NUTRITION PRINCIPLES  

In Chinese medicine there is a concept called “qi” which is essentially our energy. We are born with an aspect of qi, however, we rely heavily on the food that we eat to build qi. It’s vital that you are nourishing our body with as much diversity and healthy foods as possible. 

I am pretty easy going when it comes to diet – essentially if it comes from the earth (veggies, meat, some grains) then it’s good for me. If you are buying anything in a packet you want to make sure all of the ingredients are “real” ingredients. Avoid refined sugar but don’t be afraid of fruit / natural forms of sugar. 

Ensure you are eating 3 meals a day. Please eat breakfast before drinking coffee, and ideally within 90 minutes of waking. This is critical to balance your hormones for the rest of the day and to let your nervous system know that you are safe. 

There is research that the mediterranean diet is beneficial for fertility, and you can find more information on that here. 

As a general rule, I recommend limiting coffee to one a day, reducing alcohol to no more than 2 standard drinks per week but preferably eliminating it, and reducing or eliminating gluten. 

Here are some more general food principles from a TCM perspective: 

• Try to eat local, organic and seasonal produce as much as possible 
• Eat the colour of the rainbow and aim for a wide variety of food on your plate at each meal 
• When you’re eating make sure that’s the only thing you’re doing – no phone, TV or driving while eating! 
• Try to go for a short stroll after each meal, even if it’s literally a walk around the block. There is a Chinese proverb that says we should take 100 steps after each meal & I personally find this helps a lot with digestion & bloating. 
• If you are going to have a salad for lunch please have a mug of hot water or tea alongside it and ALWAYS have a source of protein
• Avoid smoothies / ice cream / cold water / super cold food as we want to keep the digestive fire burning
• Don’t be afraid of natural sugar, ie. fruit – there’s no need to be fearful of fruit, it’s just necessary to have it in moderation like anything else in life 🙂