The Fertile Crescent

No words left that haven’t been screamed into the abyss.

For the past eternity I have made and unmade fertility/pregnancy nutrition posts, which all seem meaningless against a continued and worsening forced famine.

Not when I have people there who see what I post and message directly. Not when I have pregnant women who I message to encourage to get vitamin D from the sun, hidden in between tents. Not when they send me pictures of what they eat, and I see the faces of their children get thinner with each passing photo.

In the background I’m still seeing clients, working on , working with the local health district on pregnancy services/resources and contributing to some upcoming maternity open days at two different hospitals. I hope you understand why I am not as present here. Its hard to do three different things, with a toddler thrown in too. I will be here when I can and hopefully more with time. But for now, my mind is elsewhere- and so will be majority of what I put up here🇵🇸

Graves, what and Hashi-who? 😵‍💫 This side-by-side is for you! (Please appreciate my rhyming, thanks).

When it comes to nutrition and Thyroid autoimmune disease there are a few nutrients we focus on:
• Iron 🥩
• Selenium 🥜
• Vitamin D ☀️
• Omega 3 🐟
• Magnesium 🥬
And the one we REALLY focus on is IODINE. Iodine is absolutely essential for your Thyroid to be able to produce the hormones Triiodothyronine - T3 and Thyroxine- T4 (in fact, the numbers 3 and 4 refers to the number of iodine atoms in the hormone!)
If you’re having an underactive thyroid, we need to be making sure you’re getting enough iodine to support hormone production, and supplementing when needed (especially in pregnancy and breastfeeding 🤱🏻 when demand for thyroid hormones increases!). With an overactive thyroid, iodine intake may need to be restricted instead! As a dietitian, I would be working closely with your endocrinologist to determine what is best for you and your personal situation!

تأخير بالإنجاب، خربطة في الدورة الشهريه، او خمول غير مفهوم؟ 🥱 ممكن يعود السبب للغدة الدرقية و أمراض المناعة الذاتية.

#تغذيه #الخصوبة

TTC taking a little longer than you thought it would? Cycles all over the place? Feeling fatigued 🫩 or just not right?

You might want to take a closer look at the butterfly-shaped gland 🦋 that sits at the front of your neck! This small organ yields huge influence on (literally) every cell of your body- and if your thyroid hormone levels aren’t quite right, it can impact ability to conceive or increase risk of pregnancy complications!

Keen for more information on your thyroid, fertility and pregnancy? Follow along for more .co - your fertility, pregnancy and postpartum dietitian 👋🏼 with Hashimoto’s from age 12, pregnancy (literally) on the other side of the world from her endocrinologist, and postpartum thyroiditis!

P.S this post literally took me forever to complete ?postersBlock, if that is a thing? Still not happy with it but I hope it’s still of use. Plus I keep accidentally running out of time by taking on more jobs/projects 🙃 more on this soon (maybe).

Do you have/or know someone who has thyroid disease?

Bounty Bliss Balls! RECIPE 👇🏼

I practically lived off these in pregnancy - but being absolutely delish while packed with fibre, protein and healthy fats these would be great at any stage- be it preconception, pregnancy or one-handed-breastfeeding-snack-stage! Oh and they’re ridiculously quick and easy to make (duh).

Ingredients:
•1 cup dates of your choice (low GI carb - so lowly digested + fibre)

•1/2 cup walnuts (omega-3s, protein + more fibre

•1/2 cup almonds (healthy fats, vitamin E + oh and more fibre)

•1 heaped tbsp chia seeds (omega’3s and more Fi…)

•2 tbsps cocoa powder (antioxidants + magnesium- if you’re pregnant and have restless legs they’ll thank you)

•Dessicated coconut to cover (you can swap this to crushed nuts eg. Pistachio)

What you do:
1️⃣ In a food processor combine the nuts, chia seeds and cocoa powder. Set aside in a bowl.
2️⃣ Add the dates to the food processor- pulse into a paste (NOTE: if dates are on the harder side, soak them in hot water for around 15 minutes before- super hard? A few hours soak.
3️⃣ mix the date paste with the the rest of the ingredients (you can do this on the food processor if you have a mighty one, or it may be easier to put on a glove and mix them
4️⃣ Roll into little balls and then roll in dessicated coconut to coat.

Let me know - would you give these a try?
Oh and if you already have a toddler- these are very much toddler approved too! 😎

✨ THE FERTILE CRESCENT ✨
👉🏼 There’s two types of people on the planet (actually three):
1️⃣ Those that don’t believe in waiting for the new year to start something/set new goals.
2️⃣ Those that absolutely love “New Year New Me”
3️⃣ Those that are sort of a bit of both 🙋🏻‍♀️
I think there is no denying that it is human nature to like new beginnings- a crisp blank book opened for the first time, an empty canvas, moving to a new city- they are all opportunities to press RESTART. And so it seems this is why a lot of people like new years- it presents as a golden chance to start all over again.

I can make this a very extended metaphor and speak about how fertility itself is a process of renewal and tie it back to the actual lands of The Fertile Crescent, but that would just be my brain outdoing itself with too much metaphors and symbolism.

The actual point of this post is for me to renew my intentions, lay to rest my perfectionism of needing to create perfect posts that never actually happen, and telling myself its okay to recycle and to stay true to my real purpose- to help women and couples improve their nutrition for conceiving, having healthier pregnancies and easier postpartum and breastfeeding journeys. So welcome in 2025, may this be the year your fertility/ baby dreams all come true (or like me- postpartum dreams- may this be the year my toddler finally figures out how to sleep through the night, and I figure out how I am going to actually wean her by 2)
xFatema ✨

تغذية الهلال الخصيب- تجديد النية لعام ٢٠٢٥. إن شاء الله عام خير على كل العالم، و تحققي في حلم الإنجاب/الحمل/الرضاعة الطبيعية. و أهم شي ربي يفرجها على أهلنا في غزة 🇵🇸

#2025

👀👂This is what I WILL tell you! 👇🏼
بالعربي 👇🏼
🥖 Unless you have coeliac disease (in which case you must be strictly gluten free), there is no evidence that gluten has any affect on your fertility.
🥛 There is no evidence that dairy impacts negatively on fertility- on the contrary prioritising dairy as you plan to head into a pregnancy is necessary to optimise calcium!
🍭 excess sugar can impact the quality of both eggs and s***m, and too much sugar can lead to both insulin resistance/weight gain. If you’re having too much, we’ll work on strategies to cut down and improve diet quality. But we want a healthy relationship with all foods and realistic expectations ✅
💊 I will tell you take the supplements you need- and we base these off diet history, blood tests and medical history/conditions.
☕️ We do want to stick to 200mg caffeine per day or less. Thats about two mugs of instant coffee per day.

That’s generally speaking. As a Dietitian, the advice I give you individually will be highly personalised and evidence-based. Its all about what your body needs at this present moment in time based on your individual circumstances and conditions. 🤓

🥖 ما لم تكوني تعاني من مرض الداء البطني (وفي هذه الحالة يجب أن يكون طعامك خاليًا تمامًا من الغلوتين)، فلا يوجد دليل على أن الغلوتين له أي تأثير على الخصوبة.
🥛منتجات الألبان لا تؤثر سلبًا على الخصوبة - على العكس، فإن إعطاء الأولوية لمنتجات الألبان أثناء التخطيط للحمل أمر ضروري لتحسين الكالسيوم!
🍭 يمكن أن يؤثر السكر الزائد على جودة البويضات والحيوانات المنوية، ويمكن أن يؤدي الكثير من السكر إلى مقاومة الأنسولين / زيادة الوزن. إذا تحدثنا وكنت تتناولي الكثير، فسنعمل على وضع استراتيجيات لتقليل السكر وتحسين جودة النظام الغذائي. لكننا نريد علاقة صحية مع جميع الأطعمة وتوقعات واقعية ✅
💊 سأخبرك بتناول المكملات الغذائية التي تحتاجها أنت - ونستند في ذلك إلى نظامك الغذائي وفحوصات الدم والتاريخ الطبي.
☕️ نريد الالتزام بـ 200 مجم من الكافيين يوميًا أو أقل. أي حوالي ٣ إلى ٤ فناجين قهوة حلوة يوميًا.

هذا بشكل عام. كأخصائية تغذية، النصائح التي أقدمها تختلف من شخص إلى شخص- فردية للغاية ومستندة إلى الأدلة. كل ما يتعلق بما يحتاجه جسمك بناءً على ظروفك وأحوالك الفردية

عامٌ كامل، 52 أسبوعاً، 365 يوماً من قتل وتجويع النساء الحوامل، الأمهات، والأطفال. لا يوجد امتياز للاختيار بين حليب الأم أو الحليب الصناعي. لا يوجد امتياز لاختيار الذهاب إلى طبيب العائلة أو المستشفى عند المرض. لا يوجد امتياز لاختيار بين حفاضات القماش أو العادية، أو ما إذا كان ينبغي تطعيم الأطفال أو لا. كل هذه الأسئلة لا تطرح. الشيء الوحيد الذي يشغل التفكير هو "كيف أحافظ على حياتي وحياة طفلي؟"

تذكروا ، ما يختبره الجنين داخل رحم أمه وما يتلقاه من تغذية كطفل رضيع أو صغير سيؤثر على صحته طوال حياته، وعلى صحة أطفاله وأحفاده في المستقبل. التغذية السيئة أثناء الحمل تهدد حياة الأم والطفل على حد سواء. الأجيال القادمة من الذين يبقون على قيد الحياة يُقتلون أيضاً، حيث سيتم توارث الصدمات بين الأجيال وتأثير سوء التغذية.

🌿Boost your fertility with the right nutrients!🌿👇🏼بالعربي

Regular menstrual cycles, timely ovulation, successful fertilisation and implantation into a healthy uterine wall can ALL be impacted by what you eat!

✨Here’s why you want to be focusing on these 6 nutrients before conceiving:

🥬Folate: Essential for DNA synthesis and healthy egg development. It also supports early pregnancy and helps prevent neural tube defects!

🥩 Iron: Having low iron has been associated with unexplained infertility and suboptimal thyroid hormone levels! Optimising iron can reduce risk of miscarriage and anaemia in pregnancy 🤰🏻

☀️ Vitamin D: Important for hormone balance and immune health, both of which are key to conception.

🐟 Omega-3s: These healthy fats reduce inflammation and improve egg quality.

🦪 Zinc: Essential for an egg to fully mature before ovulation!

💊CoQ10: this powerful antioxidant preserves egg quality and protects against DNA damage!

📝 NOTE: while it’s important to prioritise these nutrients from our food, some nutrients such as Folate will also need to be supplemented ahead of a pregnancy! Every woman will have different requirements of these nutrients based on bloods/health conditions and past reproductive history (Best to get diet/any supplements tailored to your unique individual needs!)✨

For more, Follow .co, for fertility + pregnancy nutrition grounded in science! 🔍

🌱العوامل المؤثرة على نجاح الإنجاب و حدوث حمل//
في كثير من الأحيان نميل إلى تبسيط ما هو في الواقع نقطة معقدة في بداية خلق الإنسان (و معجزة إلاهيه) - و نعتقد الأمر بسيط، لا يحتاج سوى بويضة واحدة وحيوان منوي واحد فقط، أليس كذلك؟ لكننا ننسى أن (كل شيء حرفيًا) يجب أن يكون صحيحًا تمامًا حتى تنجح عملية الإنجاب و الحمل.

في حين أن بعض الأشياء لا يمكننا التحكم فيها - مثل انخفاض الخصوبة بشكل طبيعي مع تقدمنا ​​في العمر - إلا أنه يمكننا العمل على التأثير وتحسين العديد من العوامل التي تؤثر على الخصوبة والحمل!

إن إجراء تغييرات في نمط الحياة والتغذية يمكن أن يؤدي إلى:
🌟تحسين جودة وكمية الحيوانات المنوية
🌟 تحسين جودة البويضات (نعم حتى لو كانت كمية البويضات منخفضة!)
🌟استعادة التبويض وتنظيم الدورات
🌟 توازن الهرمونات وزيادة بطانة جدار الرحم (لزرع الجنين بنجاح!)

لذا تذكري إذا كنت تحاولي ان تنجبي، إن إجراء تغييرات في نمط الحياة والتغذية لتحسين #الخصوبة يستغرق وقتًا و دعم . إذا كنت بحاجة إلى المساعدة والدعم فيما يتعلق بالخصوبة والنظام الغذائي، يمكنك دائمًا إرسال رسالة مباشرة إليّ لمزيد من الدردشة! 🤓

#الحمل