In the News...

I read/watch a fair amount of news, I probably read more than I watch, which I should probably limit since rarely is there something good going on. A lot of the time reading the news can be downright depressing! I am SO sick of reading the headlines about the government shut-down. Don't get me wrong, I understand it's importance, but the slant and misleading facts brought on by the media outlets is obnoxious. All of that being said, reading the news is something I enjoy (usually). Most of the time I spend on the news sites is reading about new medical research, or good Samaritan stories. One of the big things I read about is... you guessed it! Infertility! Usually there aren't many interesting stories to read, outside of blogs, in regards to infertility, so I was surprised today when I read the headline "Cinnamon May Help Ease Common Cause of Infertility Study Says".
Sidebar: Anyone who knows me, knows my love for holistic medicine. I think I have mentioned before about how much I hate taking prescription medication, and I would love to be able to treat any ailment with an herb rather than a RX pill. That being said, it isn't always easy to find holistic medicine - mostly because no one ever got filthy rich off of selling you raw, organic apple cider vinegar.
So two things attracted me to this article, the first being the cinnamon - the second being my curiosity about what cause they were referring too. I clicked the link and read about a study conducted at Columbia University in New York City - where they took a group of women (16 of them, all actively trying to conceive) and gave 11 of them a cinnamon extract pill and others a placebo. In the group of women taking the cinnamon all of them saw significant improvement in the regularity of their monthly cycle and 2 of those 11 became pregnant without any outside fertility medicine! The women receiving the placebo only averaged 2 periods in a 4 month span. While the testing is still in its early stages, and even though the doctors conducting the study aren't sure what the relation is between the cinnamon and women with PCOS how cool is that? If you don’t know, the drugs you take to counter-act PCOS are pretty awful. The thought of potentially ovulating by way of cinnamon versus RX drugs is pretty cool.
It is amazing what you find when you start looking for holistic treatments to medical problems. About a year ago I started noticing, what I thought was acne on my chin. It began spreading up the side of my mouth, then on to my nose, then finally across my forehead. As a teenager, I never really had acne so I couldn't believe it was happening now. I went to a dermatologist who determined it wasn't acne, it was actually periodontal dermatitis. She started cranking out prescriptions - some of which got eliminated because they told me if I got pregnant while taking them it could cause issues for the baby's development. More specifically, they told me my baby would have grey teeth! GREY TEETH?! Not ok. So, I decided I would give the drugs a go and try the ones that were safe for baby making. They helped, some. Mostly, they spurred me on to find a holistic way to treat the PD. I found this support group for women with PD (yep, it mostly effects women, and doctors believe it is trigger by hormones) who wish to treat it naturally. Several of them had a lot of luck with using organic, un-heated apple cider vinegar, so I decided to put down the prescriptions and pick up the vinegar. After a week I noticed a small difference, after a month the PD was almost unnoticeable. I was so happy! I really believe the trick with holistic treatments are giving them a devoted run. Meaning, yes they may not be as fast as RX drugs, and they require diligence, but if you commit to consistency and patience, they will work! All of this is probably why I found the article so intriguing. What if something like cinnamon can cure infertility caused by PCOS? How awesome would that be for the women who don’t have health insurance, or have issues with reactions to medications? Maybe it won't work for everyone - but if it works for some, it's worth a shot!
After I have my sit down on the 22nd with Dr. Jaffe and we come up with our plan, I may start taking cinnamon. Can't hurt, right?! I love holistic remedies, so if you have some, post them in a comment below. Another one I LOVE that a friend shared with me was the use of peppermint oil. 2 drops of peppermint oil in a luke-warm bath will help clear up any skin rash, irritation, hives, etc. I use this for my psoriasis, and I also use it for Jake when he gets a rash or bug bites. :)