The Chinese New Year is about to be celebrated on February 4th. The Chinese lunar year follows the sequence of 12 zodiac animals - rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and lastly, pig.

But this year is very special, it is the year of the Red Pig, which only returns every 60 years.

The year of the pig will be a very fertile year in babies as well as wealth (symbolized by the color red). Pigs give birth to 6 to 12 piglets on average and grow faster than any other animal.

Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal’s year would have some of that animal’s personality. Those born in pig years tend to have excellent manners, make and keep friends, work very hard, and appreciate luxury. They are very loving and make loyal partners.

Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ernest Hemingway, Alfred Hitchcock, Mahalia Jackson, David Letterman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger were all born in the year of the pig.

I have started my own show called “Ask The Herbalist” on You Tube. It is all about herbs, natural health, nutrtion and good things in the world. Check it out and if you like it you can subscribe to it!

by Karen Squires

I’ve just turned 40 years old. That means that I’ve spend over 20 years thinking about my fertility. Sometimes my goal was to achieve pregnancy, other times I wanted to prevent it. Either way, I discovered there are many ways to monitor fertility naturally.

Saliva Microscope

One method is by using a tiny hand held microscope used to view saliva to determine your fertile period. These microscopes are about the same size as a tube of lipstick so you can carry them around in your purse. The simplicity in this method of testing is wonderful. No more collecting urine for ovulation predictor kits.

Study:

The subconscious mind can be powerful when it comes to fertility. Belief can magnify the speed of manifestation and fear and slow it to a halt. I found this podcast from www.spiritbabies.com to be very helpful.

Listen To Podcast

The subconscious part of your mind controls every function and reactions that have. It is the part of you that makes the ultimate decisions as to what happens in your body. It acts as the control board of the body and mind.

Imagine having to tell you liver to work and your heart to beat. Just think every breath you take would have to be thought about.

Well the same may go for our fertility. Have you been trying to get pregnant for a while with no reason why you should not be able to?

Our subconscious is involved with all of the hormone functioning’s, cervical fluids, circulation, on and on. Every action in the reproductive system is run subconsciously.

How is the subconscious programmed?
Thoughts are things. Beliefs that we heard or were taught when we were children still may be with us today. Images we see on TV or things people say to us. What beliefs we hold about our body, our fertility, and about becoming a mother may have an impact on becoming pregnant.

I have had to take a look into my subconscious beliefs about becoming a mother. On one hand I am drawn to it passionately yet once I did look deeper I realized I had some fears. I saw that I was scared to have my life change so dramatically because of choosing to become a mother. I was scared of the unknown.

So what to do now?
Here is one way to look at your subconscious beliefs about pregnancy, birth or motherhood.

1. Ask these questions to yourself and see what feeling comes up as you say it out loud.

• I am ok being pregnant

• I am ready to be a mother

• I can be a good mother

• I am ready and willing to give birth

• I have plenty of time and energy to have children

• I can get pregnant easily
  

2. What are your beliefs about:

• Fertility

• Pregnancy

• Birth

• Motherhood

• Career/mothering

• Marriage/mothering

3. Where did this belief come from? When was the first time you thought about this belief or heard someone mention something like it?

4. Do you agree with this belief and does it serve you?

5. If you have found some beliefs that no longer serve you. Take that belief and turn it around into an affirmation.

Example: I am working on transforming the belief that once I have kids my life will be totally different in a lesser way, less fun and amazing.

So the affirmation I have created for myself is that “becoming a mother is an amazing time in my life, my life will be richer, fuller and all with ease.”

If you just said “yeah right” to my affirmation you may want to do this exercise for yourself.

You are what you think!

Study:More than half of the dust needed for fertilizing the Brazilian rainforest is supplied by a valley in northern Chad, according to an international research team headed by Dr. Ilan Koren of the Institute’s Environmental Sciences and Energy Research Department.

It has been known for more than a decade that the existence of the Amazon rainforest depends on a supply of minerals washed off by rain from the soil in the Sahara and blown across the Atlantic by dust.

<BR>
This tea has alot of antioxidants. Both the citrus and the rhooibos are packed full of them!
Thank you to Tasha for your recipe and inspiration.<BR>
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<b>Citrus, Spice and everything nice</b>

1/2 grapefruit
1/2 lemon
2 oranges
2 tangerines
2 cinnamon sticks
1 inch ginger
3.T Rhooibos

Put in 1 quart of water, bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.
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Study:


A study from UCLA finds evidence that women put more effort into their clothing and grooming during there most fertile times.

“Near ovulation, women dress to impress, and the closer women come to ovulation, the more attention they appear to pay to their appearance,” said Martie Haselton, the study’s lead author and a UCLA associate professor of communication studies and psychology.

“They tend to put on skirts instead of pants, show more skin and generally dress more fashionably.”

My favorite blend! This juice has a ton of vitamins and minerals. It is high in iron, calcium and is alkalizing. Drink this blend to nourish the reproductive system and enrich your cells.

Study:

Researchers found those men who used a phone for four hours or more a day had fewer sperm and those they had moved less well and were of poorer quality.

The Ohio study involving 364 men was presented to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in New Orleans.

But a UK expert said it was unlikely the phones were to blame, as they were in use and not near the testes, and it may be being sedentary was the cause.

“If you are holding [the phone] up to your head to speak a lot, it makes no sense that it is having a direct effect on your testes ”
Dr Allan Pacey, British Fertility Society

The team from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio tested the sperm of 364 men who were being treated at fertility clinics in Mumbai, India, with their partners.

It was found that the heaviest users, those who used their phones for more than four hours a day had the lowest average sperm counts, at 50 million per milliliter (ml) and the least healthy sperm.
BBC, October 2006

Comments:

I have to disagree with Dr. Paceys statement, he over looked something very important;

Story:

A group of scientists has been inundated with requests after calling for newlyweds to test the legendary aphrodisiac effects of an ancient honey-based drink.

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) wants one couple to drink honey mead — a fermented mixture of honey and water — every night for 30 days after taking their vows in June and to keep a diary of their honeymoon relationship.

Mead, first brewed in Babylon more than 4,000 years ago making it one of the world’s oldest alcoholic drinks, has long been believed to increase fertility and sex drive.

Hormone Balancing Blend

8 drops Geranium
5 drops Lavender
2 drops Ylang
3 drops Patchouli

Mix with 1/2C of sea salt and add to hot bath. Enjoy!


This is a great bath salt blend that helps to balance hormones and melt stress away when done regularly.

Taking time to clear your mind of its non stop thoughts can help to reduce stress and induce a peaceful state of mind. Women who are under constant stress produce prolactin, cortisol and other hormones, which can interfere with or even block regular ovulation.

Another fertility bonus to meditation is the start of a new habit which helps you to gain control over your thoughts, which is the first step in manifesting your pregnancy.

Study:
Women with endometriosis who have been unable to get pregnant may have a more successful outcome by taking bee propolis, according to a preliminary study in Fertility and Sterility (2003;80:S32). This is encouraging for the millions of women with endometriosis who are suffering from infertility.

I love to drink a smoothie for breakfast everyday because I can get all of my fertility super foods into one meal. This makes it easy, nutritious and fast. Experiment with different combos of fruits and juices. This is the first Fertility Smoothie I made, but there is many more to come.

This smoothie has a nice sweetness, but not too sweet. Both men and women can drink this smoothie and get its benefits, so make a batch for the both of you for breakfast or a snack. Enjoy!

Fertility Smoothie #1

Recipe

Get Organic Maca Powder for your Fertility Smoothies here…

Frozen fruit (I love mangoes, cherries, strawberries and blueberries)

Liquid of choice (raw milk or fresh juice)

1 raw egg yolk

1T flax Oil

3t. Acerola Cherry vitamin C powder

1/3 C. kefir or yogurt

1t. spirulina

1T Maca

Blend and enjoy!

Main Uses

• Balances hormones in favor to progesterone

• Aids with heavy bleeding during period

• Too short a cycle

• Uterine fibroids
  

Vitex is a very intelligent plant. This herb balances hormones and lengthens cycle without actually containing hormones or phytoestrogens. Vitex’s main action is on the hypothalamus and pituitary.

Study:

Scientists at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) reported encouraging findings on a new treatment for endometriosis using a pelvic physical therapy that feels similar to deep tissue massage Until now the primary treatments for endometriosis pain have involved either surgery or drugs.

Soy is one of the hottest topics of debate in the health food world today. Why all the differing opinions? Is soy healthy and should we be consuming it like the next magical panacea?

Soy beans have been used to make everything from milk, cereal, and baby formula to burgers and butter. I wonder if most people even know what a real soy bean looks like.

Studies:

#1

Researchers at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, in Lima, Peru, performed a 12-week double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial in which active treatment with different doses of maca was compared with placebo.

Men aged 21-56 years received 3 g of maca. An improvement in sexual desire was observed with maca at 8 weeks of treatment. Serum testosterone and estradiol levels were not different in men treated with maca than in those treated with placebo.

#2

Another study was designed to determine the benefit of a 4-month oral treatment with tablets of maca on seminal analysis in adult normal men aged 24-44 years old.

Nine men received tablets of maca (1500 or 3000 mg/day) for 4 months. Serum luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, prolactin, testosterone and estradiol levels were measured before and after treatment.

Treatment with maca resulted in increased seminal volume, sperm count per ejaculation, and sperm motility. Serum hormone levels were not altered.

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Comments:

Maca has become a popular fertility herb and for good reason. Studies have shown repeat success in improving sperm health, increase in sperm count and stronger motility. Maca also increases libido and sex drive.

MACA is great for both women and men!

What is maca?

Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a root-like vegetable shaped like a turnip that grows at 12,000 feet and is only found in the high Andes of Peru and Ecuador. For more than two millennia, native Peruvians have used maca root as food and medicine, to promote endurance and improve energy, vitality, sexual virility and fertility.

How does the Maca work?

It is not known exactly why maca does what it does, but that is the case for most herbs. Maca has the ability to effect key hormones and functions of reproduction without containing hormones. It has a type of wisdom as to what hormones need balancing and which to increase/decrease. Men who use maca have been shown to have an increase in libido and healthy sperm.

How do you use Maca?

Maca comes in powder, capsule, tincture or pills. My husband and I personally love to use the powdered root in our daily fertility smoothies.

Dosage: Recommended dosage is 2000-3000 mg a day. To obtain desired results maca needs to be taken regularly. There are no side effects from taking maca, remember it is a food.

Buy Maca

Maca Tablets 500mg (100 Tablets )

Availability: List Price: Your Price: You Save:	$26.95 $24.25 $2.69 (10%)

Learn more about Maca here…