Article: 5 Dangerous Myths

Thanks to Juliana for forwarding this!

5 Dangerous Myths About Nutrition for Fertility and Pregnancy

Very good stuff, and fascinating! I encourage everyone to check it out.

Tucked in there is a quote regarding my "nutritional mentor," Dr. Michael Fox, from whom I received all of the information regarding the very-low-carb diet. Here is a quote, put in context:

"Why is fat so important for fertility and pregnancy?

"Saturated fat is especially beneficial for fertility. A study at Harvard found that women who ate two or more servings of low-fat or non-fat dairy per day, like skim milk or yogurt, had 85% higher risk of infertility than those that ate full-fat dairy products.

"Another study found that women who eat less saturated fat have a smaller chance of becoming pregnant. More specifically, the authors found that women with oligomenorrhea, a condition of light or infrequent menstruation associated with infertility, consume significantly less saturated fat and significantly more polyunsaturated fat than women with normal menstruation and fertility.

"Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the #1 cause of infertility in women in the U.S.. PCOS is characterized by insulin resistance and testosterone dominance, a hormone imbalance that is often caused or made worse by a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. Why? Because high-carb diets can promote insulin resistance, which in turn converts estrogen into testosterone.

"Dr. Michael Fox, a reproductive endocrinologist in Florida, has had great success treating women with PCOS with a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. Before he switched to this approach, almost all of his patients needed drugs or IVF, or both, to become pregnant. Since he started using a low-carb diet with these patients, fewer have needed drugs and very few have needed IVF."

 Neat to see! I can give my opinion at this point that the very-low-carb diet, while not preventing all NVP, has made a tremendous difference in how I feel. Good to see word getting out (even though it's about a different condition).