The Hemp Connection:
PCOS

Organic Bean Soup
Ingredients: 1 cup organic 13 bean soup mixture
2 cups organic chicken broth
4 carrots
4 celery sticks
2 cloves fresh garlic
½ sweet onion
3 Tblsp diced fresh parsley
2 Tblsp diced fresh dill
1 piece wild atlantic Kombu Kelp
Directions:Soak beans overnightThe next day, place beans in 2 cups chicken broth and bring to a boil, chop all the vegetables and herbs and add to the soup, can place kelp in whole or shred and place in before cookingCover and simmer for 2 hoursMakes 3-4 servings

1 cup brown rice cooked
1 and 1/2 cup spinach
handful of basil
l1-2 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 Tbsp flax seed oil
1/3-1/2 cup water
chop garlic. Place all ingredients except for the rice in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour over 2 cups of rice and mis until evenly spread on the rice

Organic Beet Salad Ingredients:
One large Beet or 2 small
Walnuts-handful
fresh dill-2 -3 sprigs
1 lemon
Wash beets and scrub with brush over running water
Peel the beet and chop into small evenly cut cubes. Place in a steamer and boil for 7-10 minutes. Place beets in a bowl of ice water to cool. When cool remove and place in bowl. Add chopped walnuts,chopped dill and juice of one lemon, refrigerate until cold and eat when read

Cauliflower Couscous

2 heads cauliflower, finely ground in a food processor
1/2 fresh cup lemon juice
1 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon black pepper
pinch of sea salt
1 bunch fresh parsley, stems removed
1 bunch fresh mint, stems removed
1 bunch fresh cilantro, stems removed
1 13oz jar pitted Greek olives

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix thoroughly

Marinated Bok Choy Salad

5 heads baby bok choy
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Nama Shoyu
4 cloves garlic, peeled

Starting from the bottom of the plant, chop the bok choy stalks into half-inch pieces, leaving the leaves whole. In a blender, combine the olive oil, Nama Shoyu and garlic and blend thoroughly. Add to the bok choy, mix well and serve.

Pesto Sauce

2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 fresh lemon juice
pinch sea salt
1 cup raw pine nuts
1 cup fresh basil
2 tablespoons olive oil

In a high speed blender, combine all the ingredients, and blend until smooth.
(can add 3/4 cup Thai cocunut water if desired)
We served this last night over brown rice linguini pasta and it was delicious!!

I just tried all of these and they are so easy to prepare and absolutely yummy

Cucumber Watercress Soup
3 1/2 cups cucumber juice (4-6 cucumbers)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 bunch fresh watercress
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp sea salt

Using a juicer, juice the cucumbers. In a high speed blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend until smooth
*I added some fresh dill and parsley to this recipe and chose not to use salt, you can try either way

Do you live in Phoenix or LA? Consider coming to my inCYST classes! April's topic is eating better…it's a great place to get into the rotation. Cost of attending is $15, and each session is 2 hours. I have designed this program to be as budget-conscious as a medical copayment, but you get twice the time!

In both cities, classes are held in a local restaurant, so we can also learn restaurant eating while we chat.

I do ask for an in-advance, nonrefundable payment to hold your place (and since I have to travel to LA, that helps me with my own travel planning).

More information on dates and topics can be found on my website, www.afterthediet.com/inCYST.htm.

Hello everyone,

It's time I learned to blog! I hope you enjoy this as much as I expect to. I've created this blog as a venue for current members of my PCOS network to post, support, and market their classes and services. The members of this network have completed a 20 hour course on PCOS. Most are registered dietitians. They all are here to help you!

inCYST is a new program I pilot tested in Phoenix and Marina del Rey this summer. We had a great time in both cities, getting acquainted and getting our feet on the ground. The students were not the only ones who learned. In California I had to become familiar with different foods available in grocery stores…in Arizona I spent much of my summer reading new research to incorporate into the classes taught in both locations.

I hope inCYST is an inspiration and a source of information that is useful and inspiring to each and everyone of you.

Hope to see lots of you in 2008,

Monika

Kashi TLC Pumpkin Spice Flax bars

I tried these delicious new bars and they are really nutty, crunchy and tasty as a quick breakfast addition or a snack
these bars contain 300 mg Omega-3's from whole flax seeds
Fiber is 4 grams per serving
there are 7 types of whole grains, canola oil, pumpkin seeds and wheat germ and 2 bars equals one serving

Sometimes I find interesting medical news in somewhat unusual places, namely the July 1, 2009 issue of the Wall Street Journal. On the front page of the “Personal Journal” section, there’s an article entitled “Fertility Methods for Older Women Spawns Doubts: Evidence Fails to Support Use of Popular Technique for Screening Embryos.”

The technique, PGS (pre-implantation genetic screening) is believed to reduce the risk of serious chromosome-related disorders, such as Down syndrome. While PGS is routinely practiced by reproductive endocrinologists (the doctors who are there to help you get pregnant when you’re struggling with infertility), the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (www.ASRM.org) now states that numerous clinical trails have concluded that live birth rates are not enhanced by the use of PGS.

What does this mean for you if you’ve got PCOS, you’re over 35 (not so charmingly referred to as “AMA,” or “advanced maternal age,” which pretty much instantaneously places you in the high-risk category) and you’re trying to get pregnant? I am an AMA PCOS patient, and I’m aware that it means several things, all of which point to the need to be a proactive patient:

Be aware of where you stand in terms of fertility timeframes – as stated above, biologically speaking, the clock really starts ticking at an accelerated rate once you hit 35. Although we hear about celebrities who are giving birth well into their 40s, they are almost always taking advantage of assisted reproductive technology when doing so. Thinking you have another decade to go before your fertility declines is neither realistic nor helpful, especially if your goal is to have more than one pregnancy.

Know your doctor’s practices – while there are commonalities among reproductive endocrinologists in the ways they practice, refer back to the ASRM for “best practices” guidelines and see if your physician is in compliance. If you aren’t comfortable with what you know, talk to your doctor, and ask questions until you’re satisfied. If you’re still not satisfied, consider changing physicians.

Know your doctor’s tendencies – is he or she precise, analytical, thorough, and well-versed in the very latest in reproductive medicine? Do you feel like your doctor is treating you as an individual, and not just a member of a particular demographic? You have the right to comprehensive assessment, a detailed treatment plan, and enough explanation about the doctor’s policies, procedures, practices, and success rates.

Exercise your right to say “no” — your doctor may not have read the very latest research, or may adhere to a belief that PGS or some other technique constitutes the best treatment for you. Your doctor is here to advise, consult, and treat, not dictate (except in life-threatening circumstances), so take the time to study proposed treatments and tests before making a decision. By the way, PGS is considered an experimental technique, and it is a costly one – adding approximately 20% to the average $10,000 cost of a round of IVF.

In the journey through assisted reproductive technology, the AMA PCOS patient needs to be aware, realistic, thorough in her research, and unafraid to question the value and price of technology. To learn more about assisted reproductive technology, I recommend the ASRM website, as well as RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association (www.RESOLVE.org).

If you have PCOS, and you’ve tried to get pregnant, you may have already discovered that you can add infertility to the list of “what’s wrong with my body.” Infertility often feels like one more failure of your body to perform as expected, and one more thing that feels out of control. There are actions you can pursue to shift your mind and shift your body, however:

1) Get out of denial – know the timeframes for diagnosing infertility (generally six months of trying without a successful pregnancy if you’re over 40; one year if you’re under 40). Know that infertility isn’t just a matter of stress or bad timing – although those can be contributing factors. Know that infertility is a treatable condition, but it takes finding the right medical team, and that may include some highly specialized people, like a reproductive endocrinologist.

2) Have your anger – infertility is definitely something to be angry about. You’re mad, you’re frustrated, you’re irritable, you feel deprived, you want what you want – something other people manage to have without even trying – and you are entitled to rant and rave about it. But don’t let anger become your primary way of experiencing your infertility. Take the energy that powers that anger and turn it towards a more productive experience.

3) Fully experience your regrets – as much as you can understand them in the moment, experience your regrets. These might include the fact that the romance and private experience of love and sexuality are separated from the process of reproduction. Perhaps it means acknowledging that you won’t have a biological child. Or it might even mean deciding that children are not part of your future, at least not right now.

4) Grieve what you need to grieve – this might include some of the regrets mentioned above, or whatever else you feel or define – loss of womanhood, loss of health, loss of a specific type of relationship. Get support for this grieving if you need it, from other women in the same situation, or from a professional counselor.

5) Refocus your dreams – now that you’ve moved out of the hope or fantasy of “accidental” or sort-of-planned pregnancy, cried, had your rage, and gathered some support, decide what’s next – assisted reproductive technology, adoption, surrogacy, or a child-free life.

6) Take action to achieve that dream – make sure you’re on the same page with your spouse or partner, if you have one. Do the research to find a great reproductive endocrinologist, a supportive counselor, a knowledgeable dietician, and any other resources you need. Join online support communities that are specific to infertility, just as you joined this PCOS-specific community. Make a plan – give yourself some general timeframes and budgets for what you are willing to do.

With luck, planning, focus, and support, you may well be able to achieve the family you’ve been dreaming of, in spite of infertility.

Food item of the week-a perfect match for a meal idea
Here is a perfect combination from once again our good old friend"Trader Joes"Trader Joes brand Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds-crunchy and salty, it contains 320 mg ALA Omega 3 Fatty Acids per serving (approx 2 tsps) and the ingredients are merely peanuts, roasted golden flaxseeds and saltplus…Trader Joe's Organic Superfruit Spread (a blend of morello cherrys, red grapes, blueberries and pomegranates) which is mostly from juices but only 8 grams of sugar per tsp and contains 60% DV of Vit C per servingThis combination is an anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and pro-nutrient dense match and might I add, on some whole grain full of seeds bread, it is a yummy sandwich!!!!!!!! you can enjoy as a meal or snack!
Posted by Ellen Reiss-Goldfarb, R.D. at 5:34 PM 0 comments
Labels: ala, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, Ellen Goldfarb, Ellen Reiss-Goldfarb, Food Item of the Week, omega 3, PCOS
Monday, June 29, 2009