Christopher Hobbs, PhD, Lac, director of integrative science for Rainbow Light, recently unveiled Western natural alternatives to support fertility. “According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the primary herbal support for increasing fertility includes blood tonics, Qi (vital energy) tonics, and yin tonics (vital essence).
American ginseng is commonly taken by Chinese women to promote fertility because it is one of the best-known and most effective kidney-tonics. The kidney organ in Chinese medicine is thought to store the yin, or vital essence. In western terms these are the hormones, neurotransmitters and enzymes that facilitate all of the body’s processes.
One of the main hormone balancers western herbalists depend on is Vitex, which has some research studies showing that it can regulate the hormones involved with pregnancy (progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone). A study with 45 women who took Vitex showed that 86 percent had increased progesterone levels.
To regulate and support healthy blood, the Chinese herb Dong Quai is often recommended, along with rehmannia. Western herbalists recommend the use of nettle leaf tea two to three times a day, as well as the herb yellow dock root. Other tonics in Western herbalism include burdock root (gobo), red clover, and alfalfa. These can be brewed as a tea, or burdock can be eaten as a root vegetable.
For Qi (vital energy tonics), herbalists often recommend astragalus, ligustrum, and Chinese ginseng as a tea, or in extract form in capsules or tablets.
Finally, a strong diet is recommended. After a traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis, depending on the woman’s current constitutional profile, the herbalist may recommend increasing protein (fish—low-mercury sardines are among the best, and organic eggs, or organic chicken for instance) and ‘yin’-building foods, such as yams, and especially beans, like adzuki, mung or black beans.”
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