My Top 6 Favourite Fertility Warming Foods
If you’ve been in the TTC game for a while you may have heard that you should be avoiding “cold foods” and focusing on “warm foods”.
Why is it important to eat warming foods when TTC?
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) places a lot of focus on balancing Yin and Yang (or masculine/feminine) within the body.
In TCM every food is considered to be either Yin or Yang and is viewed on a scale of cold, cooling, neutral, warming or hot.
When fertility issues appear in women TCM often looks to determine if deficiencies in Kidney Yang are a possible source.
Kidney Yin is considered to be something that is cooler and more sluggish- so not ideal for baby making! Kidney Yang on the other hand is when the body is blooming, increasing in energy and you are more fertile.
If you have higher Kidney Yin then eating warming foods can help to restore this balance between Yin and Yang, creating a more fertile environment.
Personally I think balance in all areas of life is important so I try to have something warming with cold foods, or maybe not eat things right out of the fridge or freezer (not a great development for my previous ice-cream addiction!).
My Top 6 Favourite Fertility Warming Foods
- Ginger - LOVE this stuff. It’s so tasty and versatile! Pop it in a freshly squeezed juice if you want to find a way to “warm” a cooler drink on a hot day. Drink it in your tea. Chuck it in your stir-fry. Very calming on the stomach!
- Paprika - I love the range in “spiciness level” you can get and the versatility of what you can use it in- stir-fries, curries, sprinkle it on your Kale chips. Also a good metabolism booster.
- Garlic - anything in the onion, chive, and leek range will also work, but I am a garlic fiend. I add it to everything I can. Great Immunity booster too!
- Walnuts - I chuck them in a trail mix, or in my salad to help “warm” it up. They are also kidney shaped so great to strengthen kidneys, and in supporting the pituitary gland, which is vital in TTC.
- Quinoa - Is there anything this wonder grain is not good for?? Put it in salads, soups, stir-fries, casseroles, omelettes, health protein balls- the list goes on and on!
- Cinnamon - this one is all kinds of good. Tastes great, good for balancing hormones, blood sugar, and it’s a nice warmer to add to smoothies and cooking/baking.
**Please bare in mind everyone is different, and its never a good idea to self diagnose - so if you are TTC I strongly recommend seeing a qualified TCM professional to discuss your own circumstance.
If you don’t have one and you are in Melbourne I highly recommend this post’s “fact checker” and amazing TCM practitioner Amanda Waaldyk from Angea Fertility and Yoga.