The KInd Life Community Forum

hi natalie - a clean healthy organic diet will help for sure! eating veggies won't help as much as eating veggies that have no pesticides. Also, there was a study done that showed in some women certain levels of caffine cut fertility by up to 50%. And its great you stopped smoking -but if your partner smokes, the second hand smoke will affect you negatively as well and impact his sperm. Keep in mind that you spent years putting the bad stuff into your body, so you have to give yourself some time to let your body get back to where it needs to be! You came off the pill a year and a half ago and say you have been trying to conceive for over a year - so it seems you started trying before your body was hormonally even back to where it should be. I say this only because to you, you have been trying so long with no result but in my mind the first year of trying doesn't even count in a way because you were about 5 minutes off of artificial hormones and into whatever positive lifestyle changes you were making - its frustrating, but you have to give your body time to balance. You say you have tried acupuncture, yoga, vitex etc....which is great - I am hoping that all of those things are not in the past - when I work with women trying to conceive with acupuncture/herbs, to treat for about 6 months to a year before expecting anything is about average - especially if its something as difficult as ammenorhea. RE: the stress dx - when our stress hormones go up, our body will not allow itself to get pregnant - a survival mechanism. Of course what's an incredibly stressful thing.....not being able to get pregnant! So keep engaging in anything that helps lower the stress. Also, look into taking the chemicals out of your environment - your beauty products etc.....in europe they have imposed stricter standards because they feel the decrease in fertility is due to these chemicals disrupting hormones.

Hi There,
To build the blood in Traditional Chinese medicine we advocate for the consumption of dark green leafy vegetables like kale and collards as well as orange veggies like yams, sweet potatoes, butternut and acorn squash.


The blood is thought to provide the uterus with the "heavenly fluid" that allows implantation so building the blood in this way is always safe and can be used in conjunction with medicines. I advise patients to buy these foods and cook them all up in large amounts to store in the fridge. They should consume at least one large serving from each group once a day or even more often. It is ok to miss a day or two here or there but I have them try to make eating them easy and quick.

The highest rate of success that I am aware of involves the use of a combination of acupuncture and modern reproductive endocrinology. Using both the needles and the meds has about twice the rate of success as using either modality alone.

Hi Natalie,
Yes, you can usually trust your body to know what it needs, usually. Barley (jobs tears) is exceptionally good at building blood and strengthening the spleen as are all whole grains.

Ask you fertility specialist if they work with an acupuncturist. Sessions once a week are helpful but you may also want to get a treatment right before and right after the procedure.

The cruise was phenomenal. I am a health information junkie and this was the ultimate fix. I'm trying to convince my family to come next year all together.
best of luck, Justin

Very interesting. I too Natalie have been dealing with infertility for 3 years. We got pregnant 3 years ago and miscarried in the 2nd trimester. I have endometriosis which is a cause of infertility. Ive been vegetarian for years, but vegan for only a couple months.. It's hard to be vegan when you leave your home and meet out for lunches and dinners. I gave up coffee except on sundays, and drink green tea;) I started acupuncture 6 months ago. I've done clomid as well! I want you to know you are not alone!!! I've also met soooo many women who have unexplained fertility problems, and to be honest a lot of them find out that they have endometriosis. So if you have bad periods with a lot of pain, look into it! Keep updating your progress! I've been wondering about this diet and fertility, I would think it would help!!!!!

Thanks for the inspiration everyone. I too have had amenorrhea for the past five or so years. Earlier this year I went superhero-ish after being vegetarian for 10 years and started acupuncture. Still no period and I'm starting to get a little frustrated. I'm traveling a lot this summer for work and don't have a choice but to eat fish and some dairy (I travel to Africa and you really have to take what you can get!), and was starting to think about giving it all up even when I get back home. You all are inspiring me to keep with it, and I really hope to get my period naturally again one day! Hearing everyone's stories is a great support, thanks for sharing.

Martine