Books about reproductive health, Fertility Awareness, and Natural Family Planning

More about Katie Singer

Garden of Fertility Book CoverHonoring Our CyclesIn her books, The Garden of Fertility (2004) and Honoring Our Cycles (2006), Katie Singerintroduces Fertility Awareness (also called Natural Family Planning).With these methods, a woman who charts her temperature and cervical mucus can know when she is fertile and infertile. A woman who charts her fertility signs can also know whether she is ovulating or miscarrying. You can learn remedies for problems like Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and fertility.

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F o o d   &   R e p r o d u c t i v e   H e a l t h

While the benefits of fish are widely touted, the dangers are less widely known. Women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and young children should restrict consumption of tuna, shark, halibut and lobster to once a month or less because these fish contain moderate to very high levels of mercury. Overfishing of Atlantic cod, Chilean seabass, lobster, snapper, haddock and halibut (and so many more) threatens their survival. Fish farms also pose a threat: many fish farms are constructed on the seashore, destroying wetlands, releasing waste, and spreading disease. When farmed fish escape their nets (not infrequently), they weaken the gene pools of endangered wild fish. For more information, see montereybayaquarium.org, seaweb.org, blueoceaninstitute.org, and environmentaldefense.org. For a book on overfished species, see The Seafood Lover's Almanac from the National Audubon Society's Living Oceans Program, 550 South Bay Avenue, Oslip, NY 11751.

Fallon, Sally, Nourishing Traditions, 2nd Edition New Trends Publishing, 1999. Offers ancestral culinary customs for increasing nutrient values in nuts, fruits and vegetables, meats and milk products; information about the hazards of soy, modern grains, modern food processing, and polyunsaturated oils. Describes the vital role of nutrient-dense animal fats for fertility and infant health. Contains over 700 recipes. Fallon is a nutritional researcher. See www.RealMilk.com and www.WestonAPrice.org. www.radiantlifecatalog.com offers numerous high-quality products that support the kind of nutrition Dr. Weston Price encouraged.

www.localharvest.org A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is a partnership of mutual commitment between a farm and a community of supporters. Supporters generally cover part of a farm's yearly operating budget by purchasing a share of the season's harvest. In return, CSA members receive deliveries of fresh produce throughout the growing season. This website can help you find a CSA in your area.

www.Price-Pottenger.org Since 1965, this organization has promoted the work of dentist Weston Price, who studied the diets of cultures untouched by western civilization, and MD Francis Pottenger, who studied generations of cats. Their aim is for babies to be healthier than their parents; and for those babies' children to be yet healthier. Price-Pottenger offers an extensive list of books and dental products for sound health; they also offer a list of health care professionals who are nutrition-wise and environmentally aware.

www.PureFood.org is the website of the Organic Consumers Association. Be alert that the 12 vegetables and fruits most contaminated by pesticides (listed here in the order of the most contaminated) are: strawberries, bell peppers, spinach (tied with bell peppers), cherries, peaches, cantaloupe, celery, apples, apricots, green beans, grapes, and cucumbers. Educate yourself about what's in your food--and tell your grocer what you learn. See also www.organicconsumers.org.

www.RealMilk.com Commercially raised cows are usually given growth hormones to stimulate their pituitary glands so that they produce about three times more milk than untreated cows. BGH (Bovine Growth Hormone) is present in the milk of these cows, at high levels; 25% of all American dairy herds are given BGH. Further, pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, kills beneficial bacteria, and more. (Calves fed pasteurized milk die before maturity.) Skim and low fat milk may also be hazardous, because butterfat contains vitamins A & D--needed for the assimilation of calcium and protein within the water fraction of the milk. See also www.rawmilk.org.

Robinson, Jo, Why Grass Fed? Jo Robinson describes the hazards of eating meat and eggs from cows and chickens that aren't allowed free range--and the benefits of meat and eggs from grassfed livestock. www.eatwild.com

www.SeedSavers.org Since 1975, Seed Savers Exchange has been saving handed-down garden seeds from extinction--heirloom varieties that gardeners and farmers brought to North America when their families immigrated; and traditional varieties grown by Native Americans, Mennonites and the Amish. They sell an astounding array of seeds, and gardening, children's and cook-books. Their selection of children's books are especially excellent for presenting the story of nature's cycles from an early age.

www.TheWholeSoyStory.com; www.SoyOnlineService.co.NZ Infants exclusively fed soy formula receive the estrogenic equivalent (based on body weight) of at least five birth control pills per day; and this may contribute to girls showing early signs of puberty, and boys showing an increase in learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder. Read more about the myths and truths of soy. (If you've adopted a baby, the Weston A. Price Foundation provides you recipes for formula that include raw [unpasteurized] milk, liquid whey, cod liver oil, coconut oil, etc. Go to www.WestonAPrice.org).

Steinman, David, and Samuel Epstein, M.D., The Safe Shopper's Bible, Macmillan, 1995. Tells you where to find meat without hormones or antibiotics, which apple juice is safest for your baby, if your furniture polish is making your asthma worse, etc.

www.TrueFoodNow.org Greenpeace posts this site, about genetically modified food. It's now estimated that 70% of our food supply is genetically modified. Soy, corn, canola, and cotton comprise about 99% of all the genetically modified crops in the U.S. today. If you purchase these foods--or the prepared food products which include them--be sure they are labeled organic if you prefer to avoid genetically modified organisms. GMOs are unlabeled; and most genetically-modified food grown in the world is grown in the U.S.

www.WestonAPrice.org In the 1930s, Weston A. Price, a dentist, studied the health and diets of populations untouched by western civilization. This organization presents clearly articulated nutritional information based on Dr. Price's findings: Traditional diets contained no refined foods (i.e. refined sugar or corn syrup, white flour, pasteurized milk, refined or hydrogenated oils, etc.) All traditional cultures consumed some sort of animal food, including gelatin-rich meat broths, butter, poultry fat, etc. The site also presents info about the dangers of soy, and a list of local chapters around the world. Wise Traditions, the organization's quarterly, is packed with up-to-date information on topics such as breastfeeding, sustainable farming in Japan, the hazards of and nutritional remedies for vaccines. The Weston A. Price Foundation, PMB # 106-380, 4200 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20007.

Winter, Ruth, A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, 5th Edition, Three Rivers Press, 1999. Descriptions in plain English of more than 8000 ingredients (harmful and desirable) which are found in food. See also Ms. Winter's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients.

  • Food & Reproductive Health