The Hemp Connection [Search results for freezing] 

Some things simply do not happen by accident.

I was on a flight from Chicago to Boston yesterday and struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to me. It turned out, he is a veterinarian who does a lot of work with horses. He asked about my profession, and I gave him the Cliff Notes version, telling him that I did a lot of work with infertility.

Without even having a chance to mention that my friends think I am obsessed with omega-3 fatty acids to the point of often being teased about being the"Fish Oil Queen," he said to me,"Nutrition is very important for fertility in horses. Especially omega-3's."

Turns out, he said, the process of breeding horses is so expensive (if you thought an in vitro procedure emptied your wallet, start pricing stud services!!), that there is a lot of pressure to"get it right" as quickly as possible. And research has discovered, that omega-3 fatty acids are particularly important as part of the success formula.

I commented that it was interesting that in humans the fertility research seemed to focus on the females, while in equine science, it tended to focus on the males. He just smiled and said…"Your women need to be feeding their priceless stallions as well as they feed themselves!"

Here is an excerpt from an equine article I found at http://www.horses.com/. You will have to register to access their other articles, but it is worth the time. Hopefully some day our own nutrition will be as important as veterinarians have found it to be in animals.

Squires said sperm quality problems can increase when artificial insemination with cooled or frozen semen is involved. The problem stems in part from the fatty acids found in equine sperm. Bull sperm contains high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids that enable them to withstand the rigors involved in freezing. Horses, on the other hand, have sperm that is high in omega-6 fatty acids, which hinders sperm ability to be cooled and frozen, and the sperm is low in omega-3 fatty acids. The most important omega-3 fatty acid is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). An omega-6 fatty acid found in semen is docosapentaenoic acid (DPA).

Squires said in semen, the fatty acid profile of stallions is similar to that of boars (male hogs). Studies in boars have shown that a high DHA to DPA ratio in semen results in enhanced fertility, whereas higher levels of DPA relative to DHA result in reduced fertility.

He said fresh grass is high in DHA, but unfortunately, a lot of stallions are fed hay and grain.

"Men that have reduced fertility have also been shown to have lower levels of DHA in seminal plasma," Squires noted."The ratio of phospholipids (fats containing phosphorous) to cholesterol in the sperm, and the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids, determines the ability of sperm to handle the rigors of cooling and freezing. Those species that have high cholesterol to phospholipid ratio have sperm that are very resistant to cold shock and thawing.

"Humans, rabbits, and roosters produce sperm that are very resistant to cold shock and their sperm freezes very well," he continued."Sperm from boars and stallions have very low tolerance to cold shock, and, in general, their sperm freezes poorly. Sperm of bulls have high levels of DHA in the cell, where those of stallions have a high level of DPA. Increasing the ration of DHA to DPA in semen has been shown to increase fertilizing capacity and semen quality. Conversely, reducing the ratio of DHA to DPA was accompanied by a reduction in fertilizing capacity."

He said researchers found that adding omega-3 fatty acids to a stallion's diet resulted in a more fluid condition of the sperm membrane, which, in turn, allowed sperm to handle the stress of cooling and freezing with potentially less damage.

Though I earn my living as a nutrition expert, I am far from being a skilled chef. I love to experiment in the kitchen, and a lot of times it comes out great! But every significant other I've ever had…will gladly tell you about times I failed miserably in the kitchen. I say that because sometimes I think there are two types of people, those who cook extremely well and write/post about it, and those who are so intimidate by those who cook extremely well, so much so that they are paralyzed right out of picking up a spatula.

So I'm here to tell you not to be intimidated! Some of my best discoveries come out of my biggest disasters. Here's something that happened over the weekend that I think is going turn out to be a great timesaver.

I was super tired from working all day. I was excited to make a great Thai fish stew with jasmine rice, but had no idea the amount of rice I was cooking was going to fill the entire rice cooker!

What you see here is what was left AFTER I served myself enough for a pretty sizeable dinner. I was frustrated, and feeling like I'd wasted some really good food, as there was no way I was going to be able eat all of this by myself.

Sure enough, you can. I know, I know, if you're readiis and you're a chef or dietitian you probably are thinking I should have known this! But that's entirely my point, I'm not perfect in the kitchen and my foibles are probably some of my more interesting blog post. Here's a nice guide to freezing food that I found while researching for myself.

So I packaged up all the extra to use on future busy nights. This is going to be great to microwave when I have a big pot of something in the slow cooker. And it's a more efficient use of electricity, rather than heating it up every single time I want some rice.

By the way, the rice you see in these pictures is brown jasmine rice. I found it at Fresh and Easy. I'd not ever seen it before but for our Asian readers and those who love Asian cooking, it is definitely worth checking out. That was my second great discovery of the weekend.

Don't be afraid to get in the kitchen! Whether it merits mention on a food blog or ends up being your family's greatest memory to recount when the wine's been flowing, you likely learned something that improved your capabilities as a chef.

If you’re a new reader of this blog, or you’ve got a new diagnosis, you are probably starting to realize that there are some changes you need to make if you’re going to be healthy while living with PCOS. Or perhaps you already knew that, or have had the diagnosis for a while, but you’ve been lurking here, just thinking about the idea of change, and not actually committing to change. That’s even an earlier stage in making change that is called pre-contemplation, where you haven’t begun to think about change (but typically, someone else, like your therapist, knows you need to change).

Change conjures up all sorts of feelings. For some, there’s a feeling of excitement and hopefulness. For others, there is sadness about leaving behind a lifestyle, a set of choices, some favorite foods, or a particular relationship or way of functioning. There may be fear about facing the unknown, lacking the knowledge to proceed in a healthy or effective way, or about how your life will rearrange as a result of the conscious changes that you’re making.

When it comes to the areas of exercise and dietary management, all of these issues and more may arise. If your situation is further complicated by depression, anxiety, or an eating disorder, it’s even more complicated. Depression may leave you lethargic and unmotivated; with your brain craving a rebalancing of serotonin, you may be consuming excess carbohydrates to try to fix the balance. Anxiety can escalate to such a place that any idea of change leads to fear and freezing; there seems to be safety in staying in one place, even if it’s an uncomfortable place. And of course, if you’ve got a history of eating disordered behavior, and it’s “working” for you, to keep your weight contained, then the trepidation factor may be enormous.

Here are some things about change that it may be helpful to think about, whether you’re in pre-contemplation, contemplation, or the actual process of creating the change:

• It’s your body, and your decisions. You own them; no one else does.
• You can change your mind at any time. If you’ve started down a certain path, and you really hate it, or it doesn’t appear to be producing results, it’s generally not a lifetime commitment (exceptions come to mind, like having a hysterectomy, or getting a tattoo).
• Medical, dietary, and psychological theory is continuously evolving, and you should be re-evaluating on an ongoing basis anyway.
• There’s no shame in trying. The shame comes from not loving yourself enough to never start trying.
• It really does take practice to produce change. Do some research on how to create that continuity. You may need to schedule exercise into your calendar at a certain time every day (when I was diagnosed with early onset Type II diabetes in 1998, I wasn’t exercising much at all, and I would literally schedule myself to walk for TEN MINUTES a day; every other week, I added five minutes to that time, until I reached 75 minutes a day, and had lost 72 pounds), join a group that meditates (they’ll teach and support you, and keep you accountable), or keep a food log (more accountability!) in order to adhere to whatever program of positive change you’ve devised for yourself.
• There are many people who will support you in creating the change you desire, and a number of them are found right here, at the inCYST community. Seek their help. You’ll be surprised how much support you can find online.
• If you’re trapped in a paralyzing fear, or find yourself repeating negative patterns, or quitting quickly time after time, there may be a deeper psychological issue at play. It’s worth a consultation with a health psychologist or other therapist to assess your behavioral patterns and choice-making skills.

Gretchen Kubacky, Psy.D. is a Health Psychologist in private practice in West Los Angeles, California. She specializes in counseling women and couples who are coping with infertility, PCOS, and related endocrine disorders and chronic illnesses.

If you would like to learn more about Dr. HOUSE or her practice, or obtain referrals in the Los Angeles area, please visit her website at www.drhousemd.com, or e-mail her at Gretchen@drhousemd.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askdrhousemd.

Have you ever tried frozen fruit? It's a great way to take advantage of the piles of berries and stone fruits that go on sale this time of year. Simply freeze them to pull out for a great cooling snack on a hot summer night.

I'm partial to frozen strawberries--I fill up a coffee mug and savor them while I watch the evening news.

Frozen bananas have the same consistency as ice cream. If you peel them and insert a wooden stick before freezing, you have a great alternative to a sugary popsicle.

Experiment and see what your own favorite is!