Little Josh demonstrating pose running

While this post may not be pertinent (yet) to some of you in the gym, I figured I’d throw it out there just in case you may want to bookmark this for the future. Mark’s Daily Apple recently posted a guest article written by Chris Kressey on 5 fertility and pregnancy superfoods.  Kressey is an acupuncturist who devoted hours and hours of research into fertility and pregnancy nutrition when his wife got pregnant.  Sifting through hundreds of studies, he narrowed down a few key foods that will help you get the nutrition you need to grow a baby, and packaged it into an online course called the Healthy Baby Code.

The article touches on key points such as the importance of a healthy womb environment, and the role of epigenetics (if you’re not familiar with this term, click on the link for a great article Marcus wrote on the topic) on your baby’s future health.  While we’ve already established in previous posts that a diet based on a paleo template can make you uber fertile, there are a few particular foods that are packed with particular nutrients that a woman needs to conceive, grow, and breastfeed a little one:

1. Liver. Ounce for ounce, liver is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. It’s loaded with fat soluble vitamins like retinol (pre-formed vitamin A) that are crucial for reproductive health, and difficult to obtain elsewhere in the diet. Liver is also a great source of highly absorbable iron, which helps prevent miscarriage and maternal anemia, and B12, which is required for proper formation of red blood cells and DNA. Liver is also a good source of bioavailable protein, zinc, and folate.
2. Egg yolks. Like liver, egg yolks could be considered “nature’s multivitamin”. But they are especially rich in a nutrient many people have never heard of: choline. Studies suggest that 86% of women don’t get enough choline in their diet. This is significant because choline helps protect against neural tube defects. It also plays an important role in brain development, helping to form cholinergic neurons and the connections between these neurons that are so crucial in the first few years of life.
3. Cold-water, fatty fish*. Seafood is the exclusive food source of the long-chain omega-3 fats EPA and DHA. DHA is particularly important for fertility and pregnancy. It is preferentially incorporated into the rapidly developing brain during pregnancy and the first two years of infancy, concentrating in the grey matter and eyes. It’s also crucial to the formation of neurons, which are the functional cells in the brain, and to protecting the brain from oxidative damage. Salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines are excellent sources of DHA.
4. Cod liver oil. Yep, grandma was right! Cod liver oil is a sacred fertility and pregnancy food that fell out of favor during the last couple of generations, but is making a comeback. It’s one of the highest dietary sources of vitamin A, which we discussed above. It has more vitamin D per unit weight than any other food. Vitamin D is crucial to fertility and pregnancy, and studies show that up to 50% of women are deficient in it. Vitamin D promotes proper development of the bones, especially during the 3rd trimester when the fetal skeleton begins to grow rapidly. Cod liver oil is also a good source of the long-chain omega-3 fats EPA and DHA.
5. Grass-fed dairy. While dairy is not strictly a Primal food, it’s a great choice for fertility and pregnancy for those who tolerate it well. Dairy is rich in saturated fat, which is especially beneficial for fertility. It’s also a good source of the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, K2 & E) and a healthy, natural trans-fat (not to be confused with artificial trans-fats, which are harmful) conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Fermented dairy products – like yogurt and kefir – are also great sources of beneficial bacteria. This is important because a baby’s first exposure to bacteria is in his/her mother’s birth canal, and the mother’s gut health has a significant influence on the lifelong health of her baby.

Read the rest of the article here.  If  you have any questions about the Healthy Baby Code, shoot me an email and I can tell you more about it.

An Intrepid Farewell to Lauren, who will be leaving today to go back east as she’ll be going to school out there in the fall. A natural athlete, Lauren has made great gains since she started at Intrepid this last January, bringing her deadlift from 35# to 133# in a short period of time.  We’ll miss your cheerful and sunny smile and we want lots of updates on your progress, Lauren!  Especially when you nail that strict pull up (any day now!!).

WOD 05.04.12

Bench Press 3×5 or Wendler

10 Rounds:
3 Handstand Push Ups
5 Toes to Bar
7 Box Jumps