Part of my role is to help women through the difficult and often all-consuming emotions they can experience while trying to conceive or going through fertility treatment. Women are increasingly aware that their emotions may impact on their fertility.
Read MoreEmma Cannon is a fertility and women’s health expert, registered acupuncturist, founder of the Emma Cannon Clinic, and a mentor and speaker. With over 20 years in clinical practice, from her fertility rooms she has helped countless patients achieve their dream of having a family. She is the author of four books including the best-selling The Baby Making Bible. Her fifth book, FERTILE, was published in March 2017.
Even if you've never struggled with fertility this podcast will still educate and inspire. Emma's and I chat about living a 'fertile life' replacing lack with abundance and barren thinking with fertile thinking.....
Want to know what the 50,000 women she has worked with have in common?
Or what Emma is teaching her daughters about fertility and women's health?
Hear what Emma thinks are the 5 pillars of living a fertile life and how we can implement them in our lives.
As many of you will have heard we have a new Crystal bed in the clinic. This is all about colour and crystal healing energy. Each crystal is made up of the colour of your respective chakras, and is set on a special vibrational frequency.
Read MoreWith Valentines day just around the corner I thought I would attempt to write about love. Every time I sit down to write about love I find myself avoiding it, pushing it to one side.
Read MoreIt is eating disorder awareness week this month from 26th February- 4th March and I felt compelled to write something about this and the impact these disorders can often have on fertility.
Read MoreNew Year’s Resolutions to ‘eat healthier’ and ‘lose weight’ are not sustainable habit changes. Instead use these easy strategies to improve your weekly diet.
Read MoreAs the nights draw in it is time to retreat inside, rest up and begin the subtle inner work of healing. Autumn & Winter are all about the shift from the expansive nature of summer to the more contracting nature of the Metal element.
Read MoreFor many many years I have practiced the art of acupuncture. I have spent 50,000 hours in practice. Listening to the stories of women's lives and trying to ease suffering and return the body to normal function, make the system run better and optimise health.
Read MoreI sometimes ask myself whether miscarriage & baby loss are the last taboos. Certainly there is a great deal of denial about the suffering that it causes and many women go through miscarriage and are back in work the next day, grieving and isolated with little support or compassion.
Read MoreIt is thought that PCOS affects 1 in 10 women of reproductive age and it is something that I increasingly come across in clinic. Rather like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) has been used to define any digestive disorder, PCOS seems to be used to define any ovaries that have the appearance of cysts.
Read MoreOur fertility is very precious and it does not last for ever. The way we choose to live our lives will inevitably affect our overall health and our fertility. Of course, there are factors in life that we are unable to change, for example, our inherited constitution, accidents and some illnesses. Lifestyle, however, is an area where those wishing to conceive can exert some control. Fertility specialist, Emma Cannon (Author of FERTILE) explains how lifestyle choices may impact your fertility and how you can make wise choices to boost your chances of conceiving…
Read MoreMale fertility has significantly declined in the past 20 years, and recent research has therefore highlighted the importance of preserving male fertility. Frankly IT'S ABOUT TIME; I have been waxing lyrical about this for many years...
Read MoreIf you're stuck for a thirst-quenching, non-alcoholic, sugar-free drink on a hot summers day then look no further. I recently rustled up this concoction and it was delicious. Roses have been used for generations as a herbal remedy for relieving symptoms of PMS, but this tea can be enjoyed at any time of the month...
Read MoreRegular readers will know that I am a fan of fermented foods to promote a healthy gut. The probiotics from fermented foods such as natural yoghurt, kefir and fermented vegetables help to maintain the right proportion of friendly bacteria needed for optimal health.
Read MoreFor many years, UK Government guidelines have suggested eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, but it is now suggested that this advice should be doubled to 10 portions per day.
Read MoreAlthough it might not be a subject we talk about with our friends over coffee, if you’re struggling with fertility issues, it can be hard to know where to turn. We sat down with fertility expert and author, Emma Cannon, who answered your questions, and talked about her new book ‘Fertile’. Watch the full interview and have a read of our favourite questions below.
I’m 44 and pregnant, do I need to be doing any extra because of my age?
Well I’m going to answer this question in two parts…
Read MoreOur registered nutritionist Victoria has devised a beautifully simple Spring Clean for a fertile diet...
Read MoreThis week is also Eating Disorder Week and I wanted to highlight the impact of eating disorders on fertility. This is an area I feel passionately about as being a healthy weight can impact on your ability to conceive, the health of the pregnancy, baby and the mother’s emotional health.
Read MoreFERTILE is the fourth book written by the respected writer, fertility expert and TedX speaker Emma Cannon, author of the bestseller The Babymaking Bible. This beautifully photographed and illustrated hardback book contains a wealth of practical advice and information coupled with a raft of nourishing and delicious fertility-enhancing recipes by nutritionist Victoria Wells. The book is ultimately an inspiring celebration of life and food, of passion, pleasure, emotion and creation – the intrinsically linked key factors for creating a baby.
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Every year I spend time studying with Dr Stossier at Viva Mayr clinic in Austria. I am there mainly learning ‘the cure’, as it is known, based on the Mayr principles. Spending time resting the system and simplifying the diet allowing the body time to rejuvenate and increase energy to function optimally is a really worthwhile investment in your health. I am lucky enough to do this wonderful job supporting all you lovely people and it is a privilege and an honour. But as the old adage goes ‘physician, heal thyself’, and that is exactly what I do every year. I am a big believer that the best physicians are the ones who are able to take the medicine themselves and who practice what they preach. Most of what I advise patients to do, I have tried myself. I have spent 25 years trying all different sorts of medicine and learning how they work and which ones work best for which conditions or for which patient. It depresses me that others working in my field do not have the same due diligence, tending instead to form opinions because something does not fit with their original training. So instead of informing themselves and developing their knowledge they would rather criticise something either out of fear or prejudice. I like to look for the similarities and to highlight where one medicine is strong and where it is weak. No system of medicine is perfect; some of the old forms like Chinese medicine or Ayruvedic medicine are very strong in cultivating health and wellness. Western medicine is less strong in this department and is more focused on treating illness. There has been a great deal of criticism directed at unqualified ‘wellness warriors’ recently (some of which I agree with), but the only reason they exist and are so popular is because mainstream medicine (on the whole) fails to acknowledge that how we live and what we eat impacts on our health. So whereas I do not think Turmeric cures cancer, I do think that good food, good digestion and good lifestyle advice can make a huge difference to patients’ health and fertility. And I think it is scandalous that when patients ask “is there anything I can do to help myself?” they are so often told “no”.
Here are some Viva Mayr Golden Rules...
Rule 1: thou shalt drink water, lots of it, but at room temperature and not with food. Drinking water with food dilutes the digestive enzymes and weakens digestion.
Rule 2: thou shalt spend time in nature. Walking in nature relaxes the body and mind and simplifies the thinking
Rule 3: thou shalt drink warming herbal infusions (and not cold and dampening juices). Herbs have so many therapeutic benefits which help optimise and support normal body function. Fennel is anti-spasmodic so helps with bloating. Rosemary is stimulating and aids circulation. Chamomile is soothing and calming. So next time you are tempted to drink your food (in juice form) or eat it raw in its most indigestible state, remember that your digestion prefers warm cooked foods that are easy to digest. Especially relevant to those of us living in a cold damp climate.
Rule 4: thou shalt chew your food 50 times. Poor old stomach does not have teeth so when you wolf your food down without chewing it you weaken your digestion and cause stagnation in the gut. If you eat slowly and mindfully you are also more aware of when you are full and tend not to over eat. Stop when you are full. While eating avoid discussing heavy subjects, reading or using technology; all of these things weaken digestion. Remember the gut and the brain work as one.
Rule 5: thou shalt allow yourself to be unwell at times. Sometimes when we start to ‘get well’ we temporarily feel a whole lot worse. Allowing ourselves to be unwell, to rest and to stop holding it all together all the time is an act of self-healing and self-care. Holding on can be utterly exhausting and can drain our systems. Carrying on after childbirth and miscarriage and rushing to ‘get back to normal’ is misguided. Do not underestimate the rejuvenating abilities of rest and recuperation.
Viva Mayr will be opening a clinic in the UK later this year.
Find out about our Nutrition programme.
