synthetic vitamins.  Whole grains that are soaked or sprouted are better.

6. Sugar - one of the most harmful (and addictive) substances in our diets 

7. Sodas - especially diet sodas – some fertility clinics will not even work with people until they go off of artificial sweeteners.

8. Coffee - depleting to the adrenals.  In Chinese medicine, the kidneys are responsible for reproduction. 

9. Vegetable oils – including canola oil – most are genetically modified and rancid.  They are also usually too high in Omega 6’s which creates an Omega 3 / Omega 6 imbalance.

10. MSG - it is given to rats to induce obesity.  Will show up as “hydrolyzed yeast extract” or “autolyzed yeast extract” or many other pseudo names.

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