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How Phthalates Affect Fertility

Key Message: Exposure to BPA and phthalates can be harmful and could prevent couples from having children

Action Point: There are steps you can take to limit your exposure to BPA and phthalates
Most parents are aware that Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates can be harmful to young children, and are conscious of buying BPA and phthalate-free plastic items like bottles and cups for them. But new science is suggesting that chemicals like BPA and phthalates could prevent couples from having children in the first place.

The new research, presented at a recent conference of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine in Boston, links exposure to BPA and phthalates, both chemicals used in many common household products to make plastic more pliable, to both increased infertility and a higher risk of miscarriage. Phthalates are known endocrine disruptors, meaning they interfere with our hormones. They have previously been associated with changes in sperm quality, androgen levels, birth outcomes and neurodevelopment of children.

One study presented at the conference found that men with high phthalate concentrations in their urine experienced a 20% decline in fertility and took longer to get their partners pregnant than men with fewer phthalates in their urine.

Another study found that women who had high levels of BPA in their blood were “at significant increased risk of miscarriage compared to women with the lowest levels.” They found that BPA levels were higher in both chromosomally normal and abnormal miscarriages.

It is not routine to test men and women with fertility problems or who have experienced miscarriage for BPA or phthalates, but that may soon change thanks to the findings of the new studies. “It gives you one more thing to ask the patients about when you see unexplained […]

By |October 18th, 2015|Children, Fertility, Health & Wellbeing, Hormones, Miscarriage, Preconception & Pregnancy, Recipes, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Emma’s Book Boosters: For yoga mums

The ABCs of Yoga for Kids
These 56 flash cards are absolutely ideal for the beginner child. Each card focuses on a yoga pose, using an animal or familiar object as a focus. The letters of the alphabet are used to help toddlers learn as they go and the pretty illustrations make it clear what each pose is. Making yoga playful and like a game will easily entice toddlers to join in. Sophia loves these cards, especially the pretzel pose!

 
Yoga Pretzels
These 50 flash cards are for the more advanced toddler/child. Yoga is a brilliant resource to teach kids, allowing them to explore their bodies, hearts and minds. This deck of cards is my all-time favourite yoga tool – maybe due to the fantastic stories on each card and the way the cards are split into categories. These categories include Breath (tune in and focus), Balance (feel poised and composed), Time in (unwind & rest) and Game (creative time with friends). Sophia and I have done this yoga deck so many times and it never fails to get us into stitches of laughter. It’s the perfect rainy day activity!

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By |May 6th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Emma’s Book Boosters: For those looking for brain food

Monsoon Rains & Icicle Drops
Written by one of my private clients Libby Southwell, this book is like delving into a world that is both compelling and immediately colourful. I read so many books about health that I really appreciate a book that will let my scholarly brain take flight and my emotional brain unleash.

Perfect to disappear into on a rainy day.
 Evidence-Based Approach to Restoring Thyroid Health
This thoroughly researched and referenced book is written by pioneering medical doctor, Dr Denis Wilson. If you have thyroid issues that have never responded well to standard medical treatment then this is a read for you. I love getting my teeth into a technical book but you may have trouble understanding it if you don’t have a medical background. Nevertheless, this book delves into one of my favorite clinical pictures – thyroid health. I have so many clients seeing me for thyroid health and it breaks my heart to see how long they have struggled to find correct information.

This book is a must-read for anyone who has been told their thyroid is “normal” but still feels tired or unwell.
 The Inside Out Revolution
I wish I had read this book years ago. It was a gift to me by my business coach. My word for 2015 is FLOW, and this book has helped me understand how I can create better flow in every aspect of my life. I love a good psychology book and especially one that is easy to read, has clear real-life examples and then helps me apply those principles into my life. I feel that my anxiety is better managed with these strategies too – an unexpected bonus.

 
The Power of Habit
I have long been fascinated by humans – […]

By |April 29th, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Emma’s Book Booster: For the healthy chefs in the kitchen

Perfect Digestive Health
Written by one of my favorite people in the world of health, Teresa Cutter’s latest book is on a topic close to my heart. By now you must know how much importance I place on gut health! In her book Teresa not only explains why gut health is important but also provides tasty and easy recipes. There are plenty of tips to help you make improving your gut health a smooth process. plus there are some wonderful structured menu plans.

 
Eat Clean, Green and Vegetarian
Gorgeous Lee Holmes has delivered a stunning book of delicious plant-based recipes. There are tips for vegan-friendly ingredients, menu plans and plenty of recipes to choose from. My favourites so far are the Lentil Moussaka and Over the Rainbow Salad. If you want to reduce your meat intake or simply eat more veg, then this book is perfect for you.
 A Modern Way to Eat
Anna Jones cut her culinary teeth in Jamie Oliver’s restaurant Fifteen. Her ability to keep things simple and approachable shines. With over 200 vegetarian recipes to choose from, this book is a fantastic resource for anyone who feels a little jaded in the kitchen. If you are cooking the same 10 meals over and over again then let Anna help you bring some variety back into your food. One of the things I love most is her template for putting a recipe together. Perfect if you want to learn how to freestyle it and get creative in the kitchen!
5:2 Lifestyle
You must know by now that I love intermittent fasting and it’s included in one level of my Community Cleanse. This book is a fantastic collection of recipes that total 500 calories along with healthy non-fasting day […]

By |April 22nd, 2015|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Emma’s Book Booster: For the dieters & cleansers

Toxin Toxout
Written by the same two incredible researchers who wrote “Slow Death by a Rubber Duck”, this book focuses on how to get harmful chemicals out of your body and life. Using themselves as guinea pigs, they get in depth in their experiments and then provide steps you can take to reduce your body burden.

I loved the section on which detox methods actually work!

Fat Resistance Diet
Research shows that losing weight is not about counting calories in and calories out, it’s far more complicated than that. Leptin resistance is becoming more and more common in my clinic and this book delves into the research behind it. Leptin controls your metabolic rate; it is a natural fat loss hormone. But, just like insulin resistance, many people become leptin-resistant, putting them in a fat storage mode. There is a fat resistance diet that is interesting but it’s the research that I loved.

The Leptin Diet
I have done so much research on leptin resistance and how to treat it. Leptin controls appetite, energy and metabolic rate and communicates directly to your brain, telling us how much fat is in storage. This book highlights 5 easy lifestyle guidelines to help balance leptin.  A great and easy read that is a perfect start if you are struggling with weight loss.

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By |December 30th, 2014|Detox, Gut health, Health & Wellbeing, Mojo, Nutrition, Research, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Emma’s Book Booster: For Foodies and Greenies

Slow Food Nation
This book was written by the founder of the Slow Food Movement, Carlo Petrini, a man who passionately loves food. In this book, he explains his movement of high quality foods, environmental sustainability and social justice. He wants a food system that is good, clean and fair. This is the era of moving away from fast food and the industrial food system in favour of a sustainable food system. It’s a brilliant read, both empowering and hugely passionate.  Ideal for foodies and greenies.

The Great Big Veg Challenge
This is the story of a 7-year old vegetable-phobic Freddie and his mother. She becomes super clever at identifying key strategies to help Freddie learn to love his vegetables. With the A-Z of vegetables and lots of yummy recipes, this is a beautiful book for any parent. The book is a result of Charlotte’s popular blog, The Great Big Vegetable Challenge.

The Root Cause
I treat so many clients for Hashimotos, an autoimmune thyroid condition. What I love about this book is that it looks into the underlying causes of Hashimotos – adrenal depletion, gut dysbiosis, inflammation and poor digestion. As a naturopath, this is exactly what I focus on! Izabella Wentz has written a user-friendly book that covers so many aspects of thyroid health, a must-read for so many people.

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By |December 11th, 2014|Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition, Research, Sustainable and Green, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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My top 5 herbs to support your Adrenal Health

Taking care for your adrenals glands is the key to optimal health so today I’m sharing my favourite herbs to support adrenal health. These are adaptogenic herbs, which mean they increase the ability of your body to withstand stress. They have a balancing effect and support your immune system, which is suppressed with chronic stress.

Research shows that adaptogens work by helping to regulate the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis as well as on a cellular level, priming cells to respond appropriately to stress.
I treat so many clients for adrenal dysfunction and feel that the role of adaptogenic herbs has never been more critical.
RHODIOLA
Used by the Vikings to improve mental and physical endurance, Rhodiola is a potent adaptogenic herb, which is also anti inflammatory, antioxidant, anti anxiety and anti fatigue. I take this one daily and love it.  A Swedish study gave Rhodiola to 30 people diagnosed with fatigue syndrome and a placebo to a control group of 30 healthy people. After 4 weeks both groups were assessed via saliva cortisol and the results were compelling, the fatigued people taking Rhodiola had a better cortisol response to stress and were more able to concentrate effectively. I use Rhodiola for both mild and severe adrenal fatigue and know that I feel much better taking it every day.

SIBERIAN GINSENG
A large study reviewed the results of a number of clinical trials involving 2,100 healthy men and women ages 19 to 72. Subjects were given doses of ginseng ranging from 2 to 16 ml of fluid extract, 33 percent ethanol, from one to three times daily for up to 60 days. Subjects had increased mental alertness and work output, enhanced athletic performance and improved work quality. They also exhibited an improved ability […]

By |September 21st, 2014|Health & Wellbeing, Hormones, Naturopathy, Nutrition, Research, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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How to Make Amazing Jelly Vitamins

Both Sophia and I adore our jelly vitamins as they are the easiest way to get supplements into small children. I load them up with all sorts of therapeutic goodies such as probiotics, zinc, herbs and Kyolic aged garlic extract. Whenever I feel Sophia is starting to fight an infection I make a batch and they really help to prevent her going downhill. I have been known to snack on them too!
Ingredients
1 cup fresh organic apple juice
4 gelatin sheets – organic,  approx. 10gr
Vitamin of choice – kyolic garlic, zinc, probiotics, herbs
Silicone mini muffin tray
Instructions
Cut up gelatin sheets and soak in cold water for 5 minutes. This will allow them to swell. Remove the expanded gelatin from the water and gently squeeze out excess water.
Add apple juice to saucepan and very gently heat to just about luke warm. Add the gelatin and stir continuously until dissolved. The idea is to only heat up the juice enough to melt the gelatin – too much heat will reduce water soluble vitamins such as vitamin C.
Once gelatin is dissolved, take off the heat and set aside for a few minutes. Pour in vitamin of choice and stir well.
Spoon into silicon tray and put in fridge to set. Once completely set, run a hot knife around the edge and pop jelly vitamin out.
Then enjoy and have fun eating them together! Remember that you can use whatever fresh, organic juice you like.

By |September 19th, 2013|Children, Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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5 Of The Best Sugar Free Snacks

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, chances are good you’ve heard mumblings about the growing movement that see’s people binning the sweet stuff. As research continues to be published linking sugar to all kinds of health conditions, many of us are wising up and looking for ways to cut down, especially on the refined, processed product that really, should only loosely be referred to as ‘sugar’.
While the premise itself sounds easy, cutting back can be hard work, especially once you learn to read food labels and realize that almost everything in a packet contains varying degrees of sweetener.  Even revisiting favourite recipes that you might have previously considered to be the benchmark in healthy eating may include a teaspoon (or more) of sugar in the ingredients. When you start looking for it, it’s pretty much everywhere.
So how do we cut back, or quit altogether? One of the best strategies when you’re starting out is to replace your sweetened snacks with something sugar-free that will help curb cravings. Allowing yourself to get ravenously hungry will only backfire in the long run as you’re far more inclined to reach for the nearest tummy filling food in sight when you’re half starved.
Here are my top 5 suggestions to keep you satisfied as you beat that sweet tooth.

Nuts – Raw nuts are a great way to keep hunger at bay. Once shied away from due to their fat content, we now know that that fat we were so worried about is actually the good kind that helps your body to feel full and satisfied.
Dip and veggies – If you’re used to grabbing a piece of fruit whenever hunger strikes, swapping out all that fructose for chopped up […]

By |June 25th, 2013|Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Detox Your Desk

When was the last time you did anything more than work at your desk? Seems like a strange question I’m sure but if you cast your mind back, can you actually remember the last time you re-organised all those bits of paper floating around?
What about sorting through that overflowing in-tray or even wiping down the keys you spend roughly eight hours a day tapping? If your desk is anything like mine, it’s in a pretty sorry state of affairs. Given that we spend such a large chunk of our week desk bound, it makes pretty good sense that we really should take stock and re-calibrate our workspace.
A quick desk detox is good for your mental and physical health. Here’s how to tune up and perhaps even improve your productivity, creativity and general wellbeing.

De-germ – See that keyboard your fingers were glued to mere seconds ago? It’s absolutely crawling with nasties. If you’ve got a few minutes, turn your keyboard upside down and give it a good bang. Once you’ve gotten over the horror at what’s lurking beneath, it’s time to clean up. With winter almost upon us, the germ situation is only going to get worse. A quick spritz with a natural, non-toxic spray is the best way to de-germ your space. For a homemade option, simply mix equal parts lemon juice, white vinegar and baking soda with some water. While you’re getting your spritz on, give your mouse, monitor and phone a going over as well.
De-clutter – Do you have papers on your desk that date back to 1992? Maybe you’re not that bad but the majority of desks seem to accumulate insane amounts of paper, even in today’s supposedly ‘paper-less’ office.’  Excess […]

By |May 13th, 2013|Detox, Sustainable and Green, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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How to Heal Your Adrenals Naturally

How to Heal Your Adrenals Naturally

Adrenal fatigue is one of the most under diagnosed illnesses in western society. Download a copy of my free ebook to learn about the symptoms and how to heal your Adrenals naturally.

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