Infertility: Whats is Wrong With Me?
There are many causes for infertility out there in today's society. Many good people want to have children, but just can't figure out why that it is not happening. There are many reasons to why you are not able to become pregnant. Here are some reasons into why someone could not be able to conceive.
Infertility does not have to happen inside the women's body, it can happen in the male reproductive system too. The first step to deciding what the best way to treat the problem is figuring out who has the problem in the first place. Most problems in males have to do with sperm. It could be the amount of sperm being produced, or lack of amount, or it could be the lifespan of the sperm. Other complications and reasons for infertility are problems in the way the sperm is delivered. In some cases the male could have erectile dysfunction, ejaculation issues, or a blockage in the ejaculatory ducts. The male also might not be producing enough sperm, or the sperm he is producing is malformed in some way.
In women the problems are more in numerous, and vary widely. The most common cause would be a problem during ovulation. This could prevent the development of an egg and also could block the fallopian tubes. These problems could be caused by endometriosis, adhesions, or scaring, pelvic inflammatory disease, or poor ovary reserves. Ovarian failure can because of aging, but it can be because of other factors too. Often it is a defect in the anatomy of the female that restricts the egg from being implanted.
Many factors are involved in the reason for infertility, and you need to see a doctor to have those problems diagnosed. The best luck you will have conceiving is if you see a doctor who specializes in infertility problems.
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Healthy Eating
Healthy eating is difficult to achieve because we have so many health factors to consider and food choices to make. We know antioxidants are good for us so we want to eat lots of colorful fruits and vegetables because they contain phytochemicals like carotenoids and flavonoids which neutralize the free radicals that cause the age-related degenerative diseases. We know that we may not get all the antioxidants that we need in our food so we take supplements to ensure an adequate supply of antioxidants. But what about the actual food we eat. One of the major problems with our modern diet is that the food we eat is a tasty combination of saturated fats and highly processed and quickly digested carbohydrates. However in the last several years, people have become so concerned about fats in their diet that they have substituted carbohydrates and avoided even the good unsaturated fats in lean meat, olive oil and other plant oils. Now everybody seems to be eating a medium- to high-carbohydrate diet without giving proper attention to the type of carbs that they eat.
Not all carbohydrates behave the same in our bodies. We have been told for years to avoid simple carbs like honey and white bread and eat complex carbohydrates that our body doesn't digest and turn to glucose as quickly. However determining whether a food containing carbohydrates is absorbed and raises our blood sugar quickly or slowly is not at all intuitive. Scientists have done a lot of rigorous testing over the past several years and have found that white bread and baked potatoes raise our blood sugar level much faster than honey, jams and chocolate bars. These scientists developed a numerical index called the Glycemic Index or GI to compare the ability of different carbohydrate containing foods to raise the body's blood sugar levels – or in other words the speed of conversion to glucose. GI values are determined by feeding human subjects who have fasted overnight a fixed amount of the food and then measuring their blood glucose levels at fixed intervals of time. Pure glucose is set at 100 and then other foods are compared to this profile. Testing is time consuming and the tests have to be averaged for a number of individuals. However these studies have yielded some surprising results such as the fact that the starches in rice, bread, potatoes and many types of cereals were absorbed and raised blood sugars very quickly but the sugars in fruit, candy, chocolate and ice cream did not result in prolonged rises in blood sugars. In other words many of the starchy foods had a much higher Glycemic Index than many of the sugary foods. Needless to say these results seem counter intuitive and have caused a lot of controversy in the food industry. The rate of absorption is very dependant on how the carbs are bound up with the food fiber and the particle size. For example less gelatinized products like al dente spaghetti and oatmeal have lower GI values and stone ground flours have lower GI values than finely ground flours. The fibrous coat surrounding beans and seeds stop enzymes from getting at the starchy carbs inside and will slow the digestion of grainy breads, legumes and barley. The acidity of foods also slows down digestion and vinegar, lemon juice, pickles and sourdough bread will result in lower GI meal values.
The Glycemic Index is important not only to diabetics but also to non-diabetics because we need to know what foods will keep our blood sugars on an even keel and not raise them too high and then have them plummet down again causing hunger. The slow digestion of low GI foods and the gradual rise and fall in blood-glucose response helps people with diabetes control their blood sugar levels and increase their sensitivity to insulin. Low GI foods will help healthy people delay hunger pangs and promote weight loss in overweight individuals. In addition low GI carbohydrates can reduce blood cholesterol levels and also reduce our risk of heart disease. High blood glucose spikes can result in oxidative stress leading to the formation of plaque that can cause atherosclerosis and even blood clots. So keeping our blood sugar levels fairly level and low seems like what we should be trying to achieve through healthy eating. How do we go about achieving this?
The first step is to look at what carbohydrates we are consuming and the GI levels of the meals that we are eating. Then we should try and ensure we have at least one low GI food in each meal to keep the overall meal GI close to 50. Most fats and proteins have no effect on the GI level of our meal because they don't contain carbs. However watch out for saturated fats and too many calories. Let's look at some meals and see what substitutions we could make. The GI values are shown in brackets.
Breakfast
Cut back on Corn Flakes (92), Rice Krispies (82) and substitute All-Bran (32) or switch to a cereal based on oats, barley or bran. Stop eating white bagels (72), white bread (70) or whole-wheat bread (77) and switch to pumpernickel (50) or sourdough (55). Fruits are mostly low GI foods and surprisingly orange juice (46) is very good.
Lunch and Dinner
Eat your colored vegetables and make your salad dressings with olive oil and vinegar. Avoid parsnips (97) and substitute pastas like al dente white spaghetti (38), linguini (46) or macaroni (47) for Instant white rice (87) and potatoes – baked (85), red-skin peeled and boiled (88). Except for parsnips and potatoes most vegetables have a low GI value.
Additional information on GI values can be found at the University of Sydney website www.glycemicindex.com/ or in the "The New Glucose Revolution: Shopper's Guide to GI Values 2006.
Mark Ransome is a contributing editor and writer for the popular new website – Benefits of Antioxidants. Visitors to www.benefits-of-antioxidants.com will have access to a new free diet and weight loss program – The Psychiatrist's Weight Loss Program.
The Best Exercise For Weight Loss
The best exercise for weight loss? There's no such thing, but no surprise there, right? Someone with leg problems can't run to lose weight, and swimming won't work without access to a pool. There is no one-size-fits-all prescription here. You just have to work out which exercises are best for you.
A Few Of The Best Exercises For Weight Loss
Raising your heart and breathing rate for a time at least three times a week is the general idea, and there are many ways to do that. Any activity will burn calories, though, so don't feel you have to start heavy workouts to get some benefit. A few possibilities and ideas follow, but talk to your doctor before starting any of the more athletic activities.
- Do things you enjoy doing, which also involve moving your body. You're more likely to persevere in your efforts if you enjoy yourself.
- Swimming can be a great weight loss exercise, because it is easy on the joints. Swimming in cool water also means your body burns calories heating itself.
- Walking is perhaps a better alternative to running or jogging. It's easier on the body, and delivers about the same benefits for the same distance traveled. It's also more enjoyable for many of us. Walking also can be done in large malls when the weather is bad outside.
- Climbing up and down stairs is a very aerobic exercise. It burns almost as many calories as jogging, without the problems of weather. In the right place, it can be more private too.
- Stationary bicycles are tough to use regularly because of the boredom factor. If you only allow yourself to watch your favorite television show while pedaling, however, you may feel more motivated.
- Parking the car far away from every place you visit can mean a lot of extra walking. Once you do it enough, it will become an almost unconscious habit.
- Walking the dog can be great exercise for you and the dog. It's also a good way to meet new people.
- Getting a job that requires physical activity can be a way to guarantee you'll get enough exercise. Just be sure it's something you can handle and enjoy.
- Gardening helps a lot of people burn calories while doing something enjoyable. It also can produce the healthy foods that help with weight loss.
What's available to you will determine what exercises you can use. You may also have some personal physical limitations. What you enjoy doing may be the most important consideration, however, because the best exercise for weight loss is the one you'll actually do.
Steve Gillman writes on many self-improvement topics. You can get more weight loss tips, and subscribe to a free weight loss newsletter at: http://www.99WaysToLoseWeight.com
