Dietary Advice

In order to maximize the chances of conception and pregnancy, a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals, protiens, complex carbohydrates and natural cis fatty acids is essential. This is not difficult. It means eating the freshes healthiest food you can afford for a 3 months before conception and for the nine months of pregnancy and whilst you breast feed. Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, peas, beans, lentils, organic lean meat, oily fish, some organic diary products and eggs are suggested. It's actually eating as your great grandparents ate - fresh foods untainted with chemicals and cooked carefully without additives. After all, many people from that generation are now living long and healthy lives into their nineties. We all want all our children to live a life that is going to be a healthy one.

Healthy Eating Suggestions

1. Drink one litre of fresh filtered water each day (8 glasses)
2. Eat two servings of green leafy vegetables per day, two servings of red-orange vegetables, some salad and two pieces of fresh fruits. (Avoid citrus fruits if they trigger irritable bowel). Berry fruits are anti-inflammatory and rich in anti-oxidants and act as diuretics.
3. Eat two to three servingsd of wholegrain cereals such as barley, oats, rye, each day. If you are gluten sensitive then use corn, rice, millet, quinoa, tapioca and arrowroot as fibre. Many people (1:100) now react to wheat so note carefully what happens when you eat it.
4. Eat 30 gm of fibre each day, including vegetables, fruits, wholegrain cereals, nuts, seeds, peas, beans, lentils.
5. Eat complex carbohydrate foods daily such as root vegetables (turnip, swede, parsnip, carrot, celeriac, potato), pulse vegetables (peas, beans, lentils); they supply slow-releasing sugars into the body to sustain energy levels.
6. Consume one tablespoon of fresh cold-pressed oils each day, such as olive, sesame, walnut or linseed oils, or use one tablespoon of ground or whole linseeds with breakfast muesli. Avoid trans-fat in manufactured foods.
7. Eat 50-75 gm of protein foods per day, choosing from a variety of sources. This ensures a wide range of amino acids that are available in peas, beans, lentils, wholegrain cereals, nuts, seeds, tofu, eggs, organic dairy foods (from goat, sheep, and buffalo only if pasteurized), and fresh organic lean meat and deep sea fish.
8. Avoid edible things that are not nutritious. A developing baby needs nutrients not empty calories. It does not require food additives, pesticides, refined sugars, artificial sweetners, xeno-oestrogens, phthalates, street drugs, pharmaceutical drugs and trans fats.