Aaahhh eggs, the misunderstood member of the nutrition family. Poor guys…when I graduated from college, in the height of the low cholesterol-low fat craze, we were indoctrinated to teach that"egg" was just another word for poison.

My how things have changed!

A couple of months ago I heard Dr. Susan Kleiner (www.goodmooddiet.com) speak at a conference. She shared that not once has there been a research study demonstrating that when you take eggs out of the diet, that this dietary change reduces cholesterol. As well, there has been research demonstrating that adding eggs (plus yolks) to the diet does NOT raise cholesterol. All those yolks I threw down the drain all those years…for nothing.

I figured I'd better find some hard research to back THAT one up, so here's a quick list of interesting titles I found in PubMed:
Dietary cholesterol from eggs increases plasma HDL cholesterol in
overweight men consuming a carbohydrate-restricted diet
Egg yolk improves lipid profile, lipid peroxidation and retinal abnormalities
in a murine model of genetic hypercholesterolemia.
There are many more, but here I just wanted to make my point. Egg yolks are not the ugly stepchild of the protein family anymore.

In fact, there are some great nutrients to be found in eggs.

1. Lutein and xeanthin are two carotenoid compounds that can help maintain visual health. One group of researchers reported that 6 eggs per week can help increase lutein and xeanthin levels in the macula, the part of the eye that degenerates in this country's leading cause of blindness, macular degeneration.

2. Eggs contain choline. This compound is very important for brain function. Choline is the building block for acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter involved in memory, and the one that many Alzheimer's medications seek to increase.

This compound is exceedingly hard to get in the diet. In fact, about the only two places you can find it, are egg yolks, and soy. (Well, also in cooked chicken, beef, veal, and turkey livers, but I didn't think that would have any of you running for your grocery lists so it goes in parentheses.)

If you've got PCOS, you've probably been told to avoid soy. So that leaves egg yolks for getting this very important memory booster.

3. If you hate fish but you need to increase your fish-based omega-3 intake, omega-3 eggs are a very cost-effective option. If you struggle to get enough vegetables in your diet, omelets and frittatas are great ways to get them in. Just be sure you use olive oil when you cook them.

I thought it might be timely to include eggs on this blog, because as food prices rise, they can certainly be much more cost-effective than salmon, as well as other proteins that are now taxing your grocery bill.

Mutungi G, Ratliff J, Puglisi M, Torres-Gonzalez M, Vaishnav U, Leite JO, Quann E, Volek JS, Fernandez ML. Dietary cholesterol from eggs increases plasma HDL cholesterol in overweight men consuming a carbohydrate-restricted diet. J Nutr. 2008 Feb;138(2):272-6.

Fernández-Robredo P, Rodríguez JA, Sádaba LM, Recalde S, García-Layana A.
Egg yolk improves lipid profile, lipid peroxidation and retinal abnormalities in a murine model of genetic hypercholesterolemia. J Nutr Biochem. 2008 Jan;19(1):40-8.

Wenzel AJ, Gerweck C, Barbato D, Nicolosi RJ, Handelman GJ, Curran-Celentano J. A 12-wk egg intervention increases serum zeaxanthin and macular pigment optical density in women. J Nutr. 2006 Oct;136(10):2568-73.

Goodrow EF, Wilson TA, Houde SC, Vishwanathan R, Scollin PA, Handelman G, Nicolosi RJ. Consumption of one egg per day increases serum lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations in older adults without altering serum lipid and lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. J Nutr. 2006 Oct;136(10):2519-24.

You all are must be sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo tired of hearing me talk about the benefits of sleep. But I work with a sleepless population and it takes a few times to present my case before I make my point. I figure if I hammer at this from as many different angles as I can, and present as many examples of how poor sleep quality can interfere with your health, at least one of my examples will hit home and inspire you to consider your sleep habits and choices.

This doesn't bode well for Jay Leno and David Letterman…unless they team up with TiVo for advertising!

Women whose eggs had been examined and found to be of poor quality had those eggs examined by researchers. It was found that levels of chemicals indicative of oxidative stress were higher in those eggs than they were in the eggs of women whose eggs had been determined to be of good quality.

Taking this one step further, 18 women with low quality eggs were divided into one of three groups and given one of the following 3 regimens: (1) 3 mg melatonin per day, (2) 600 mg vitamin E per day, or (3) 3 mg melatonin AND 600 mg vitamin E per day. Oxidative stress markers were reduced in all three scenarios.

And THEN…in the final phase, 115 women who had not become pregnant with in vitro fertilization (IVF) were divided into two groups. The first group received 3 mg melatonin per day and the second group received no supplement. Melatonin significantly improved the rate of fertilization.

The researchers concluded that oxidative stress (which is what happens when you stress all day and don't sleep well all night), damages the quality of eggs. They also concluded that melatonin supplements can help improve fertilization rate.

Just a note--take melatonin if you want, but don't lose sight of the big picture. If you backed yourself into a corner because you weren't managing your stress and sleep, a pill may not be the complete solution to the entire problem.

Tamura H, Takasaki A, Miwa I, Taniguchi K, Maekawa R, Asada H, Taketani T, Matsuoka A, Yamagata Y, Shimamura K, Morioka H, Ishikawa H, Reiter RJ, Sugino N. Oxidative stress impairs oocyte quality and melatonin protects oocytes from free radical damage and improves fertilization rate. J Pineal Res. 2008 Apr;44(3):280-7.

Due to some unusual cramping and bleeding, I went in to see my reproductive endocrinologist (RE), who is dually board certified as a gynecologist and an endocrinologist. If you have PCOS, and especially if you’ve ever tried to get pregnant and had a problem doing so, you have probably been referred to a RE. REs have a specialized understanding of the way our hormones affect our fertility, blood sugars, insulin resistance, and other PCOS-related conditions. They treat many PCOS patients, because PCOS is a primary cause of infertility.

One vaginal ultrasound and one pregnancy test later (the doctor and I duly noting that I am well over 40, infertile by all medical definitions, and just about as likely to be pregnant as Mother Teresa), it was determined that there’s a UFO in my uterus! Well, not really, but that’s what it looks like on the ultrasound screen. So, if it’s not a polyp, a cyst, a fibroid, or a baby, what is it?

Cancer comes to mind, and the possibility of cancer necessitated an endometrial biopsy, which is a very uncomfortable procedure in which the tissue in your uterus (the endometrium) is sampled (that’s medical-speak for pulled out in tiny chunks) and sent to the laboratory to be tested. Fortunately, no cancer was found. However, given that PCOS patients are much more prone than average to conditions such as hyperplasia (a proliferation of sometimes questionable looking cells) and endometrial cancers, the recommendation is almost always surgery to remove the tissue, be it a polyp, a cyst, or in this case, something unidentified. I am fortunate to have a highly skilled, aggressive doctor, who knows me and my condition very well, and I agree with this recommendation.

That was the good news, but then I learned the bad news – that my eggs had officially expired. While some doctors question the accuracy of the anti-mullerian hormone assessor, it’s a pretty accurate way to determine whether your eggs are still of use (and to what degree), or if you are pre-menopausal or post-menopausal. No longer having viable eggs was not unexpected, given my age. Nonetheless, there’s an emotional hit to all of this. There is a sense of loss, of unrealized potential, and a need to acknowledge that the door on having a biologically related child, created with my own eggs, has officially closed. At the same time, there is a surprising sense of freedom and relief accompanying this news. Given my personal and family medical history, I no longer have to make an active choice about passing on my genes. With assisted reproductive technology, the doors are open to carrying a pregnancy anytime up to age 53. I just know now for certain that, for me, a pregnancy would mean using donor eggs.

A visit to the RE can be painful or uncomfortable, confusing, enthralling, educational, inspiring, or worrisome – all at the same time. Surgical procedures and testing add to the complex mix of emotions aroused by having a condition or conditions you don’t entirely understand, an equally confusing array of treatment options, time pressures, and a host of medical practitioners, all with their own particular slant on what constitutes your best treatment plan, and why.

For me, that means surgery next month to remove the UFO, continued monitoring of my endometrial condition, and of course, more visits to the RE, especially should I decide to pursue a pregnancy with donor eggs in the future. I like the idea that I still have options, the immediately pressing medical concern is being addressed appropriately, and some aspects of my fertility still offer possibilities. PCOS has a rhythm and a flow of its own, shifting in prominence at various stages in your life and reproductive cycle, and contributes to a mix of emotional experiences. In choosing how to manage your care, your fertility, and your emotions, I hope you too are able to focus on the positive.

If you have not had the opportunity to hear Gretchen's interviews with pcoschallenge.com, please take the time to do so! Gretchen will also be hosting a PCOS expert webinar next Tuesday…to attend please contact www.pcoschallenge.net for more details on how to do so.

Kind of an obvious choice this week…

…I wanted to highlight eggs since they are a food many people don't eat, thinking about the cholesterol.

It used to be, when I was brand-new to this profession, I was taught to tell people to avoid eggs. Because of the cholesterol.

It turns out, the cholesterol in eggs has been shown to not increase serum cholesterol, and taking eggs out of your diet doesn't really decrease your cholesterol.

Besides that, eggs…

…are cheap.
…have one of the highest quality proteins available.
…are one of the very few foods contain choline (in the yolk), which is very important for maintaining memory, potentially reducing your risk for Alzheimer's disease.
…are a good source of vitamin B-12, another nutrient that isn't always easy to get.
…are convenient to eat.
…if you get the omega-3 kind, can be a source of DHA, which is not easy to get in your diet if you don't like or don't have access to fish.

So have fun with your holiday and take advantage of the fact that you've got all those boiled eggs in the frig. Have them for breakfast. Put them on your salad at lunch.

And know it's something good you're doing for yourself!

I promised Ivonne I would post a recipe here, but my format will be a little bit nontraditional.

See, so many people have this perception that if you have a nutrition degree, or work in the fitness and counseling worlds, you are somehow this magic creator of 3 gourmet meals a day. They're all perfectly balanced, exactly the necessary number of calories with perfect ratios of carbohydrate, protein, fat, zinc, antioxidants, omega-3's, yadayadayada.

NOT.

I think sometimes these blogs and websites with all these people who'd like you to think it's perfect in foodieland are downright intimidating. I want you to HAVE FUN with food, and I want you to have the confidence to experiment.

So here's a look inside my kitchen and my head when I recently improvised on a popular recipe, Morning Glory Muffins.

Here is the original recipe as I found it on the Internet:

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut

3/4 cup Earthbound Farm Organic Raisins

1 large organic apple, peeled and grated

1 cup (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained

2 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

3 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Now let's see what actually happened when I rolled up my sleeves and baked them.

1. "Where is the sugar? Dang! I forgot I was almost out and I only have half as much…OK, in food chem class we learned that while some sugar is necessary not all of it is. Maybe I can make do." Half the sugar is used.

2. Time to add the pineapple. "Hmmmm…I still have a dozen of those 400 oranges that I picked taking up space in the refrigerator…they're acidic, wonder what would happen if I replaced pineapple with chopped oranges?" Oranges are used in place of pineapple.

3. I used omega-3 eggs in place of regular eggs.

4. Now for the vegetable oil. "Wonder if I could use olive oil? That olive oil pastry I had on the cruise a few years ago was pretty good." So olive oil it is, and 2/3 of the recipe's original amount.

5. Home stretch…time for vanilla…"Oh, MAN! I could SWEAR I had vanilla!" Time for a little trick my mom taught me years ago…extracts are alcohol based, so you can exchange the vanilla for anything you might have that is a liqueur. "What's in my liquor cabinet? Banana liqueur, hazelnut liqueur…" Hazelnut wouldn't open (it was crystallized shut from disuse), so banana it was.

And there you have it. I would be a disaster on a cooking show, but my mad-science-hmmm-let's-see-if-this-works approach turned out some pretty darned good muffins.

Which, at this point, are no longer Morning Glory Muffins. Given the fact that I used local oranges and pecans, our local tree nut, they have been renamed Arizona Sunrise Muffins. Here's the recipe as it ended up:

Arizona Sunrise Muffins

5/8 cups sugar

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut

3/4 cup Earthbound Farm Organic Raisins (chopped dates would make it even more local)

1 large organic apple, peeled and grated

1 cup oranges or other citrus, peeled and chopped (probably need more sugar if you use grapefruit)

2 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

3 large omega-3 eggs

2/3 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon banana liqueur

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Sift or whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add the coconut, raisins, apple, pineapple, carrots, and nuts, and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the oil and vanilla. Pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and blend well.

Spoon the batter into muffin tins lined with muffin cups, filling each to the brim. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling.

I must add an important disclaimer here. Not all my experimenting succeeds. I have some serious flops. The thing that matters is that I learn from each experiment, I don't aim for perfection, and I have FUN.

That's what I encourage all of you to do, too, when you step into your kitchen.

The following is a guest blog post from Dawn Marie Black, a woman with PCOS. Dawn is learning to cook in hormone-friendly ways, and has a great blog, Much Madness Is Divinest Sense, in which she records her experiences on this journey. In this post Dawn shares information about coconut flour.

If you'd like to try coconut flour but cannot find it locally, here are some options for online ordering.

What flour is high in fiber, and protein, low in carbohydrates and gluten free? We're talkin' coconut flour here!

I have PCOS, and found that these things are better for me, and having tried this flour I found I really like it.

Coconut flour is fiber from the coconut meat after most of the oil has been extracted to make Virgin Coconut Oil. Each brand of coconut flour will vary in their content of protein and fiber, but the protein and fiber is higher than gluten based flours, and that makes this flour very appealing for keeping my baked goods low carb, and to reduce other gastric issues that gluten can aggravate. Who really likes having IBS issues? I, for one, am not a fan. It is also considered a hypoallergenic food since so few people are allergic to coconut, which makes this easy to offer to many of your friends who may have other allergies. There are three things to remember when using coconut flour: One, always sift. Two, extra liquid is needed. Three, it needs something to bind it all together.

Coconut flour can be used in all recipes calling for flour. Most can be substituted with anywhere between 10% — 30% coconut flour, adding in the equal amount of liquid into the recipe as well. Other recipes may need further adjustments, for binding agents and liquid depending on the amount of fiber in the coconut flour. The easiest recipes to convert to 100% coconut flour are muffins, bars, pancakes, cakes, and quick breads. There are recipes on the internet and in print that can be helpful in building new recipes from. I have tried doing an equal exchange of flour, and without the extra binding agents and liquid the muffins were really dry, enough to toss with one bite. It was awful. If it looks dry, add more liquid.

There are several things to remember when using coconut flour. Always sift before measuring whether the recipe calls for it or not, it is inferred. If you forget to sift, you will be disappointed with your results as it will be dry and crumbly. This flour is very"thirsty", the fiber in the flour soaks up moisture, so more needs to be added to your recipes, it's usually an equal amount. Sticky sweeteners, such as brown rice syrup, can be included in your measurements for liquid, but oil is not included. Then you'll want to remember that since the flour has no internal binder, it requires additional eggs. The ratio is between 4-5 eggs per cup up to 1 egg per ounce of flour, there are other binders that can be utilized as well, egg whites, soaked flax, sticky sweeteners help with binding as well. I have found that those who are cooking vegan know many other binding agents and are good sources to ask regarding other alternatives in your baking. I've compiled a list of alternatives you can find by clicking here. I personally like eggs, they provide protein and are tasty, but I do substitute egg whites for some of the eggs, especially when I know I will be eating them in other forms through out the day.

If your batter is dry your baked goods will be dry, add in more liquids to moisten the flour for a more moist baked item. I forgot this once with a quick bread recipe, the batter was dry, and when the bread came out of the oven it was more lumpy and dry then when I had put it in the oven. Do not be afraid of a more moist batter, the fiber soaks it up. Coconut flour can be used in other common purposes such as breading and as a thickening agent for soups, stews, etc. If you are using it as a breading, make double the sauce to pour over your item in order to allow for the soaking up of the liquids. I made a Coq a Vin for a party, and overnight the breaded chicken soaked up all the sauce that was to be poured over the pieces of chicken. The flavor was there, but it would have been more delicious with the sauce to pour over the meal. Do not be afraid to make adjustments, print out your recipes make notes with your changes, decide how you liked your item and either make more corrections or make a note letting yourself know if you liked it or not. There will be some things that you will love the flavor, but maybe you will want a different texture. I'm still working on gooey brownies, I will be adding apple sauce to increase the moisture in my next batch.

Here are some helpful links to find recipes to begin your journey of cooking with coconut flour, and don't forget these three things when using coconut flour: always sift before measuring, extra liquid is needed, and it needs something to bind it all together.

http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/gluten_free_coconut_flour_recipes.htm

http://www.kokonutpacific.com.au/OilSales/OilIndex.html?Health/CoconutFlour.php

http://www.simplycoconut.com/coconut_flour.htm

http://www.tiana-coconut.com/coconut_flour_recipes.htm

inCYSTer Christine Marquette recently gave a great, detailed webinar about supplements and PCOS. In it, she pointed out that there are certain nutrients women with PCOS may need more of because their metabolism is altered.

What I've been wondering ever since, is whether or not they need more because their intentional eating plans have thrown them out of balance…or would they need more even if they ate absolutely perfectly? The research does support these additional needs, but what the studies do NOT do, is provide women with healthy food for a period of time to discern whether those needs exist even when the diet has been brought back into balance. I suspect the needs would still be different, although not perhaps not quite as remarkable as they are when you're not eating well.

I thought, once a week, I'd introduce you to a vitamin or mineral and challenge you to see if you eat enough of it, regularly, over the course of the day.

Once you bring all of your vitamins and minerals back to baseline, then you can more accurately determine whether or not supplementation is going to work for you. If you want to check out how you're doing, check out http://www.fitday.com/, where you can enter all of your foods and check out how your own intake measures up to the recommendations for the vitamins and minerals.

Vitamin A
How do you do with the following foods?
liver carrots broccoli leaves (not the commonly eaten florets) sweet potatoes butter kale spinach pumpkin collard greens cantaloupe egg yolks
Keep this list handy over the next week and think of ways you can be sure you're getting enough vitamin A. Here are some suggestions.
1. If you make your own smoothies, be sure to throw a handful of leafy greens into them. Even if they're fruit flavored, a handful won't make a difference flavor-wise, but they'll make a huge difference nutrition-wise.
2. If you juice, which is the easiest way to get tons of vitamin A, be sure to balance all that carbohydrate with some protein. The biggest problem with juicing for people who tend to be insulin resistant is the huge carbohydrate load in comparison to the protein juice tends to not provide.
3. Always buy the darkest possible greens for your salad
4. Think kale chips, broccoli chips, etc. They're easy to make and tasty to munch on!
5. If that hour between arriving home and eating dinner is a problem, stock your refrigerator with baby carrots and hummous to snack on while you wait.
6. Try putting spinach leaves instead of plain lettuce on your sandwiches.
7. I'm a huge fan of omelets and frittatas. I never ate Swiss chard until I learned to put it into a frittata. It's also a great way to clean out the vegetable bin at the tail end of the week, it's a cheap dinner (it adds some eggs to your diet), and it's so easy on those nights when you come home exhausted and not wanting to think about anything complicated for dinner.
8. Boil up some eggs and keep them handy for snacks and to top salads with. We tend to be afraid of eggs because of the outdated information about cholesterol. They're actually quite healthy, quite convenient, and something that can make getting vitamin A…as well as protein…a little bit easier.
9. Still have an abundance of vegetables after eating the frittata? Why not make some soup! I have a slow cooker and it is the best appliance for making an easy dinner. A few minutes in the morning and I've got the house smelling great by late afternoon. If thinking about this in the morning while you're rushing out the door just isn't going to work…try putting everything in the slow cooker the night before and programming your smart phone to remind you to plug it in before you leave for work.
10. Stir fry! It's quick and it's easy. You can also buy chopped up vegetables if you want it to be even easier.
OK, let's do it! Let us know how you do with the challenge, or if you have new suggestions to add.

D-chiro-inositol, supplement popular with women with PCOS, has a lesser known cousin, myoinositol, that is beginning to gain some attention in PCOS world. An Italian research laboratory has started to report findings from studies suggesting that with regard to fertility, at least, myoinositol may be the inositol of choice.

Eighty-four women at the AGUNCO Obstetrics and Gynecology Centre in Rome, Italy, were treated either with two grams of myoinositol twice a day, or 0.6 grams d-chiro-inositol twice a day. Eggs from both groups of subjects were then retrieved for use in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) as part of in-vitro fertilization (IVF). The inositol supplement is a proprietary blend of myoinositol and folate, INOFOLIC, that currently is not available in the United States.

Researchers were able to harvest an equal number of eggs from each group. However, in the myoinositol-supplemented women, the quality of the eggs was better (more mature). This group also had more successful IVF outcomes than the d-chiroinositol-supplemented women.

Because there is such a preference for using d-chiro-inositol in the audience reading this blog, I contacted the researchers conducting these studies for clarification. It turns out, they recently had a letter just accepted for publication in Fertility and Sterility in which they discuss why they believe myoinositol works in a way that d-chiro-inositol does not.

In this letter, the researchers discuss that both myoinositol and d-chiro-inositol are involved in insulin function. In fact, a normal metabolic process is the conversion of into d-chiro-inositol. In most tissues, supplementing with d-chiro-inositol helps to maintain levels of this compound; this is why insulin resistance improves when supplementing with this particular compound.

However, ovaries do not develop insulin resistance. In a nutshell, that means that supplementing with d-chiro-inositol does not help them. The only way they can maintain healthy d-chiro-inositol levels, is to improve conversion of myoinositol to d-chiro-inositol. Eventually, that enhanced conversion process depletes myoinositol levels…and there is not enough d-chiro-inositol available to maintain normal ovarian function. Ironically, the only way to achieve healthy d-chiro-inositol levels in ovaries…seems to be to supplement with myoinositol. D-chiro-inositol supplementation does not appear to have the same effect.

A special thanks to Drs. Gianfranco Carmagno, PhD, and Vittorio Unfer, MD, and their Florida colleague Scott Roseff, MD, for dedicating so much time to pursuing this issue, and for taking the time to help me put this blog post together.

Unfer V, Carlomagno G, Rizzon P, Raffone E, Roseff S. Myo-inositol rather than D-chiro-inositol is able to improve oocyte quality in intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles. A prospective, controlled, randomized trial. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2011 Apr;15(4):452-7.

Papaleo E, Unfer V, Baillargeon JP, Fusi F, Occhi F, and DeSantis L. Myo-inositol rather than D-chiroinositol is able to improve oocyte quality in intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles. A prospective, controlled, randomized trial. Fertil Steril 91:5; 1750-1754.

I wrote this article two years ago for a newsletter I was publishing. As we face a very important issue in the Gulf of Mexico, the issue of farmed fish needs to be revisited. I hope this creates awareness and opens up dialogue. For my nutrition colleagues reading this blog, we can be such an important part of the solution…provided we disseminate the real facts.

Despite our current love affair with salmon, our relationship with this cold-water fish has not always been productive. As recently as 30 years ago, it was reported that as much as 80% of a year’s supply was commercially fished out of the water. Despite an awareness of a need for better fishing practices and attention to sustainability, recent salmon fisheries were shut down along the Pacific Coast due to drastic drops in supplies.

As salmon gains favor as the fish with the highest known concentration of the coveted omega-3 fatty acids,
threats on its numbers, and its ability to sustain itself, are only likely to increase. One answer to maintaining salmon populations has been to farm them. However, fish farming has not been an industry that has been met with open arms. Current popular wisdom—and professional recommendations—tend to lean toward “wild Alaskan salmon” as the ultimate in seafood choices. However, it is just not that simple.

It is not at all a Free Willy scenario.

It is important to understand what “wild” really means. These “wild” salmon we envision with a lifetime of free ocean swimming are not all that likely to start life as a salmon egg hatching free of human contact and growing into an adult that has lived a life free of farms, pesticides, or any human mishandling.

Salmon are a migratory fish. In an ideal scenario, they would have free access to both oceans, where they
would spend most of their time, and rivers, where they swim to reproduce. Unfortunately, as many rivers the salmon used for spawning were dammed to be used for generating hydroelectric power, the salmon lost their breeding ground. In order to keep the prized fish from completely losing reproductive ground, salmon hatcheries were developed. It is here that salmon eggs are collected and hatched, and where a very high percentage of “wild” salmon begin their lives.

Actually, the process is a little more involved. Adult salmon are killed. Their eggs and sperm are collected
and combined, and the fish resulting from this process are raised in the hatchery (in a tank or a concrete
pond) for about 2 years. They are then released into the oceans, and can legally be called “wild.” As Mark
Powell, Vice President for Fish Conservation at the Ocean Conservancy and creator of the blog, “Blogfish”
describes it, “a ‘wild’ salmon may live half its life in a pond and the next half swimming in the open ocean, compared to a ‘farmed’ salmon that lives half its life in a pond and the next half in an open-ocean net pen. When in captivity, the ‘wild’and ‘farmed’ salmon are in nearly identical conditions… Also certain is that if you eat so-called"wild" salmon you have probably paid wild fish prices for fish that were spawned in a bucket and did some hard time in a concrete pond. ”

Based on this description, the terms “wild” and “farmed” merely describe what part of a fish’s life was spent
in captivity. The percentage of “wild” salmon that are actually hatchery-derived varies from region to region,
but as reported by blogfish, is 25% of Alaskan and British Columbia salmon, and at least 75% of salmon from Washington, Oregon, and California. Even the prestigious, expensive Copper River salmon is not exempt; as much as 24% of Copper River salmon in the market originated in hatcheries. Powell writes, “For a scientist, there are three main types of salmon, wild, farmed, and hatchery. But fishermen and the seafood industry call salmon wild if they're caught in the ocean, no matter how long they actually lived free.”

What this translates into, is that a label denoting “wild Alaskan salmon” is telling you that you have a 75% chance of having a fish that did not spend any of its life in any artificial confinement, as a hatchling, or as an adult. You are not guaranteed that this fish spent 100% of its life in the wild before being caught. The best bet
for wild salmon, according to blogfish, is the Copper River king variety, which is almost 100% wild.

Why would hatchery-bred fish be labeled as wild? Salmon populations have been declining for decades.

Much of the research about why, implicates damming of rivers that they need to have access to in order to
spawn. Hatcheries were originally developed as a means to maintain salmon populations, but it’s been difficult to produce evidence that this practice is actually effective. Rather than address the real issue, “wild” was redefined to include hatchery-bred fish, in order to create the impression that salmon populations are healthy, rather than declining. Unfortunately, words can only do so much. This past season, reality hit hard when Pacific fisheries had to close the salmon catch because populations were too low.

What is it about hatchery salmon that endangers the truly wild Salmon? Numerous issues, according to Salmon Nation, an organization dedicated to protecting salmon integrity. Initially, hatchery salmon were fed a mixture of fish offal, horse meat, tripe, and condemned pork and beef that ultimately spread disease throughout the populations of fish these hatchery fingerlings interacted with once they were released.

In 1960, feed was changed to pellets made from fishmeal. This new pellet drastically increased the numbers of fingerlings that survived to a size where they could be released into local rivers. However, in the numbers they were being released, they were competing for available food with truly wild salmon.

There has been a tendency on the part of hatcheries to assume that salmon are interchangeable from river to
river. Aquascientists have learned, however, that each strain of salmon, over hundreds of thousands of years, has developed immune systems specifically capable of defending against parasites and diseases found in the waters in which it is native. Fish whose parents were native to one river simply do not have the natural defenses to successfully survive the elements of a neighboring river. Indiscriminate release of salmon into a variety of environments results in a decreased immune resistance which is perpetuated into wild salmon as interbreeding occurs. The result is overall decreased survival rates, and ultimately dimished salmon populations.

The point of this article is not to determine which is better, wild or farmed salmon. Those debates exist in
abundance in other printed and electronic media. The purpose is to challenge whether or not nutrition specialists are helping or exacerbating the problem of declining salmon populations by not looking closer at facts before making recommendations and understanding labeling laws. It is true, salmon is the densest source of omega-3 fatty acids compared to other fish. And it is true, a truly wild salmon is nutritionally superior to any kind of salmon that spent any of its life in captivity.

Could it also be true, however, that promoting the perception that a wild salmon is something that it may
not be, only puts more pressure on a declining population of fish that is already struggling to survive?

One thing we CAN do, is to encourage consumption of a wide variety of fish. Salmon is not the only fish that contains omega-3’s.

We can also educate about the issue of hatcheries. If the demand for a product declines, it puts pressure on the industry that depends on sales of that product to adapt its practices in order to sustain itself.

The current situation has resulted from multiple detrimental policies affecting salmon and the habitat they depend on. It supports the argument that waiting for policy makers to figure out how to fix the problem may not be a viable solution. Reducing demand for a product that encourages ineffective policies to continue, in other words, voting with our collective purchases, may be the best sustainability strategy of all.

REFERENCES

http://www.salmonnation.com/essays/hatcheries.html
http://www.nativefishsociety.org/conservation/biblio/wild_vs_hatchery/index.html

http://www.blogfishx.blogspot.com/

I finished up my nutrition education during the height of cholesterol phobia/low fat mania. The message we were taught to teach about egg yolks dies hard.

Several years ago colleague Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., R.D., shared in a presentation I attended, that there really isn't hard research that shows, without a doubt, that eating egg yolks increases cholesterol. Neither is there really evidence to show that removing egg yolks from your diet reduces cholesterol. Other dietary choices, such as the ones we teach on this blog, are far more effective at normalizing your blood lipid tests.

Eggs are such a cheap, easy source of protein. Scrambling them with vegetables is my favorite way to clean out my vegetable bin.

If you're trying to increase and maintain your vitamin D levels, keep in mind that it is found in egg yolks. And the levels of vitamin D in egg yolks, according to the US Agricultural Research Service, is higher than thought. Each large standard egg contains 41 IU.

If you're still not convinced and questioning, consider that this same analysis showed that the amount of cholesterol in eggs is 14% lower than previously reported, 185 milligrams per egg.

Egg yolks also contain choline, the precursor for acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter involved in memory. It's not easy to find in food…if brain fog and memory are problems your PCOS has brought you, perhaps rethinking your relationship with egg yolks could be helpful.

I'm not sure what the change is, perhaps farmers have been changing the composition of poultry feed in response to the dietary concerns of their customers.

Whatever it is, I'm hoping the new results in a few more egg yolks showing up on diet diaries I review here in the office!

Here are your foods to look out for this week:

fortified whole grains
brown rice
oatmeal
flax
dried beans
fish
sunflower seeds
asparagus
kale
cauliflower
potatoes
oranges
eggs

Looking at this list, I can see where more than a few of you may be deficient. If you're avoiding carbs completely, don't know what to do with flax, and avoid eggs because you think the yolks are too high in cholesterol…you've knocked out some of your strongest thiamine contenders.

Here's a great recipe for a healthy eggplant parmesan with whole wheat panko to get you started. You could easily mix some ground flax into the bread crumbs to pack an even stronger punch.

I'm also thinking kale chips, cauliflower curry, asparagus omelets…this week's challenge is hardly punishment, at least in my kitchen!

Have fun!

Back when I lived in Palo Alto, spring farmer's markets were pungent. Our farmers came in from Watsonville (awesome strawberries) and Gilroy (garlic capital of the world). You could smell that garlic blocks away! Spring garlic is a younger garlic with a milder flavor. I typically use it in recipes where the rest of the year I would use scallions, shallots, or green onions, to shift the flavor in a slightly different direction…one that always signifies spring.

If you are a gardener, growing your own spring garlic is easy. Simply plant your garlic very close together, and harvest as a way to thin them out, letting the rest mature into the more popular mature garlic.

We've been getting spring garlic in our shares for a few months now. Our first garlic almost looked like green onions, but last week's batch started to show the beginnings of cloves in the buds. Aren't they beautiful?

I decided to use a couple of them to make my new favorite salad topping, spring garlic crispies.

I was getting ready to saute some kale which I would scramble eggs. I heated up the olive oil and threw in a minced head of spring garlic. Only instead of just barely browning them, and leaving them in the oil to cook with the kale, I fried them to a crisp and removed them.

Then I sprinkled some on top of the finished eggs and kale. The kale was cooked in garlic-flavored olive oil, and topped with more garlic. And was it ever tasty!

These little crispies are the greatest addition to salads, sandwiches, cooked vegetables…give it a try! I have become fond of whole wheat toast with slices of roasted beets, sprinkled with goat cheese, and topped with garlic crunchies. Try it!
Definitely my new spring flavor!

Spring garlic is most typically found at farmer's markets or small grocers. Look for it…or mark your garden calendar with a reminder to plant your own next year.

The topic for this blog post was suggested by a reader. I figured it was likely important, since many of you struggle with depression and arthritis or some sort of chronic pain, and you're self-medicating. The effects of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, on hormones, is quite extensive. I am summarizing the findings reported in the reference I list at the end. Bottom line, it's probably not the greatest idea to be regularly introducing marijuana into your system if your hormones are out of balance and you're trying to correct that problem. Even if you're not trying to become pregnant but you're sexually active. The effects outside of your own self are potentially significant.

Interestingly, improving your omega-6 to omega-3 dietary ratio helps to correct some of your own human cannabinoid levels, which may help to decrease the desire to get them from an external source. It may also alleviate the depression and joint pain that you may be using marijuana for in the first place. Some experts suggest that this imbalance of our "natural THC" may be one reason women with PCOS have strong carbohydrate cravings--it's another form of the munchies!

Reduced FSH and LH levels.
Suppressed prolactin, thyroid, growth hormone
Provokes cortisol release and reduces production of adrenal steroids, which makes it hard to maintain hormone levels.
Interferes with ovarian prostaglandin synthesis.

HCG-stimulated and FSH-stimulated progesterone secretion is inhibited.
Inhibits estradiol release.

Inhibits cholesterol esterase manufacture, and cholesterol is the building block for many reproductive hormones.
Hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the uterus
Changes in vaginal cell thickness, character and mucoid presentation
Reduced uterine weight
Suppresses thyroid function.

A dose of LH that routinely caused ovulation in normal rats was only able to induce ovulation in 40% of the rats exposed to THC.
Two to fourfold greater doses of LH were required to restore ovulation in THC-exposed rats.

The equivalent of one marijuana cigarette per day interfered with cell division and embryonic growth in fertlized eggs. It also reduced intrauterine weight gain by the fetus.

Offspring of rats exposed to THC had abnormal eggs, meaning the fertility of future generations was also affected.

Prevents reuptake of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine into the brain, increasing, not decreasing, depression over the long term.

Braude MC, Ludford MP, eds. Marijuana: Effects on the Endocrine Reproductive Systems. 1984

Both Jews and Christians are celebrating Holy Days this week, and since I've never written about Jewish eating, I thought it would be interesting to learn more.

One of the wonderful things about Jewish cuisine is, that in its most historical form, it is the original Mediterranean diet! Hummous, tabouli, nuts, many of the foods you eat year round, regardless of your religious persuasion, originated in the Middle East. So in general, a diet using foods native to Israel and its surroundings is going to be quite healthy.

Of course, as with all cultures, modernization has altered these foods the way our ancestors enjoyed them, and those less healhy tweaks tend to appear at holiday time. So I wanted to share some links I found with many suggestions for making sure your Seder celebration enhances, rather than derails, other goals you are working for whether or not it is the holidays.

Here is a link for vegan ideas, including vegan matzoh ball soup, apple charoset, sweet potato kugel, even chocolate matzo.

Martha Stewart's website offers a collection of healthy Seder side dishes, including Brussels sprouts with pears and a parsnip-apple mash.

And of course, what is Passover without matzobrei? I fell in love with matzobrei while attending college in New York. For this Southwestern girl, it was like Jewish chilaquiles! (No jalapenos, of course). I'm back out West these days, but matzobrei followed me and makes a great addition to my repertoire. A few simple tweaks and you've got a great hormone-friendly breakfast. I adapted this recipe from one I found on Yummly.comhttp://www.yummly.com/

6 whole wheat matzos
6 omega-3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill (chopped)
2 onions
2 red bell peppers
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Break matzos into roughly 1-inch pieces into a colander, then rinse under hot tap water until pieces are softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Lightly beat eggs with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon dill in a large bowl and stir in matzos until coated well.

Cook onions and peppers in oil in a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add matzo mixture, then increase heat to moderately high and sauté, stirring frequently and breaking up clumps, until matzos are well browned, about 17 minutes. Season with salt, then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon dill.

May you all enjoy your Passover celebrations this week!

The following blog post was written by a woman with PCOS. I know many of you feel this way. My response is at the bottom.

Dear (trainer) Kevin, Mamavation moms, Bookieboo, and (dietitian) Monika,

I did not work out today as intended. I meant to, I swear.

I’ve been doing great! Hour long walks to train for March for Babies, grueling sessions with pilates at home, and a killer interval-training session at the gym that actually made me cry when I hit muscle failure.

But see, when I woke up I had just enough time to get Buttercup to her first swim class. Which required me to keep her 33lbs afloat for 45 minutes. Which seriously, is probably why my arms are currently feeling like Jello.

If Jello hurts, that is.

But back to the crazy day and my really good excuse(s) for not getting to that 20-minute pilates DVD I promised I was going to do today. After swim class, I carried Buttercup’s sleeping self into bed where she enjoyed a 3.5 hour nap. During my break from motherhood, I meant to work out. I really was going to. But first I had to make the brownies. And the cupcakes. And the fudge. After I went to the grocery store, of course, for the crap on my list I meant to buy yesterday and we really don’t need to get into that whole mess.

So after I successfully escaped from the special hell that is a major grocery store the day before any holiday, I came home. And then I made the brownies. And the cupcakes. And the fudge.

Then it was dinner time. Then we had to clean up after dinner time.

And then it was time to dye the Easter eggs and carefully explain to Buttercup that no, the eggs we were dying do not contain baby birdies that will hatch after the Easter Bunny comes which makes me think tomorrow is really going to be interesting and I might need to start looking for a therapist for my daughter on Monday.

Okay, so that’s when I was going to work out. After all, things were done now, right? Right?

Almost.

Because see, we’re grilling tomorrow. A nice Easter lunch barbecue with rib-eye and veggie kabobs and a very real need for a filled propane tank. Which I didn’t realize we already had until I got to the Quickmart with the so-obviously-heavy-I-should-have-known-it-was-full-tank and the kind cashier gently informed me that I could have my $26 back.

And then I got home (again) and it was time to help my mom with the kitchen and then of course, at 8:30, I took Buttercup up to bed. Where, I should point out, she normally passes out after one book. I should also point out she normally does not take 3.5 hour naps.

And after two books and 65 renditions of “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” (thanks to the lyrics I had pulled up on my blackberry which I always keep in my bra) she finally did pass out. At 10 p.m.

So I sneaked out and headed downstairs, grateful to find The Husband had managed to nuke the dinner I forgot to mention I prepared for him and ate it all on his own! But I still had to do my nightly Mexican June Cleaver routine and prep his cooler with a sammich and goodies for his midnight shift. And after I finished that, I sat down to prep Buttercup’s Easter basket. The old one, mind you. Her new Elmo Bunny basket is the one going to church with us so we don’t have to worry about any hip-checking incidents like last year during the Easter egg hunt.

And then I kissed The Husband good-bye and, like, totally planned on working out then.

But the kitchen floor was gross. So mom vacuumed. And then I steam mopped. And then we both realized that the fridge was nasty inside and our guests will think we’re cave people and we had no room for all the goodies I baked, so we emptied, cleaned, and rearranged.

And then I looked at the clock and thought I was a fucking lunatic if I was even going to attempt to do pilates at 12:30 a.m. when I had church the next day.

So I sat down to blog instead.

Sincerely,

Pauline

Dear Pauline,

I think you had a marvelous day. You spent it with Buttercup. You spent it with your mother. You spent it with your husband. And it was filled with love.

You created memories. You took the time to record those memories so they would never be forgotten.

And, for the record, just because lifting a 33 pound child in her swim class enough times to turn your arms to jello isn't something you see in Jillian Michaels' videos, doesn't mean you didn't get exercise.

Give yourself credit for being surrounded with all that Easter goodie stuff without eating any of it.

And enjoy the grilled food you made for Easter dinner!

There's more than enough guilt in the world to go around. Any trainer who would fault you for the day you prioritized above doesn't understand something very important. If you eat perfectly and work out perfectly, but your life is emotionally and spiritually empty, it doesn't really matter. Fill your spiritual and emotional cups, and somehow the rest will usually fall into place. Life is not about being perfect, it is about being fulfilled.

Keep the blog posts coming. You always put a smile on my face.

Sincerely,

Monika

Pauline's blog can be found at www.aspiringmama.com

Hello everyone,

It's great to be back with the new team of PCOS course graduates! I hope you enjoyed Susan Dopart's recipe and that other contributions will be educational and practically useful.

Today I wanted to share some recent findings about the effects of elevated glucose on a developing baby. If you have PCOS and you are pregnant, you are at risk for gestational diabetes. I realized while reading this study that rarely is the effect of hyperglycemia on the fetus ever discussed. You might hear that it can effect your weight and the baby's weight, but can it do anything else? Some researchers think so.

A group of chick eggs were injected with glucose. Significant changes were found in the babies that developed from those eggs, including:
--their own hyperglycemia
--elevated oxidative (degenerative) activity in body and brain tissue
--lower body weight
--lower brain weight
There also seems to be lower levels of DHA in babies exposed to hyperglycemia. This may be due to the elevated oxidative activity destroying any DHA that might be there.

You're likely aware that taking folate is pretty much an across the board recommendation to pregnant women. In this study, hyperglycemia seemed to induce a level of oxidation/inflammation that was not significantly helped with a folate supplement.

Bottom line, it's important to eat well not just to avoid weight gain or to keep your blood sugar low to keep your doctor and dietitian happy, but because your baby's brain and body depend on you to do so.

I did not write this post to scare you, I did it to make you aware. However, if you're feeling as if you now don't know what's right to eat, or you're trying and having a hard time, please take a look at the right hand of this blog screen. There is a whole list of professionals ready and waiting to help you figure it out.

Most of my clients express surprise that healthy eating includes as many tasty foods as it does. So before you write off a visit to the dietitian because you're afraid of what you WON'T be able to eat, consider that it may be your ticket to freedom and guilt relief to work with someone who can introduce you to the many foods that will BENEFIT you and baby!

Cole NW, Weaver KR, Walcher BN, Adams ZF, Miller RR Jr. Hyperglycemia-induced membrane lipid peroxidation and elevated homocysteine levels are poorly attenuated by exogenous folate in embryonic chick brains. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol. 2008 Jul;150(3):338-43.

As you can see in recent posts, we're getting very happy results with our nutrition/supplement protocol. If you've decided to try IVF, some of the concepts we promote might help you as well.

In a study of 18 women undergoing IVF treatment, it was found that the lower their melatonin levels, the higher the levels were of certain damaging oxidative chemicals.

An additional 115 women who had failed IVF were divided into two groups: 56 received melatonin supplementation and 59 did not. Melatonin supplementation improved the success rate of the IVF procedure.

In an additional study done in mice, eggs were incubated with a highly oxidative substance for 12 hours. The result was that egg quality suffered. By adding melatonin, this deterioration in quality was blocked.

The researchers concluded, "oxidative stress causes toxic effects on oocyte maturation and melatonin protects oocytes from oxidative stress. Melatonin is likely to improve oocyte quality and fertilization rates."

There are a couple of important consideration here.

1. When you deprive yourself of sleep, you deprive yourself of naturally produced melatonin. It damages eggs and reduces fertility.

2. You can choose to supplement to offset the damage and increase your chances of fertility, but keep in mind that if your melatonin levels are low, your body is telling you that you are out of balance. You may be able to correct part of the balance with a supplement, but it's a health risk to assume that a pill has taken care of the problem. Best to work on prioritizing sleep. After all, if you're soon going to have a baby in the house, you're going to need it!

Tamura H, Takasaki A, Miwa I, Taniguchi K, Maekawa R, Asada H, Taketani T, Matsuoka A, Yamagata Y, Shimamura K, Morioka H, Ishikawa H, Reiter RJ, Sugino N. Oxidative stress impairs oocyte quality and melatonin protects oocytes from free radical damage and improves fertilization rate. J Pineal Res. 2008 Apr;44(3):280-7.

Note: I've received quite a few compliments about this blog post. It was written and published without a single edit by Sarah Jones. Sarah is currently a nutrition student and Arizona State University and has been interning with me over this academic year. The attention to detail you see here is just how Sarah does things. I'm very lucky to have her, and glad she has shared such a timely topic in such a wonderful post. Thanks, Sarah!

You may have noticed that vitamin D has been a hot topic in the media lately and, at this point, it is likely that we as consumers are becoming overwhelmed by all the media hype. Recent studies have suggested that in prehistoric times, in addition to normal skeletal development, humans probably used vitamin D as a natural form of sunscreen. Before majoring in Dietetics, my basic knowledge of the role vitamin D played in the body is that it somehow worked with calcium to promote healthy bones. As it turns out, I had no idea how complex the relationship actually was between vitamin D and the human body! Let’s take a further look at vitamin D. Most of us may know vitamin D as the “sunshine vitamin.” We get it from the sun, right? Sure, but how? When ultraviolet light from the sun shines on a cholesterol compound in our skin, it is transformed into a vitamin D “precursor” (compounds that can be converted into active vitamins that the body can use) and is absorbed directly into the blood. The liver and kidneys finish converting the precursor to the active form of vitamin D. There are two major forms of vitamin D; these are vitamin D₂ (ergocalciferol), which is present in plants, and vitamin D₃ (cholecalciferol), which is present in the skin of animals. Vitamin D was discovered in 1920 and was originally classified as a vitamin. However, it has since been revealed that vitamin D is actually a hormone (steroid) since it can be synthesized by the body when exposed to sunlight. Essentially, the major biologic function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus in our bodies, which aids in the absorption of calcium and helps to form and maintain strong bones. Vitamin D₃ is the most active form of the vitamin, which is what you will see in most supplements. Obtaining vitamin D from sunlight presents no risk of vitamin D toxicity because the body is able to regulate the vitamin D precursor – see what I mean about complex! But, as we know, getting too much sun puts us at risk for skin cancer. Since moving to Arizona, I have started wearing sunscreen everyday to decrease my risk of skin cancer, but sunscreen can reduce or prevent the synthesis of vitamin D. And, because vitamin D is one of the most toxic of all the vitamins, taking supplements can put us at risk for toxicity. Now you may be thinking, I wear sunscreen, I am concerned about supplementing without first consulting my doctor, and I live in an area that does not get much sunlight during this time of year, what foods can I eat that have vitamin D in them? As far as foods are concerned, dietary vitamin D is provided primarily by foods of animal origin, especially liver, beef and eggs (mainly the yolk). You can also find vitamin D in dairy products such as milk, cheese and butter. Lastly, vitamin D is in some saltwater fish, including tuna, salmon, herring and sardines. Because few foods naturally have substantial vitamin D content, i n the United States there are pre-selected foods, such as milk, cheese, margarine and yogurt as well as some orange juice, bread, and cereals that have been fortified with vitamin D. If you are a vegetarian, you likely will not be obtaining vitamin D by eating liver, beef or fish, but you may still be eating eggs and dairy products. I mentioned yogurt as a source of vitamin D, but after a trip to the grocery store and looking at no less than ten brands of yogurt, I was stumped! I was hard pressed to find yogurts that have been fortified with vitamin D. However, it was not a complete loss, as I eventually spotted one (which also happens to be one of my favorite brands). Stonyfield Organic Yogurt has fortified most of their yogurt products with vitamin D₃. Here is a list from their labels of the “percent of daily values based on a 2,000 calorie diet”: Organic Fat Free Smooth and Creamy 6 oz (all flavors): 20% of D₃ Organic Fat Free Fruit on the Bottom 6 oz (all flavors): 15% of D₃ Organic Low Fat Smooth and Creamy 6 oz (all flavors): 20% of D₃ Organic Low Fat Fruit on the Bottom 6 oz (all flavors): 15% of D₃ Their soy and Greek yogurt’s do not have vitamin D, but they also make six and ten ounce organic smoothies that contain vitamin D. Additionally, they have two other products that are worth mentioning: “B-Healthy and B-Well.” B-Healthy includes omega-3 fatty acids, as well as three of the B vitamins ( B₃ or Niacin, B₅ or Panthothenic Acid and B12). B-Well contains vitamin B₆, probiotic cultures and vitamin D. According to their website, if you live in the Phoenix area, Stonyfield Organic Yogurt can be found at: Bashas’, AJ’s Fine Foods and Sprouts Farmers Market.

References

We have Temecula, CA inCYSTer Meri Raffetto to the rescue.

Meri is the co-author of the recently released Mediterranean Diet Cookbook for Dummies, and she forwarded this recipe from the cookbook.

I'm in!

Orange, Chocolate and Pistachio Biscotti

Prep time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Yield: 36 servings

Ingredients

¾ cup pistachios (whole)
¼ cup semi sweet chocolate chips, chopped lightly
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon orange blossom water or 1 tablespoon orange zest
¼ cup flour, for work surface
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl mix together the pistachios, chocolate chips flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut in the butter and mix with a spoon.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the eggs, egg yolk, and orange blossom water.

4. Using a hand mixer, mix the egg mixture into the flour mixture forming the dough. Lightly dust hands with flour and form the dough into a ball.

5. Transfer the dough onto a work surface that has been dusted with flour. Knead the dough 5 times for 1 minute. Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a log 8 inches long and 3 inch wide and 1-inch thickness. Place each log onto the parchment paper about 5 inches apart. Bake the logs for 20 minutes.

6. Remove the logs from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.

7. Gently transfer the logs to a cutting board and with a sharp knife, press down and cut biscotti pieces horizontally every ½ inch. The cookies will be ½-inch wide by 3 inches long. Place the cookies cut-side down onto 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

8. Bake the cookies for 5 minutes, turn each cookie over and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on baking sheets before storing. Cookies need to be kept in a tightly covered container and can be stored at room temperature for 2 weeks.
Per serving: Calories 80 (From Fat 23); Fat 3g (Saturated 1g); Cholesterol 3mg; Sodium 42mg; Carbohydrate 13g (Dietary Fiber 1g); Protein 2g.
Excerpt from The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Dummies®, Wiley, Nov. 2011.

d-Chiro inositol is an extremely popular supplement with women with PCOS. I've heard some fantastic stories about it helping when nothing else seemed to make a difference.

That being said…

…I ran across a very interesting study published this past summer. It has to do with myo-inositol, another member of the same family that does not convert well to the d-chiro form in women with PCOS.

In this study, two groups of women undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) were evaluated for pregnancy outcome with two different supplement protocols. One group received myo-inositol plus folic acid, the other received these two supplements as well as melatonin.
Each group produced a similar number of eggs, but the women receiving the melatonin had a greater percentage of mature vs. immature eggs (i.e., better egg quality). Though the fertilization rate was equal in both groups, actual pregnancy rates tended to be better in the women receiving melatonin.

********BEFORE YOU RUN OUT AND BUY YET ANOTHER SUPPLEMENT!!!*********
Take a look at your sleep hygiene! Are you keeping regular sleep hours? Or are you up late at night reading, watching TV, surfing the Internet?

Melatonin is the sleep hormone. There are many aspects of PCOS that are associated with not sleeping well, including insulin resistance and weight gain.

Supplements do their best work in a well-balanced environment. One that is balanced nutritionally, emotionally, physically (with exercise), and with regards to sleep.

Create your own melatonin naturally, with more attention to sleep and rest. As with some of our success stories, you might be surprised at what happens when you focus on the little things rather than on the name of the supplement.

Rizzo P, Raffone E, Benedetto V. Effect of the treatment with myo-inositol plus folic acid plus melatonin in comparison with a treatment with myo-inositol plus folic acid on oocyte quality and pregnancy outcome in IVF cycles. A prospective, clinical trial. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2010 Jun;14(6):555-61.