Okay, that sounds a bit sensational. But I wanted to grab your attention. And I want to tell you how really great it is to have a health care professional tell you to eat more butter and take it easy on the salads, and to urge you to keep your feet ensconced in thick fluffy socks. This is all to say that we love Leslie McGee!

This is the first in a series of interviews with people who affect the lives of TucsonMamas (and Tucson families). I am, to put it bluntly, super nosy (as any of my friends will verify), and interviews are a great way to ask all the questions I try (and often fail) to repress on a daily basis. If there are people, locally or otherwise, about whom you have endless curiosity, email me and let’s talk! Interviews are great ways for nosy curious people to have a legitimate reason to ask questions! Julie at TucsonMama dot com.

I adore Leslie McGee, acupuncturist, and wanted to spread the love with the TucsonMama community. So here goes…

Leslie

TM: So Leslie, tell me about your Chinese medicine practice.

LM: I use both acupuncture and Chinese herbs in my practice, and I am in some ways a generalist…I see people for pain, and allergies, and the usual stuff that most people know that acupuncture treats. But I also have specialized in women’s health and particularly infertility, which is how you and I got acquainted.

When we met you had had at least 2 miscarriages, (or was it more?) and were, of course, distraught and wondering if you could ever carry a baby to term. And now look at you! I think Chinese medicine has some very useful ways of thinking about frequent miscarriage, and Western medicine kind of throws up their hands over this issue.

Modern fertility treatment is mostly concerned with helping women conceive….but if you conceive pretty readily but can’t hold on to the baby…..Western medicine is kind of at a loss.

So when I treated you I wanted to boost your body’s “holding and containing” energy. We say that to carry a baby to term you need to have enough energy (we also say Qi or “chee”) that is both lifted up and also secured. That keeps the cervix closed and prevents the baby from being lost. We used acupuncture and some herbs to do that.

TM: What about those fish eggs you had me eat? You were very into the fish eggs!

LM: Oh, yes, the little orange masaga eggs they have at sushi restaurants. Eggs are considered a fertility food in China…that can be our common chicken eggs, but also other eggs, like caviar or masaga. We say eggs contain a lot of “essence”, and this essence is the very foundation of reproductive capacity according to Chinese medicine. In Asia people eat a much wider variety of foods, and much more in the way of nutrient dense foods like little fish eggs, shellfish, organ meats. I know that sounds a bit weird, but these are all foods that nourish the essence and our reproductive capacity….The other important point is that you don’t need to eat these things every day, but certainly Asians eat them more often than Americans. These kinds of foods have plenty of Vitamin A and also certain important minerals that help fertility. For example, oysters are very high in zinc, and zinc is critical for sperm function and form, and it is also found in the ovaries. I am not suggesting people only eat these foods, but having them sometimes is good. And you needed those little orange fish eggs, Julie….. I thought that would be a good way to nourish your essence and support your fertility. Plus they are really tasty.

TM: Yeah, they were pretty good! Tiny salty jewels! I was happy to comply. Do you have other dietary suggestions for women struggling with infertility?

LM: I really like teaching Chinese diet ideas. Some of them are pretty basic. For example, if someone is tired lot, maybe has miscarried, we recommend favoring warm, cooked food as the best way to supplement what is weak in them. We also make kind of a big deal to these women of asking them to avoid drinking ice-cold drinks, or eating lots of cold food. It takes energy to warm cold food that you put in your stomach. Especially in early pregnancy we strongly advise women to not over-eat cold stuff….Save your qi and inner warmth for your uterus. If you eat cold stuff, there is less warmth for the uterus and baby.

We do recognize that later on, after around 20 weeks, the baby in utero becomes “pure yang”. Meaning that baby is like a little furnace and will keep you warm. Thus being in late pregnancy during the summer is really uncomfortable! You are carrying around a little furnace!! So then it would be OK to relax some on the “no cold foods or drink rule”, although I am enough of a fussbudget that I would rather women be very moderate about that. NO 36-ounce ice cold thirst-busters!! Although I suspect your readers aren’t drinking tons of soda while pregnant…(bad for the gestational diabetes risk, too!)

Here is some other news that really got my attention. They did a survey of 18,000 women, and they found that those that ate low-fat dairy had more difficulty ovulating. And they found that those who ate full fat dairy had 25% less infertility. To me this is evidence that natural fats found in foods are good for us…Even saturated fat. Saturated fats are the building blocks of hormones. From a Chinese view good quality fat nourishes both yin and essence. So I highly recommend using whole milk yogurt and butter. Hooray!! They taste so good and they are pro-fertility foods. When women are struggling with infertility I have them choose butter and avoid any trans-fats, and avoid even the so-called trans-fat-free margarines. Avoid margarine, period. Butter tastes better so that it easy. And eating a low-fat diet is not a good fertility strategy.

The thing to remember too, is that our brains are 60 % fat. And the fats that Mom eats while the baby is in utero are very important to brain development. I also recommend a good quality fish oil supplement. 2 or 3 capsules a day. The omega-3 fatty acid in fish oil called DHA is incredibly important to the baby’s brain. Also, keep that up while you are breastfeeding.

I also highly recommend whole milk for your kids, if and when they are ready for that. The fats in whole milk are important for kids. I have heard several anecdotes about families switching from low-fat to whole milk and seeing behavior improvements in their kids. The brain is made of fat and good quality, natural fats are soothing and nourishing to children’s brains.

TM: Are there any other ideas that you’d like to share with the TucsonMama community?

LM: I have been learning a lot about Vitamin D these past few years. We get Vitamin D when our skin is exposed to sunlight, and because we lead such indoor lives these days, and because many of us have become sun-phobic and use sunscreen for every outdoor activity, many people are quite deficient in Vitamin D. (Sunscreen blocks vitamin D production in the skin) This is true even here in Tucson. You wouldn’t believe how many times I have found low vitamin D status in my Tucson clients…sometimes super-low.

Vitamin D is actually a “pre-hormone” so it plays a role in endocrine health and thus in fertility. There is also evidence suggesting that mothers need to have adequate vitamin D status while they are pregnant. It appears that low vitamin D status makes pre-eclampsia and pre-term labor more common. Some scientists are wondering if low vitamin D status may contribute to autism, and others suggest that rickets, a disease of soft bones due to D deficiency, may be on the rise. Breastfeeding mothers should assess their vitamin D status and make sure they are getting enough. The Canadian Pediatric Association recommends that pregnant women take 2000 IU of vitamin D per day. The U.S. recommendations for D were raised recently, but not by a lot, and some in the Vitamin D research community think those recommendations were far too low. There are not many foods with vitamin D in them. Milk is fortified with D, but, for example, to get 1000 IU of vitamin D in milk you would need to drink a quart of milk!

Let your kids get some sunshine. Use sunscreen if they are going to be out a long time, but not for every single outdoor event. If your kids have dark skin, you can worry less about sunburn, and use sunscreen even less. Dark skin needs a lot more time in the sun to make vitamin D. Let’s remember that God made our skin respond to sunlight for a reason. We are not meant to be moles. Moderation in all things is the key. Of course, don’t turn into a lobster, but getting a bit of a tan on arms and legs and face is OK.

TM: What else is new in your practice?

LM: I have learned some really cool techniques for kids. These are non-needle techniques that I can teach Moms and Dads, so they can do them daily as needed. I have learned some great protocols for digestive issues of all kinds. They were developed by a pediatrician in China, and they are pretty effective for several common ailments. I especially love that these are techniques that parents can learn, because using them every day is key. But they only take a few minutes.

TM: Thanks, Leslie!

Leslie McGee has a bachelor of science degree in nursing and is certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) in both acupuncture and Chinese herbology. She has a master’s degree in traditional Chinese medicine, and has completed advanced training in infertility and gynecology. A recent president of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM), the national professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence and integrity in the field of acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, Leslie is able to address illness and healing from both Western and Eastern perspectives.