Registered Clinical Nutritionist     

In New Zealand recently folic acid has hit the headlines as the government is considering adding it to flour for bread making to help prevent neural tube defects in unplanned pregnancies. This is not great news for many females trying to get pregnant and I will explain why in this blog post. This is another reason why it is a good idea to be gluten free if you have fertility issues. Over the last 6 years or so there has been a lot of emerging research available about the ne

Boron was a supplement that I started taking about 3 months before I got pregnant naturally at age 43 after 10 years of secondary infertility and recurring pregnancy loss. It wasn’t the only change I made at the time so I didn’t really appreciate the significance of boron until a similar scenario happened to one of my clients who also found out she was pregnant at age 43 after a history of pregnancy loss. My client made other significant changes to her diet, lifestyle, and su

Delayed or absent ovulation can happen to most women from time to time it sure did with me, however, if it happens quite regularly then it is likely connected to a hormone imbalance which can be driven by multiple factors. Some of the most common factors are stress, poor sleep, over-exercising, low-calorie diet, low body weight, poor diet, nutritional deficiencies, thyroid issues, thyroid medications, an autoimmune condition, adrenal issues, PCOS, and an infection. So investi

A large percentage of the NZ population is deficient in the trace mineral Iodine. Could you be one of them? Iodine is a trace mineral that we require daily in small amounts as it is found in every single body cell. Iodine is essential for a healthy metabolic rate, the function of a healthy thyroid gland, and the prevention of goitre (swelling of the thyroid gland). Molecules of iodine are used to make thyroid hormone (T4 and T3) along with the amino acid tyrosine (which can b

Low thyroid function or hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) is very common in females and can be an undetected contributor to fertility problems and recurring miscarriage. Hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid) can also be problematic but not as common so I am going to focus on hypothyroidism in this blog post. I wrote this post primarily for my fertility followers; however, it can be helpful for anyone who is concerned about their thyroid. I spent 10 years trying to ge

I have been meaning to share this for a while, even if it only helps one person to give them some hope that all is not lost. My journey with secondary infertility and recurring pregnancy loss started in 2010 when my son was 1 and I was 34. I found out I was pregnant again but I didn’t feel ready at first. I remember going into the pharmacy to get a pregnancy test and not feeling very happy about it as it felt too soon after giving birth to my son in late 2008. 3 days after my

Digestion is important to the health of every system in your body, including your reproductive system. Approximately 70% of your immune system is located in your gut and your immune system plays an important role in your ability to get pregnant and to maintain a pregnancy. For some people improving gut health may be the missing link in unexplained infertility. How does digestion impact fertility? A healthy digestive system breaks down the food that you eat, absorbs nutrients

Vitamin D can often be the missing link in cases of infertility. It is such an important vitamin because it has an effect on over 2,000 genes in the body. Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is known as the `sunshine vitamin’ because it is produced by the skin when it is exposed to the sun. If we spend enough time out in the sun on a daily basis, most of us could make enough vitamin D. However many of us don’t get enough consistent sun exposure to maintain normal vitamin D levels th

There have been a number of studies linking gluten to issues such as infertility and recurring miscarriage. This is because gluten is often very inflammatory and can cause damage to the intestinal lining which can lead to Coeliac Disease (which can often go undiagnosed) as well as a number of other auto immune issues that could be contributing to infertility. It is estimated that as many as 80% of people with Coeliac Disease have no obvious digestive symptoms, so the conditio

Progesterone is a very important hormone for getting pregnant, maintaining a pregnancy, and for female hormone health in general. If you are trying to conceive you may be wondering about your own progesterone levels from your own research, and what you can do to support your progesterone levels naturally. This is a summary of what I have learned about progesterone from my own 10-year infertility journey: Progesterone is an important hormone after ovulation to maintain a pregn