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Fertility and Ayurveda

Ayurveda has a wonderful perspective on male and female fertility. Procreation is seen as the ultimate creative act and the most potent driving force in our human destiny.

Fertility is seen as the sum total of all optimally digested foods and experiences. The logic is based on the principles of Ayurvedic anatomy and physiology. Ioptimum fertility involves the quality of the digestive fire, the quality of the tissues and the free flowing nature of the channels. When these are all functioning properly then the reproductive tissues can be nourished and fertility can take its course.

Food enters our stomach where the digestive fire turns it into the essence of food. From here it flows through the different tissues where they take up what nutrients are necessary for them to function efficiently. Below is a list of the tissues and their functions:

1. Plasma tissue: Rasa dhatu

Function: Giving pleasure (prinana), nourishing the blood, moistening the skin and mucus membranes, protecting and preserving

2. Blood tissue: Rakta dhatu

Function: Giving vitality (jivanam), giving colour, nourishing the muscle tissue

3. Muscle tissue: Mamsa dhatu

Function: Binding the body together (lepen), strengthening, nourishing fat tissue and waste products.

4. Fat tissue: Meda dhatu

Function: Oleating the joints, producing sweat, nourishing the bone tissue

5. Bone tissue: Asthi dhatu

Function: Giving support and nourishing the nervous tissue

6. Nerve tissue: Majja dhatu

Function: Giving oleation, filling the bones and nourishing the reproductive tissue

7. Reproductive tissue: Shukra dhatu

Function: Generating reproductive fluids, producing an orgasm, achieving conception, strengthening the body and creating fondness.

Maintaining Fertility

Optimising fertility is one of the delicious arts of Ayurveda. There are certain foods and herbs that have an affinity for the reproductive system that anyone wanting to enhance their fertility could include in their diet. These are usually foods that have qualities of sweetness, nourishing and building. Examples include:

Nuts: Almonds, walnuts and pumpkin seeds

Dairy: Milk, cream, ghee

Seafoods: Seaweeds

Flowers: Roses, saffron, jasmine, flower pollen

Fruits: Dates, pomegranates, grapes

Herbs: Organic Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), Shatavari (Asparagus racemosa), Kapikacchu (Mucuna pruriens), Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris), Bala (Sida cordifolia)

Treating Infertility

Problems with infertility can arise when nutrition does not reach the reproductive tissue; this can happen due to under nutrition, poor digestion or obstruction due to toxins. Infertility can also arise when the reproductive tissue is over taxed or damaged by infection or trauma

General considerations:

· Understand both partners’ Ayurvedic constitution (vata, pitta, kapha)

· Clear any obstructions or blockages

· Tonify any weaknesses

· Ensure that the digestive fire is strong

· Ensure that the nervous system is relaxed

· Being loving and loved is the best tonic for fertility

Female Fertility

The Ayurvedic view of the menstrual cycle:

Average menses are considered to be 4-5 days, moderate flow, moderate colour, no clots, no discomfort.

Kapha phase: End of bleeding until ovulation is a time of building the endometrium and increasing kapha. (Oestrogen is increasing).

Pitta phase: Ovulation until bleeding. (Progesterone is high and is secreted by the corpus luteum - prepares endometrium f