A key part of the PCOS diet is eating foods with a low glycemic index. Low-GI foods still contain carbohydrates, but they don’t create sudden increases in your blood sugar levels like high-GI foods. For women with PCOS, proper nutrition can lead to weight loss and increased odds of getting pregnant naturally, without the use of IVf or other fertility treatments.

Low Sugar and Flourless Apple Cranberry Crumble

Low Sugar and Flourless Apple Cranberry Crumble

This crumble is made from red and green apples along with tart cranberries and cinnamon, then topped with a crumble made from oats and almond flour. Yum!

Low-Glycemic Peanut Butter Cookies

Low glycemic index peanut butter cookies

But make sure you use natural peanut butter–the kind that has to be stirred–not the sweetened kind with added sugar like Jiff, Peter Pan, and Skippy.

Low Glycemic Blueberry Pie with Gluten-Free Crust

Low Glycemic Blueberry Pie with Gluten-Free Crust

This recipe for Low Glycemic Blueberry Pie with Gluten-Free Crust from Kelly uses frozen blueberries, coconut sugar, vanilla-flavored stevia , agar, and arrowroot to create a sweet, dense pie. Yum! If you don’t have vanilla stevia, regular stevia and a little vanilla extract would also work.

Low Glycemic Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Low-Glycemic Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

My favorite carrot cakes are moist and sticky, and this recipe looks like it will do the trick. Caution: this recipe yields two pans of carrot cake!

Low Glycemic Pecan Brownies

Low glycemic pecan brownies

But these Low Glycemic Pecan Brownies look tempting! They use beans (your choice of black beans, cannellini beans, or kidney beans) to make thick, chewy pecan brownies that you could wash down with a glass of milk. Brownies are easy to make and quick to put together, so they’d make a great dessert for weeknights when you don’t have hours to devote to cooking.

As you can see, following a PCOS diet plan does take planning. You may need to buy some of the ingredients online or from a natural grocery store like Whole Foods, but it’s totally worth it.

The USA Today hasthe story:

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday urged infertile couples to shun artificial procreation, decrying such methods as a form of arrogance.

Speaking at the end of a three-day Vatican conference on diagnosing and treating infertility, Benedict also reiterated church teaching that marriage is the only permissible place to conceive children. Matrimony “constitutes the only ‘place’ worthy of the call to existence of a new human being,” he said.
The pope pressed the church ban against artificial procreation, saying infertile couples should refrain from any method to try to conceive other than sex between husband and wife.

Needless to say, this didn’t go over well with many Catholics, who see the pronouncement as oblivious to the problems faced by infertile men and women, and just plain inhumane to those who need fertility treatments to have children:

The Pope has been attacked as archaic and out of touch after urging infertile couples to shun IVF and insisting sex between a husband and wife was the only acceptable way of conceiving.

Melinda Roberts, mother of Thomas, 3, and Matthew, 7 months, said Pope Benedict XVI’s words angered her.

“Both of my children were conceived through IVF, and every day my husband and I are eternally grateful for the assistance,” the Glen Waverley mum said.

Monash IVF director Professor Gab Kovacs said the Pope was out of touch, and “most … in his congregation take no notice of him”.

Many Catholic couples sought fertility treatment, allowing themselves to be dictated by their consciences and what was right, rather than the church, Prof Kovacs said.

He said the Catholic Church had not changed its stance since the beginning of reproductive medicine in the 1970s.

But the church did say that medical research on infertility was acceptable, presumably as long as the research focuses on preventing infertility:

In 2008, the Catholic Church banned modern reproductive technologies including in vitro fertilization, arguing it was just as wrong as destroying embryos for stem cell research.

“The desire for a child cannot justify the production of offspring, just as the desire not to have a child cannot justify the abandonment or destruction of a child once he or she has been conceived,”

Vatican officials wrote at the time.

On Saturday, the Pope did offer hope for couples who are struggling to become parents: He said the church encourages medical research on infertility.

What do you think about the Pope’s pronouncement? Would it prevent you from having children using fertility treatments?

Here’s a screen shot. Look at all the states under the heading “Regional Interest” at the bottom of the image.

Eight of the top 10 states that search Google for information about “IVF” are top 10 ranked states for actually getting IVF: Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Washington DC, Maryland, Connecticut, and Delaware.

I don’t know what it means, other than people like to do their research online before buying, but still, it’s interesting.

Despite the fact that IVF is expensive and most insurance plans don’t cover it, more than 50,000 American children a year are born using the procedure. That works out to more than 1 percent of US births annually!

The people of Washington D.C. use IVF more than any other state and almost twice as much as the second-ranked state (Massachusetts), while those in Maine, Montana, and Wyoming don’t use IVF treatments at all — at least in their home states.

Scroll down for the complete rankings.

The United States of IVF: State IVF Rates and Rankings

States That Use IVF the Most

All of the top five and eight of the top ten states for IVF are located on the east coast (Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware).

It’s also interesting that all of the top ten states have lower-than-average percentages of people without health insurance coverage (the national average was 15.8).

States That Use IVF the Least

The ten lowest-ranked states are spread over more regions, tend to be located in low-density states with low populations and low average household incomes.

This helps explain why so few IVF procedures are performed in these places. Because IVF treatments cost a lot of money out-of-pocket, people in these states can’t afford as many procedures as their top-ranked counterparts.

How I Created State IVF Rates and Rankings

Using 2008 data on fertility clinic success rates from the CDC and 2008 state populations from the US Census Bureau, I created per capita IVF rates for each state. Per capita IVF rates tell us how many IVF cycles were started in each state for every 100,000 people living there.

These statistics count the total number of IVF cycles started using a woman’s own fresh and frozen eggs. Some IVF cycles may include additional fertility treatments such as GIFT, ZIFT, ICSI, and blastocyst transfers.

These statistics don’t count IVF treatments that used donor eggs, nor do they indicate states’ IVF success rates (live birth rates).

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of both known sperm donors and anonymous sperm donors.

Using a Known Sperm Donor

Couples who would like their child to have the opportunity to get to know their donor, or at least have a picture and his name, might find this option appealing. One great advantage is that you actually get the chance to assess the guy before you ask him, and you know way more about him than his height, hair color, and medical history. If your known donor is a friend, you may well be able to get sperm samples whenever you need them, and for free. Known donors are very compatible with home insemination.

The downside of knowing your child’s sperm donor is that he might want to be more involved in your lives than he cares to admit now. The best approach is clearly to discuss his role in the future (if any!) in advance, and make legally valid agreements if possible. Remember that the donor’s family may also want to be involved if they are aware of his donor status. Some states have grandparent rights, so this is certainly something to take into account.

If you do decide to go the known donor route, the chosen donor should be tested for sexually transmitted diseases before you go ahead and inseminate. No matter how well you know him, this is not the right time to take his word for it. STD’s can be inexpensively tested in most doctors’ offices.

Using an Anonymous Sperm Donor

If you decide to use a sperm bank, you will be able to browse lots of donor profiles before making a decision. Donor sperm is guaranteed to be free of STDs and many sperm donor banks test for genetic diseases as well—two of its greatest advantages. And with an anonymous donor there is no risk of custody battles or donor attempts to see the child in the future.

The flip side is that your child will not be able to find out who her biological father is, even if curiosity gets the better of her. In addition, sperm banks often require the signature of a medical professional before they will ship vials of sperm. That often means you will not be able to carry out at-home insemination and will need to use intrauterine insemination (IUI) at a fertility clinic. This, coupled with the fact that vials of sperm from a sperm bank cost more than a known donor’s sperm, all adds to your cost. And of course, it medicalizes the process of your baby’s conception.

Would you like to read more about how to get pregnant? Olivia’s blog Trying To Conceive is full of information about fertility, pregnancy, and babies, including information for gay and lesbian couples and single mothers by choice.

I’m looking to donate my eggs, but I read on a couple web sites that egg donors can’t have sex when they’re donating. I understand why they don’t want me taking birth control pills or hormonal contraceptives, but why can’t I have sex, provided I use condoms? It’s not like I’m not qualified. I’m 25 years old, have had one child, have a great job, and graduated from a good college. I’d really like to donate eggs, but I don’t understand why I can’t have sex with my boyfriend while I’m doing it.

Karen, that’s a great question. The reason egg donor agencies want you to abstain from sexual intercourse is that the FSH (follicle stimulating hormones) you are given during an egg donation cycle makes you extremely fertile. Not only does the drug increase your chance of getting pregnant, it also increases your chance of having multiples (twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc).

Having sex during the donation cycle could also expose you to sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV, herpes, or HPV, which–depending on the agency– could jeopardize the cycle. While most agencies do not allow donors to have any STD’s, some do.

While I understand that you love your boyfriend and would like to continue having sex with him, if you’re serious about donating your eggs, I have to strongly urge you against it. An egg donation cycle only lasts about three to six weeks, which is not an incredibly long time to wait. If you need extra motivation to momentarily stop having sex, think of the people you’ll be helping and the money you’ll be making!

But if you don’t feel you can go without sex for that long and decide not to donate eggs, that’s perfectly fine, too.

Check out our Guide to Donating Eggs for more tips and advice on becoming an egg donor.

PCOS, or Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, is one of the most common causes of female infertility, affecting approximately 5 – 10 percent of women of childbearing age. In addition to infertility and subfertility, the majority of women with PCOS experience obesity, excessive facial hair growth, acne, and irregular menstrual periods. Doctors classify PCOS as an endocrine disorder and imbalance of male and female hormones, or androgens and estrogens.

Eat delicious dinners on your PCOS diet plan

In this article, I present five useful tips for starting a PCOS diet plan to lose weight, boost your fertility, and increase your chance of getting pregnant.

PCOS Diet Plan Tip #1 – Get a handle on portion sizes and total caloric intake.

Since PCOS is so often accompanied by being overweight, it’s important to make sure you’re not overeating at meals. Figure out your Body Mass Index, and aim to get your BMI under 29.

Don’t starve yourself to lose weight! Research appropriate portion sizes for meals and remind yourself of what portions should look like on your plate.

Remember you want to eat fewer calories than you’re burning on an average day, so that means you’ll need to find out your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR.

When you know your BMR, you know how many calories your body needs to survive and maintain your current weight. Now subtract 200-400 calories from that number and consider it your new goal for daily caloric intake. By eating 200-400 fewer calories than your BMR every day, your body will steadily lose weight.

Take it slow and don’t go overboard with any radical calorie cuts. Your goal should be steady weight loss over a long period, not quick weight loss over a period of days or weeks.

PCOS Diet Plan Tip #2 – Eat foods with a low-glycemic index.

The glycemic index is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI.

Since PCOS is so closely associated with high blood sugar, you’ll want to choose low-glycemic foods that affect your blood sugar less dramatically.

Here’s a list of foods and their glycemic index rating. The list is organized by type of food.

A short list of high-glycemic foods to avoid:

Waffles – 76
Doughnut – 76
White bread – 71
White rolls – 73
Baguettes – 95
Rice Krispies – 82
Cornflakes – 83
Watermelon – 72
Baked potato – 85
Parsnips – 97

A short list of low-glycemic foods to eat for your PCOS Diet:

Pound cake – 54
Soya milk – 30
Apple juice – 41
Carrot juice – 45
Pineapple juice - 46
Grapefruit juice – 48
Multi grain bread – 48
Whole grain – 50
All-Bran cereal – 42
Oatmeal - 49
Low-fat yogurt – 14
Whole milk – 27

PCOS Diet Plan Tip #3 – Eat smaller meals, more frequently throughout the day.

A primary goal of your new relationship to food should be to keep your blood sugar steady, without the lows that come from skipping meals or waiting hours between them. Starting a PCOS diet plan means eating more frequently throughout the day.

Eat snacks and mini-meals between breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and don’t let yourself become ravenously hungry or cranky. Getting grumpy from hunger is caused by low blood sugar, and that’s bad for your PCOS.

PCOS Diet Plan Tip #4 – Integrate more exercise and physical activity into your daily life.

Love it or hate it, exercise is an essential part of getting control of your PCOS. Exercise burns calories and raises your basal metabolic rate, meaning your body will burn more calories even when resting. If you hate exercising, try adjusting your self-talk around exercise.

One technique I’ve found that works to increase my amount of physicial activity is doing stuff that I don’t consider “exercise” but still burns calories. I’ve lost a few pounds by walking or riding a bike to places I would normally drive, and you can too!

Another way to adjust your self talk is to write a list of pros and cons of exercising. On the pro list, make sure to include the fact that increasing your time spent exercising will increase your chances of getting pregnant and having a baby. Sometimes we just need to be aware of a problem and have a little motivation, and making changes comes easier.

PCOS Diet Plan Tip #5 – Talk with your doctor about fertility drugs.

Two popular fertility drugs, Metformin and Clomid, have shown promise in treating PCOS and helping women achieve pregnancy.

Metformin glucophage is a drug developed to treat Type 2 diabetes. One of Metformin’s “off-label{” uses ios the treatment of PCOS. Metformin works by lowering your insulin level anddecreasing your testosterone levels, and restoring your normal menstrual cycles.

Clomid is a widely prescribed fertility drug works indirectly to induce ovulation. It causes the hypothalamus to produce more GnRH which stimulates the pituitary gland to produce FSH, which helps establish a normal ovulation cycle.

So what’s your next step? Are you committed to following a PCOS diet plan? If so, let us know in the comments!

Related articles:

Clomid Tops Metformin for Treating PCOS Infertility
Living with PCOS – Mary’s Story of Trying to Conceive with Polycystic Ovaries

Sperm photo by flickr user futurowoman

Yesterday I hit the publish button on Fertility Nation’s Sperm Bank Directory — the largest, most complete directory of United States sperm banks, cryobanks, sperm donation centers and fertility clinics offering sperm banking services on the web.

I scoured the internet looking for every sperm bank, cryobank, sperm donation center and fertility clinic offering sperm banking services, and categorized each listing by US state, making it easy to find your closest local sperm banks. Compared to the Yellow Pages, it’s a breeze!

In addition to featuring the phone numbers, fax numbers, addresses and web sites for each sperm bank, the directory also lists the services offered by each facility.

If your state doesn’t have a sperm bank, you’ll want to check out our listings of Online Sperm Banks.

Enjoy!

In this installment of the Classifieds Roundup, I’m highlighting the most interesting ads posted to Fertility Nation Classifieds in the last month.

Egg Donor Wanted Ads

East Indian Egg Donor needed – Active and Healthy East Indian Egg Donor wanted for loving couple. You are 22-32, university educated, no use of drugs, and in greater Toronto area.

Give the Gift of Egg Donation! – Conceptions Center for Ovum Donation is an Egg Donor Agency that works with couples struggling with infertility. We are actively looking for compassionate, healthy, responsible, kind young women who would like to make a difference in the lives of others by enabling them the opportunity to expand their family. Conceptions Center for Ovum Donation works only with physicians/clinics who strictly adhere to ASRM & SART guidelines.

Looking For Egg Donors – Creative Love Egg Donation Agency is a warm, caring egg donation agency located in South Florida. If you are an Intended Parent looking for an Egg Donor or are interested in becoming an Egg Donor, contact us for a level of personal care no other donor agency can offer.

Egg Donor Available Ads and Egg Donor Profiles

Young Athlete Willing to Donate Eggs – Hello! I’m a 19 year old caucasian female who is interested in helping families experience the miracle of children. I am 5’7″, 125 pounds, and I have slightly curly dark blonde hair and hazel eyes. I played soccer for 13 years, I started when I was 4, and have been studying all types of dance for the last 6 years. I am also very musical; I was trained in classical piano for 14 years, and have been singing my entire life. I am a high school graduate and I’m starting college next semester to become a teacher.

Let Me Help You Start Your Family – Hello, My name is Candace and I couldn’t imagine life without my son and would hate to see anyone not have the opportunity to experience this joy first hand. My physical attributes are as follows: I am 5′ even with long dark brown hair and hazel/green eyes with light freckles. I have 1 son of my own so I’m 100 % fertile. I would be more than happy to answer anyone’s questions so please feel free to contact me.

Sperm Donor Wanted Ads

Couple Seek Sperm Donor in NYC/CT area – Hi, we are a couple seeking a smart, STD free, young caucasian sperm donor. Will pay.

Married Couple Seeking Sperm Donor for Money – Married Couple seeking a Qualified Sperm Donor, must be white, blonde hair, blue eyes, above 6’0 ft, no diseases, for the use of at home IUI, no intercourse.

Sperm Donor Available Ads and Sperm Donor Profiles

Good Sperm Donor Available – Hello, I hope I can help you. I had planned on a family using my semen sample, but that has changed. I would very much like to provide my samples for someone else to use, and would be OK being known to the child at which time you feel is best. I am 6’2″ white, no STD’s or genetic problems. I’m intelligent, athletic, inclined to be balanced with emotions, health, weight and (no) addictions.

White Male With Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes, and Full Medical Records Available – I’m interested in assisting women throughout the US to attain their goal of having healthy, happy, beautiful children. I appreciate that the choice of sperm donor is completely at your discretion as is the manner in which you choose to raise the child. I’ll act to help you make the most educated choice possible by providing you all the information you require. I’m drug and disease free and will provide full medical records and family history. I live in Dallas, TX. I’m willing to travel to your location or ship donations via the mail.

Surrogate Mother Wanted Ads

SURROGATE MOTHERS Needed: Help Make a Dream Come True – ARTparenting is seeking healthy moms who are willing to help an infertile couple have a child. Will be paid a generous fee and all expenses. Basic requirements: Healthy lifestyle, age 21 – 40, have had a child. Learn more about becoming a Surrogate Mother.

Surrogate Mother Available Ads and Surrogate Mother Profiles

TS OR GS. I AM EXTREMELY FERTILE! – NJ mom of 2 looking for IPs. Three healthy pregnancies, two of them very recent. I gave a baby up for adoption so I have experience as a birth mother. I also donated my eggs several times so I have been physically, psychologically, & genetically screened. $20,000 base comp + usual expenses/fees. I am ready to start right away!

Experienced Jewish gestational surrogate seeking a Jewish couple to help – I am Jewish by both parents and I meet the halachic (Jewish law) requirements of being a gestational surrogate for a religious Jewish couple. I’ve been thoroughly screened by my previous agency and will gladly release all screening results and medical records for you.

My last surrogacy was for an Orthodox couple and resulted in a normal healthy twin males at 36 weeks, 4 days. Birth weights were 4 lbs, 15 oz and 5 lbs, 2 oz. Neither infant required NICU care. I found this experience to be very gratifying and would like to help another couple. I also understand that some Jewish couples require a Jewish surrogate and that Jewish surrogates are very difficult to find. The couple I worked with is happy to recommend me and to answer any questions.

If you answered “never” I’ll bet you’re not dealing with infertility.

If you answered “last Tuesday”, I’ll bet you’ve got a fertility doctor on speed dial…and are familiar with the dual frustration of coping with infertility and the rude comments of others.

By itself, infertility is an emotionally painful disease. But throw in the “well-intentioned” comments of friends and in-laws offering “advice” and that pain and hurt swells up like a water balloon straining to burst.

I made this infographic because I want people to know that the things they say to couples struggling with infertility ad undergoing fertility treatments like IVF — even “helpful tips” — can cause hurt feelings.

Supporting people with infertility is easy: all you have to do is listen and try to empathize.

Embed this image on your site

<a href="http://www.fertilitynation.com/words-that-hurt-people-with-infertility-infographic/"><img src="http://www.fertilitynation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/words-that-hurt-infertility.png" alt="Words That Hurt People with Infertility - Infographic" width="628" border="0" /></a><br />Via: <a href="http://www.fertilitynation.com">FertilityNation.com</a>