Men make new sperm every day and those sperm come to fruition withing 72 days. This is good news for men who want to give their fertility a boost, because it means that within three months they can

make a big difference to the reproductive health. For more detailed information it is worth checking out our book Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility where Dr. David and I give specific advice to men based on their fertility type. Briefly though, here are five simple things men can do that have a big impact on sperm quality and quantity.

1. Keep them cool

It’s important that the testicles are 1- 2 degrees cooler than the rest of the body and so taking hot baths or sitting with a lap top on your knee can be contributing to diminished fertility. Likewise men who sit at a desk all day can become overheated so at the YinOva Center we advise them to get up a move around once an hour to air off their private parts.

2. Eat right

You will find more information in Making Babies about how to eat right for your fertility type but all men can benefit from eating a wide range of colorful fruits and vegetable, whole grains and lean protein. Poor intake of vitamin C and E and the minerals zinc and selenium can affect sperm quality and would-be fathers with borderline sperm counts might want to consider supplementation. Finnish men have some of the highest sperm counts in the world which is thought to be due to the amount of oily fish they eat. For this reason at the YinOva Center we suggest men use a fish oil/omega-3 supplement.

3. Limit your exposure to toxic chemicals.

In Making Babies we discuss how the average sperm count for American men has plummeted over the past few decades. Dr. David and I believe that environmental toxins and the main reason and so advise men to eat as much whole food as possible and to avoid processed foods. I have blogged about this here.

4. Drop some bad habits

Smoking, whilst it does not reduce sperm count, does damage sperm DNA which can lead to a greater chance of miscarriage. Excessive alcohol use can affect hormone levels and lead to atrophy of the semeniferous tubules, loss of sperm cells, and an increase in abnormal sperm. Marijuana use has been shown to reduce sperm and semen volume. If you need help dropping unhealthy habits come on in to the YinOva Center. We are happy to support you.

5. Get checked out for hidden infections.

Infections such as chlamydia or urea plasma can impair fertility and also lead to early miscarriages. Men should ask their doctors for a semen culture to make sure that they are not infected.

Patients who have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility often find it a great relief that their seemingly random collection of symptoms make sense from a Chinese medicine perspective. They have usually undertaken a battery of tests by the time they visit us at the YinOva Center and their first question is, “If nothing is wrong, why am I not getting pregnant?”

Chinese diagnosis is based on identifying patterns of disharmony so an acupuncturist will look for signs that have meaning when seen in relation to each other. Two of the most common patterns in women with unexplained infertility are Liver Qi Stagnation and Kidney Yang Deficiency. In our book, Making Babies: A Proven Three Month Program for Maximum Fertility, Dr. David and I called these the Stuck Type and the Tired Type. You can identify your type by taking this quiz on the book’s website.

The Stuck Type describes someone who manifests stress physically. Often they have tension headaches or nervous stomachs, which are signs that they have become tight like a pressure cooker and qi is not flowing smoothly. This lack of flow can lead to unsmooth hormone transitions resulting in symptoms such as PMS. At the YinOva Center we give these patients a very well known Chinese formula called Xiao Yao Wan and treat them with weekly acupuncture to move qi. We know they are getting better when they no longer have PMS and many of them then go on to get pregnant.

The Tired Type describes someone who has metabolic issues that effect their reproductive hormones. They usually complain of fatigue, feeling cold and weight gain. At the YinOva Center we put them on a warming herbal formula and suggest they eat warming foods. We give them weekly acupuncture often with moxibustion, a warming herb. We know that they are getting better when they tell us they have more energy and that their hands and feet are not cold anymore. At that point many of them go on to get pregnant.

Both these types can result in problems that can be identified by conventional medicine. Women who are the Stuck Type can have elevated prolactin levels and women who are the Tired Type can have low thyroid hormone. However in many cases the imbalance is sub-clinical and not picked up by medical testing. That is a great reason to seek out an acupuncturist and herbalist in order to correct patterns of disharmony that may be minor but are subtly impeding your fertility.

Kathryn, one of our lovely YinOva patients was reading our book Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility when she had a thought. She facebooked me to suggest that we start collecting fertility-friendly recipes and publishing them here on the blog. I loved the idea and thought her first two recipe suggestions were great. I’m growing cucumbers in my garden so her creamy cucumber soup sounds wonderful and her second recipe for a spicy lentil soup is a fabulous hot weather idea.

These recipes are inspired by our book and nourishing for people who are trying to conceive but they’re also just lovely summer fare. Enjoy!

Thanks, Kathryn, for your contribution. I hope you’ll write more recipes and share them with the YinOva community and for anyone else out there who wants to join in I say, feel free….email me, comment or facebook me and I’ll put your recipes on the YinOva blog.

K’s Creamy Cucumber Soup

2 medium onions, roughly chopped
2 T. butter
4 cucumbers, peeled, seeded & chopped
4 oz. fresh goat cheese
sea salt
white pepper

Saute onions with butter and 1 tsp salt until soft (“sweated”) but not browned. Add cucumbers and cook until tender. Remove from heat and puree in a blender with the chevre (a VitaMix is ideal for this, but a food processor or a blender works fine). Add salt and white pepper to taste. Chill in the fridge. Serve cold or room temperature.

Kathryn emailed me to add that she often chops mint and sprinkles it on this soup.

K’s Super-Delicious Red Lentil Soup

1 T. olive oil
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled & sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised and cut into 3 inch lengths
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1/2 or 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
1 can light coconut milk
1 c. red split lentils
4 c. water
1 t. sea salt, or more to taste
1 large handful cilantro, finely chopped (I love cilantro, so I tend to go heavy handed with it, but some people hate it)
4 fresh scallions, finely chopped
2 c. fresh baby spinach
½ lime, juiced (about 1 or 2 tablespoons)

Saute ginger, garlic, lemongrass, onion, and optional jalapeno in olive oil, until fragrant (leave the ginger & lemongrass large enough so that you can remove the pieces from the soup later). Add water, coconut milk, red lentils and salt. Cook until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Remove lemongrass & ginger pieces. Add cilantro, scallions, spinach and cook until spinach is wilted (but don’t overcook!). Add salt and lime juice to taste. Yummy!

Jill Blakeway is the Clinic Director of the YinOva Center. She is an acupuncturist, author and speaker who makes regular media appearances to talk about natural health care for women. Here she writes about how acupuncture can help women undergoing IVF.

For the past 12 years here at the YinOva Center we have used traditional Chinese medicine to support women during fertility treatments. As one of New York’s largest and most well known acupuncture practices we currently treat thousands of women a year, using acupuncture to support them as they go through IVF. We also take care of couples in the run up to an IVF cycle to make sure that they are in an optimal position to succeed.

My book Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility, which I wrote with a Reproductive Endocrinologist, contains an easy to follow three month program based on your fertility type that is an excellent preparation for an IVF cycle. All our YinOva acupuncturists are trained to support women as they follow the Making Babies program and all of our practitioners have many years of experience when it comes to combining acupuncture with IVF.

When choosing an acupuncturist to treat you before and during IVF it’s a good idea to seek out a practice with a specialty in fertility as well as one that has sufficient acupuncturists that there will always be someone on duty when you need to time a treatment with your cycle.

Here are the questions our patients most frequently ask about using Chinese medicine during an IVF cycle.

Does having acupuncture increase the likelihood of success with IVF?

Clinical research seems to suggest it does. One German study took 160 women undergoing IVF and split them into two groups. One group combined acupuncture with IVF and one group did not. Interestingly the group that did the acupuncture had a 50% better outcome than the group that did IVF alone. You can read a BBC article about this study here. In 2008 research published in the British Medical Journal showed that women doing IVF who underwent acupuncture were 65% more likely to have a successful embryo transfer compared with those who underwent a “sham” version of the treatment, or no extra treatment at all. You can read about this study here.

How does acupuncture help an IVF cycle be more successful?

Here at the YinOva Center we use acupuncture every day to treat those of you who are undergoing IVF and we are proud of our success rates. Our positive experiences are echoed by recent research which shows that acupuncture can promote the circulation of blood in the pelvic cavity and improve ovarian function. Acupuncture may also be beneficial in promoting follicle production, enhancing uterine blood flow and thus improving uterine lining thickness and decreasing uterine contractions after embryo transfer.

How does IVF support at the YinOva Center work?

Whilst acupuncture works for some people straight away, it doesn’t necessarily work over night and the effects tend to be cumulative so, ideally, we would like to see our patients once a week in the three months leading up to IVF. If this isn’t possible, we recommend coming in to see us when you start your IVF cycle. We see our patients twice a week when they are taking the follicle stimulating drugs and we like to schedule a treatment before egg retrieval as well as another before embryo transfer. Finally we ask our patients to come in for treatment 24 – 48 hours after embryo transfer so that we can do an acupuncture treatment to prevent uterine spasm.

Should I take Chinese herbs during IVF?

The quick answer is no. Very occasionally, here at the YinOva Center, we do prescribe herbs for a patient going through IVF if she has a history of poor response to the stimulating drugs and if her doctor agrees. However, for most people the herbs can make your response to stimulating drugs unpredictable and we have found that most reproductive endocrinologists would prefer you not to combine them with IVF treatment.

How can I find out more?

Feel free to call us at the YinOva Center on 212 533 2255 and ask to speak to an acupuncturist. All of us have years of experience in women’s reproductive medicine and we all treat women undergoing IVF on a daily basis. We are always happy to talk to you about your concerns.

To schedule an appointment online click here

Those of you who sneaked a peek at our book Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility, in the YinOva waiting room, already know what their fertility type is. It’s so much fun when you come into the treatment room and tell me – “Guess what ?- I was reading your book and I’m a stuck!”

The book isn’t out until August 12th but you can find out your fertility type online – take this quiz and find out whether you are a tired, pale, dry, stuck or waterlogged.

The UK Sunday Times published extracts from the book this week and an interview with Dr. David and I, which you can read here. The book is called the Fertility Plan in the UK. Once you’ve worked out your type you can download a great chart from that the Times put together giving specific advice tailored to your type (PDF) Fertility Types

www.makingbabiesprogram.com (USA)
www.thefertilityplan.com (UK)

In our book Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility Dr. David and I recommend abdominal self massage as a way of helping to enhance fertility by increasing blood flow to the uterus. In the book there are detailed diagrams of different self-massage techniques for every phase of your cycle. This massage is partly based on the Maya Abdominal Massage™ developed by Dr. Rosita Arvigo and partly based on the extensive clinical experience of our own Nicole Kruck. We encourage anyone trying to conceive to book a session with Nicole where she will teach you the self massage techniques that are in the book.

I asked Nicole to answer some frequently asked questions about using abdominal massage to enhance fertility and her answers are below.

What can I expect in my initial treatment with Nicole?

Nicole Says:

The initial session consists of an intake, massage and “Self-Care” massage instruction. Many times guided meditation and breathing exercises are also included. I individually tailor the treatment to each client’s specific needs and comfort level.

We review the intake form together and start to put the pieces of the puzzle in place create a clear picture. I use the information you give me on the intake form to map out how we will resolve current issues as well how we can achieve long term health goal.

What is the massage treatment like and what does it do?

Nicole says:

During the massage much of the focus will be on the abdominal area. This gentle external massage is intended to remove blocks in circulation, lymphatic drainage, nerve connections & scar tissue or adhesions. It also strengthens uterine ligaments to reposition a wandering womb.

Attention is also given to postural alignment which may also create many reproductive problems.

Is that all there is ?

Nicole says:

No. The point of our sessions is to give you knowledge that you can use yourself at home. You will learn how to do your own simple abdominal massage treatment on a daily basis. This supports you to, literally, take your health “into your own hands” in between sessions.

How long before I can expect change in my conditions?

Nicole says:

With regular sessions and dedication of your self care practice at home. You should begin to see a change within your first cycle.

What do I need to know to schedule my appointment?

Nicole says:

There are 2 options for an initial treatment at the YinOva Center:

You can book a single two hour initial consult or some people choose to see me throughout one cycle and book four, one hour treatments over the course of a month.

After that you don’t necessarily need to come in and see me every week for treatment, especially if you are doing your own self-massage regularly, but it is important to come in periodically for follow up treatments so that we can assess your progress, make any necessary changes and make sure that you feel confident in with your own Self-Care massage at home.

Recently I blogged about a study that showed that chemical exposure could lead to male infertility. The article provoked a lot of discussion in the YinOva waiting room and many of our patients commented about it and asked for advice about avoiding household chemicals. One of our patients, a 5 year cancer survivor, offered to blog about how she cleans her home without using many of the toxic products on the market and we look forward to hearing her advice in a future column.

So it was with great interest that I noticed that another credible study has been published this time linking household chemicals to female infertility. The study, conducted by scientists at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and published in the journal Human Reproduction, has found the first evidence that perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) may be associated with infertility in women. PFC’s are chemicals that are widely used in everyday items such as food packaging, pesticides, clothing, upholstery, carpets and personal care products. The report, which looked at 1,240 women, revealed that those with higher levels of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in their bloodstreams tend to take longer to become pregnant than those with lower levels.

In our book, Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility, Dr. David and I talk more about the impact of toxic chemicals on fertility. It is certainly true that in our grandmother’s day milk came from a bottle, pans were made of cast iron, food was reheated on a metal tray in the oven and a raincoat was made of rubber. Now our foods come in grease resistant packages, frozen meals can be reheated in the microwave, pans have non-stick coatings and rain wear has been specially treated to make it water resistant whilst able to breath. All of these things make our lives more convenient but all of them expose us to PCF’s.

So how do we avoid PFC’s?

Ditch your non-stick pans.

A form of PFC called PFOA or perfluorooctanoic acid is used to make Teflon products so it might be worth avoiding non-stick pans or making sure that you do not use them at very high temperatures. In our house we are big fans of cast iron pans which if well seasoned are not particularly sticky.

Be careful about packaged foods.

Grease-resistant food packaging and paper products, such as microwave popcorn bags and pizza boxes, contain PFCs.

Avoid products labeled as stain resistant.

Choose furniture and carpets that aren’t marketed as “stain-resistant,” and don’t apply finishing treatments such as Stainmaster to these or other items. The same goes for some rain wear which has been treated with PCF’s to make it shower proof.

Read the labels on your cosmetics and personal care products.

Watch out for the words ”fluoro” or ”perfluoro. PFCs can be found in dental floss and a variety of cosmetics, including nail polish, facial moisturizers, and eye make-up.

In our book Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility Dr. David and I discuss the alarming fact that male sperm counts have halved since our grandfather’s generation. My patients are shocked when I tell them this and their next question is usually, “why?”. I always answer that it’s hard to lay the blame on one thing, but that our generation has been exposed to the kind of chemical cocktail that would have been inconceivable in our grandparent’s time.

So it was with some interest that I read a new report, authored by Professor Richard Sharpe, a reproductive biologist of the Medical Research Council in the UK, linking the use of chemicals found in food, cosmetics and cleaning products to an increased risk of birth defects, testicular cancer and infertility among unborn boys. You can read about this report on the BBC website here or download a PDF of the actual report here. Professor Sharpe, a reproductive biologist, discusses the threat to baby boys of chemicals that block the action of the male sex hormone testosterone, or mimic the female sex hormone estrogen, which can “feminize” male infants whilst still in the womb. He points out that chemicals that are harmless on their own may be having a cumulative effect that is more sinister.

There is no doubt that male reproductive health is deteriorating – more male babies are being born with birth defects effecting their penises, testicular cancer is on the rise and sperm counts are dropping. Collectively these symptoms are known as Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome, which is a term used to describe the disruption of testosterone in boys. The report examines animal studies that link testosterone-disrupting chemicals to de-masculinization in wildlife.

So what can we do? It would seem that pregnant women are mostly at risk in weeks 8 – 10 of their pregnancies but it makes sense to avoid environmental toxins throughout pregnancy and if possible in the period before conception. As Dr. Sharpe told the Daily Mail. “You can’t do anything about chemicals in the environment but you can control what you expose a baby to through your lifestyle choices. Because we don’t know the complete list of chemicals that may be hormone disrupters, and we don’t know how they interact, we can’t point a finger at an individual chemical. The message is to avoid them, just as you should avoid alcohol and drugs.”

So at the YinOva Center here is the advice we give out Moms-to-be

• Avoid processed foods where possible. That means limiting foods that have been made in a factory.
• Eat as much organic food as your budget will allow. Patients often tell me that the cost of eating organic is what puts them off and I understand this from my own experience. In this YinOva blog entry from last year, I described how, in my own family, we cut down on food wastage in order to be able to afford to eat better quality food.
• Switch your deodorant to one that is made from natural ingredients. After trying quite a few natural deodorants, with mixed results, we decided we really like this one which you can get on Amazon – Alvera Aloe Based Roll-On Deodorant.
• Use natural soaps and cosmetic products. Tom’s of Maine is a great brand as is Kiss My Face. When I was looking for a good natural toothpaste I tried many brands and settled on the Triple Action Aloe Vera Toothpaste by Kiss My Face for it’s minty taste and clean feel.
• Each American family uses about 40lbs of toxic cleaning products every year. This site has some good advice about making your own non-toxic cleaning kit. In my own house I’ve been impressed with how much cleaning can be accomplished with vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice.
• Don’t panic! I know how overwhelming information like this can be and really all we can do is our best. There is no need to obsessively avoid every chemical out there. Just cut down the chemical load you are exposed to.