Melanie Hale Dietitian

⁠Are you getting enough Iodine? ✨Save this post for later ✨⁠
⁠😲 Around 65% of pregnant women are currently not meeting their Iodine requirements. ⁠
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❔ Iodine is important for the production of thyroid hormones that play a key role in optimal fertility, a healthy pregnancy and the development of your babies brain and nervous system.⁠
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The amount of Iodine required by women increases during pregnancy and gets even higher again when breastfeeding.⁠
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Sources of Iodine include:⁠
◽ Iodised salt⁠
◽ Fortified bread⁠
◽ Milk and milk products⁠
◽ Seaweed/Nori⁠
◽ Oysters and other seafood⁠
◽ Eggs⁠
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⁠Most prenatal supplements now contain Iodine but it's a good idea to check that yours does too.⁠
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For those with thyroid conditions please check your requirements with your doctor before making any changes.⁠
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👉🏻 Would you like to make sure you are getting enough Iodine for fertility or pregnancy? Follow the link in my bio to book a consult.

🤍 A reminder for those that need to hear this today⁠
Please stop putting so much pressure on yourself⁠
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You don't need to be perfect⁠
You haven't done anything to cause this⁠
🤍🤍⁠

😋 Greek black eyed peas ✨ Save this recipe for later ⁠
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The weather has been a little cooler the last few days where I live so warming bowls are back on the menu. This recipe is a pretty simple one that packs a punch in flavour and nutrition.⁠
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I used dried peas because that's what I had but you can make it easier for yourself by using canned.⁠
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Ingredients⁠
◾ 1 cup dry black eyed peas or 2 tins of black eyed peas⁠
◾ Olive oil⁠
◾ 1 large onion chopped⁠
◾ 2 medium carrots sliced thinly⁠
◾ 1 tin of crushed tomatoes⁠
◾ 1 bay leaf⁠
◾ 2-3 tablespoons chopped dill⁠
◾ salt/pepper⁠
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Method⁠
🥄Soak the black eyed peas for at least 6 hours or overnight. Rinse your soaked or tinned peas.⁠
🥄Add a good splash of olive oil to a pot with the onion and carrot. Cook until the onion is translucent⁠
🥄Add the black eyed peas to the pot and sauté for 1-2 minutes.⁠
🥄Mix in the tomato, bay leaf, dill and pepper.⁠
🥄Add hot water until it is about 2cm above the beans⁠
🥄Simmer for 30-40 minutes keeping an eye on the water level. Add about 1/4 of a cup of water at a time if needed to stop the mixture drying out. You want the mixture to be thick not like a soup.⁠
🥄It's ready when the beans are soft.⁠
🥄Remove the bay leaf and mix in salt and pepper to taste.⁠
😋 Enjoy⁠
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Based off recipe from https://www.olivetomato.com/one-pot-greek-black-eyed-peas/

😊 Have you heard of Choline?⁠
Choline is the (relatively) new kid on the block when it comes to fertility and pregnancy nutrition. ⁠
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Choline is important for⁠
❕ Reducing the risk of neural tube defects (like folic acid)⁠
🧠 Brain development⁠
👉🏼 Improving placenta development and function⁠
🎇 May impact your babies cognitive development and reduce their risk of chronic disease later in life⁠
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Despite it being such an important nutrient, most women don't get enough from their diet and many prenatal vitamins still don't contain any or enough of it 🤷🏽⁠
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🤰🏾 Our bodies produce some choline but not enough to meet our requirements so we need to get the rest from food.⁠
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Sources of choline include:⁠
◻️ Eggs⁠
◻️ Chicken⁠
◻️ Fish⁠
◻️ Beef⁠
◻️ Broccoli⁠
◻️ Quinoa⁠
◻️ Kidney beans⁠
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Are you getting enough choline? Not sure where to start? ✨Reach out via DM or book a discovery call to find out how I can help.

☕ Caffeine 🍫 Can you still enjoy a coffee when trying to conceive and while pregnant?⁠
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Yes! (thank goodness)⁠
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You can still safely consume coffee and other sources of caffeine. However, you might need to think about how much you are having.⁠
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🌟It's recommended that you aim for 200mg or less per day.⁠
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Higher intakes of caffeine have been linked to fertility issues, increased risk of miscarriage and low birth weights.⁠
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I know I'd struggle to get by without my daily coffee and dark chocolate. Which source of caffeine can't you live without?

Healthy Fats for Fertility ⁠
✨Save this post for later ✨⁠
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❔ Did you know fats are important for maintaining hormone health⁠ and to help our body to absorb vitamins A, D, E and K?⁠
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❔ The healthy fats you want to be including are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. These are mostly found in foods that come from plants and oily fish.⁠
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Some good sources of healthy fats are:⁠
◽ Extra Virgin Olive Oil⁠
◽ Seeds including pepitas and chia⁠
◽ Avocado⁠
◽ Salmon and other oily fish⁠
◽ Nuts⁠
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🥑What are you favourite ways to include some healthy fats into your meals?

Vitamin D ☀️ Where and Why?

Vitamin D is often referred to as the sunshine vitamin and for good reason. We get at least 90% of our requirements from the sun.

❔I know that getting less than 10% of what you need from food doesn't sound like a lot to worry about, but Vitamin D deficiency can significantly impact your fertility and health.

❔Vitamin D is important for many things including bone health, immune function, egg health for fertility, and potentially reducing the risk of eczema and allergies in your baby.

Sources of Vitamin D include
☀️ Sunshine
🍄 Sunbathed Mushrooms - see my previous post
🐟 Salmon, Sardines, Trout, and Tuna
🥚Egg yolks
🥛 Fortified products such as Milk and Cereals

Getting your Vitamin D checked is as simple as getting a blood test with your GP.

👉🏻 Do you want help to increase the Vitamin D you are getting in your diet? Follow the link in my bio to book a consult with me.

🥦 Are you eating enough folate?

💊 Including folate-rich foods in your diet is just as important as taking a folic acid supplement

❔ Folate and folic acid are beneficial for the prevention of neural tube defects (NTD). This is because folate is used by our bodies for producing DNA and during cell division which is happening very rapidly, especially during early pregnancy.

Good sources of folate include:
🥗 Spinach and other dark green leafy vegetables
🥦 Broccoli and asparagus
🥑 Avocado
🥭 Mango and oranges
🥣 Lentils and legumes like beans
🌻 Sunflower seeds and linseeds/flaxseeds

Including a couple of these foods in your meals each day is a great way to ensure your body is getting what it needs for healthy conception and pregnancy.

❤️ A reminder that you are allowed to feel however you want today.

Mothers day can be a hard one when you're trying to create your family.

Today if you need it, give yourself space to cry, grieve, reflect on your journey so far, dream about the future, do something that makes you feel good, or whatever it is that you need.
xx

Did you know that in Australia 1 in 6 couples experience infertility?
🙋‍♀️ I'm 1 in 6⁠
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That statistic surprised me when I first heard it because at the time I only knew a couple of people experiencing infertility. Statistically, though it was affecting many of my friends and family and I just didn't know about it.⁠
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Which is why I think it's important that we talk about it. To remove some of that stigma and increase awareness.⁠
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I know how difficult it can be to talk about. I didn't share what I was experiencing with anyone but my husband for years, and it was lonely. ⁠
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Once I began talking about what I was going through I found there were so many people who were willing to share their stories with me too. It didn't take away the frustration and pain but it made me feel just a little less alone 💗💗

👋🏻Hi there! I'm Melanie, Fertility and IVF Dietitian.⁠
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Thanks for stopping by. Let me kick this off by introducing myself.⁠
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👋🏻I'm Melanie⁠
🇦🇺 Living in Melbourne, Australia⁠
☕ Coffee lover and 👩🏻‍🌾 Gardening enthusiast⁠
👶🏼 Mum of one precious little girl⁠
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💕 Who I work with⁠
Women struggling with unexplained infertility to optimise their nutrition and improve their chances of conceiving.⁠