If you are trying to conceive (or are pregnant) you are more than likely trying to optimise your health and vitality for both you and your follicles (egg health) or sperm health or baby’s health.
Did you know there are milks on the market that can optimise your wellbeing and boost your energy, whilst at the same time there are milks that do the opposite. So, it is important you choose wisely.
In today’s easy-to-access-information age it can be a little overwhelming when it comes to finding out the best milk to have.
The answer is simple if you understand:
the “functional” ingredients
(This applies not only to all food and drink you consume but personal care products too).
When it comes to milk, if you extract it from home, not from a commercially viable operation then it is going to better for you – fact. This applies to ALL milk.
In a nutshell (excuse the pun) nut milks are filled with protein, they are easy to digest by the body (which keeps your energy levels high) and if they are organic then they have twice as many phytonutrients than standard nuts. (Fertility success requires foods rich in phytonutrients).
By contrast, animal milk products have difficult to digest fats, proteins and sugars (cow’s more so than goat or sheep). This will therefore drain your energy and cause digestive upsets in the majority of people (goat and sheep not as much as cow’s).
However, if you are planning on purchasing either nut or animal milk then it is a whole other ball game! You are now talking about a ‘processed’ product.
We all know anything processed is not ideal for fertility
Animal milk is made to fatten up the animal’s young. This means:
- You will naturally gain weight when you consume milk;
- Animal milk is liquid protein. Your body can only absorb protein or calcium at one time, so in the case of milk – despite their expensive and misleading advert campaigns, it leaches calcium out of your body. (Please don’t take my word for this, look it up yourself, there is plenty of evidence online). Again, this is more the case with cow’s milk than sheep and goat because sheep and goat’s milk is more similar to human and has less casein (protein in milk);
- Commercially produced animal milk is pasteurised and homogenised – this processing makes it very difficult to digest. Skim or semi-skimmed is even more dangerous to your health because the fat molecules are de-natured in such a way your liver can not break it down, making your liver work much harder and we all know the vital role the liver plays when it comes to fertility;
- Cow’s milk is full of pus and blood so is often bleached. Consuming pus or bleach is definitely not going to help your fertility in any way, shape or form.
In addition nut milks can be:
- Laden with by-products from the oil industry;
- Full of sugar;
- Full of E-numbers and other preservatives;
- Full of rice milk (as a cheap filler and rice is NOT a fertility food, especially the white polished sort. Furthermore rice is one of the biggest GMO crops in the world so has to be avoided if not organic)
Are all nut milks made equal?
No!!
The most common nut milks are almond, cashew and soy so I will focus on these.
First of all, organic is the best way to go. Secondly almonds, brazil nuts and even walnuts are great for fertility but cashews are actually legumes (too much can cause digestive issues because of mould) and soy is a big no no when it comes to fertility.
Soy milk has been in the news for years. In Japan (the birth place of organic, mindful creations of soy milk which is the by-product of tofu) the soy is good for you and has been proven to be good for PCOS sufferers too. However, nowadays soy milk is not the by-product of carefully aged organic tofu, instead the soy beans are not given enough soaking time, they are mostly chemically synthesised with the bi-product of carcinogenic vegetable oils from the oil industry and thus are linked to causing brain cancer, ovarian cancer and testicular cancer as well as breast cancer. (This is all heavily documented – check it out yourself online).
Soy, even if it is organic, unless it is fermented it is digested as a xeno-oestrogen (a fake oestrogen). This means it tells the body to produce more oestrogen leading to oestrogen dominance and putting your hormones out of balance. As you can see this is not ideal for fertility.
Feel inclined to make your own nut milk?
Almond Milk
Makes 1- 1 ½ litres
Ingredients
- 24 soaked almonds (can add 6 Brazil nuts but it won’t taste as good)
- 3 tsp Stevia or Xylitol or honey or medjool dates to taste (optional to take away the bitterness!)
- 3 2/3 cups water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp xantham gum from vegetable cellulose (optional thickener if you want family members to be more receptive to drinking it)
Directions
- Soak almonds overnight in water
- Discard water and rinse before using
- Blend almonds with 1cup water until they are pureed
- Add the remaining ingredients blend well
- Strain out pulp and enjoy
- Keep refrigerated and consume within two days
Other Topics Worth Reading:
- Fertility Enhancing Food – Read here
- Best Male Fertility Supplements – Read here
- Eating the Right Fruit and Vegetables is one of the Fastest Ways to Become More Fertile and Create a Healthy Baby – Read here
About the author:
Fiona Boulton is a Fertility Specialist
(An expert in her field since 2007) and leader in Fertility Mind Mastery, Fertility Meditation, Fertility Yoga and Fertility Coaching –
helping people take back control of their fertility, faster.
Fiona is the founder of Awakening Fertility – Harley Street (Harley Street Fertility Clinic), London; Concept Fertility Putney; Chichester, West Sussex and Perth, Australia
- Huffington Post Fertility Writer
- Fertility Coach
- Fertility Support Group Co-ordinator for Harley Street Fertility Clinic and Infertility Network UK
- Nutrition Counsellor
- Public Speaker
- Author
- Blogger
- QiYoga® Founder
- Fertility Yoga Teacher Trainer (RYS 200)
- Fertile Lifestyle Motivator
- Fertility Support Group Facilitator
- Fertility Practitioner Training Co-ordinator
Through Fiona’s “transformation guaranteed” Fertile Lifestyle courses, Fiona helps navigate major transitions to detox your mind and body to help you effectively ‘think yourself fertile’; to change the map your mind has of your body and therefore change your physiology by clearing mental and emotional blockages to having your baby. Fiona’s work focuses on you taking back control by changing the internal and external environment of your cells so you can improve chances of fertility success.
Book your fertility consultation from the comfort of your home or come to the Harley Street Fertility Clinic for a transformative session with Awakening Fertility founder Fiona Boulton, here.
This is really interesting (and helpful!)
Thanks Fiona :)
Thanks Rach :)
Namaste, Fiona
Why is the health food industry getting so confusing too! It is so good to have someone enlightened and trustworthy like you guiding us through such difficult times. I really appreciate all your help and assistance Fiona, you are such a blessing. *THANK YOU!*
R x
You are so welcome Rhiannon :)
Thanks for the feedback – much appreciated.
Namaste, Fiona
Greetings!
Very helpful advice in this particular article!
It’s the little changes which will make the most significant changes.
Many thanks for sharing!
I look forward to trying these “milks”