Food Freedom and Fertility Podcast

On today’s episode of Food Freedom and Fertility Caitlin and Sophia help women trying to conceive find healthy alternatives while traveling. They will share helpful tips and tools they personally implemented during their own fertility journeys. It doesn’t matter how or where you are traveling there are healthier alternatives and today we dive in on what those are. Sleep plays a huge factor in your overall health and is important to consider when you are TTC. It is also important to remember to consider time zones when you are measuring your BBT. Caitlin and Sophia explain exactly how to do this so that you are compensating for the time change. They also give some great tips on how to create a premium sleep environment while traveling. When traveling sometimes finding a healthy place to eat is difficult. This episode will help guide you to the right choices you are faced with the golden arches or other fast food options. Hopefully this episode will arm you with the right information to help you make smart choices in any scenario. If you have the time and the ability to meal/snack prep for your trip Sophia and Caitlin give numerous ideas on which snacks (chilled and room temp) are the best choice for your fertility and your road trip cravings. Caitlin and Sophia want listeners to relax and let go of those anxieties around travelling while also trying to conceive. The best thing to take away from this episode is to prioritize protein, don't skip out on hydration, continue to eat colorful fruits and veggies where you can and enjoy your travel!  Travel can be a beautiful way to enjoy your life and your partner while you are trying to conceive.

This episode of Food Freedom and Fertility welcomes guest Cindy Dabrowska is a registered dietitian, Master of Applied Nutrition, endowarrior and founder of "The Supportive Endo RD". Her passion comes from supporting endo warriors - who much like herself, have said “enough is enough” to debilitating, life-altering symptoms of endometriosis. Cindy has been blessed to support countless women in her nutrition counseling practice through a functional medicine root cause approach to endometriosis. As a registered dietitian and endowarrior, Cindy prides herself on being an ally to, and a resource for, the endometriosis community. Cindy and Caitlin will be discussing endometriosis which is when tissue similar to the inner lining of the uterus, also known as the endometrium, is found outside its normal location, where the tissue should not be. 1 in 9 women are known to have endometriosis, however there is not a lot of discussion on the topic. Cindy and Caitlin this week will go into more detail about endometriosis. They will discuss exactly what is endometriosis, when women could start to see signs of it, how it affects your body and your fertility.  There is a common presentation of endometriosis but this isn’t always the case. Learn the other impacts of endometriosis can have on your body that aren’t the typical symptoms.  Cindy and Caitlin discuss the options for women with endometriosis and how they can alleviate the severity of their symptoms. If you would like more information on Endometriosis or Cindy’s programs you can find her at the links below.   Instagram: endo.fertility.dietitian Website: https://endometriosisdietitian.ca

On this episode of Food, Freedom and Fertility our hosts Caitlin Johnson and Sophia Pavia welcome Dr. Loree Johnson. Dr. Lori Johnson has been a guest on the podcast before to discuss her career as an online psychotherapist and therapeutic coach based in Los Angeles. She specializes in women’s mental health, reproductive health, and couples’ therapy while helping clients heal from the trauma of infertility. Today Dr. Johnson joins as a guest to discuss her personal fertility journey. Her own journey has forced her to face challenges she never thought she would encounter and to make sense of things like: unexplained infertility, advanced maternal age, and recurrent pregnancy loss.   This episode shares the experience of a professional that has made a career out of supporting couples who are struggling through unexpected fertility challenges, but also from the perspective of someone has experienced it personally as well. If you would like more information about Dr. Loree Johnson and her practice please visit:  https://drloreejohnson.com or on Instagram drloreejohnson. You can also learn about her courses offered here: https://courses.drloreejohnson.com/products/courses/view/1087745   The charity event mentioned by Sophia:   https://brittliveson.com/

On this episode of Food Freedom and Fertility Caitlin Johnson and Sophia Pavia have guest Dr. Naomi Whittaker, an OBGYN fertility surgeon focused on women's restorative reproductive medicine, compassionate healthcare, and education. This episode dives in the difference between NaPro vs. IVF for infertility. For those of you unfamiliar with NaPro, NaProTECHNOLOGY  refers to Natural Procreative Technology, an approach to understanding women’s reproductive health and regulating fertility by identifying and treating the underlying causes of problems—not simply placing a Band-Aid on them. Instead of treating symptoms, NaPro TECHNOLOGY uses natural methods and restorative surgery to treat diseases. It also pairs with the Creighton Model FertilityCare™ System, which actively engages a woman to track and manage her fertility.   Dr. Whittaker is a board certified OBGYN and a fellowship trained surgeon who specializes in the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaProTechnology, which works cooperatively with a woman's body to treat the underlying cause of gynecologic issues and infertility, such as endometriosis and PCOS. She helps women improve their gynecologic health, and avoid/achieve pregnancy in accordance with their natural fertility using the latest research, medicine, and surgery. If you would like more information on NaPro please go to www.fertilitycare.org to find a practitioner. There are a couple of groups on Facebook as well: Fertility Care Creighton & NaPro User Support Group and Creighton Model/ NaPro Technology Infertility Support. You can also reach out to Dr. Whittaker via her website https://byitsfruit.org.  

On this episode of Food Freedom and Fertility Caitlin Johnson and Sophia Pavia discuss the details of exactly how to determine egg quality, the cycle of the egg, supplements helpful to the quality and other daily tips that could improve the quality of your eggs. Sophia and Caitlin start at the beginning and explain exactly when women develop eggs and how they mature over your life. As many of you listening to this podcast are on your own fertility journey they also explain the importance of not being focused on having all wonderful eggs, in fact it is completely normal to NOT have all perfectly wonderful eggs. Even if you are ovulating regularly not all of the eggs released are viable for pregnancy and that is OK. The top supplements of our hosts are: Ubiquinol Melatonin Inositol Glutathione Vitamin E Vitamin D Magnesium Alpha lipoid acid R Alpha lipoid acid Myo-inositol The final piece of information is what you can do in lieu of supplements. Both Caitlin and Sophia agree that a fertility friendly diet consisting of full fat dairy, fresh eggs, chicken thighs and other fats in addition to eating a vast variety vegetables and fruits in many different colors with the nuts and seeds would be a wonderful lifestyle change to help the quality of your eggs. The other insider tip they suggest, which may be the most difficult is to get blue light  (tv, phones, tablets) out of your life 2 hours before bedtime.

It’s the one-year anniversary of the Food Freedom and Fertility podcast! Join Caitlin and Sophia for a year in the life of the podcast. They discuss some favorite podcast episodes, topics and guests. The goal of this podcast has always been to help listeners navigate the world of nutrition and fertility. Sophia and Caitlin are guided by what listeners need and want to help their fertility journey. As hosts Caitlin and Sophia offer a unique perspective since both have experienced the road to conception. Food Freedom and Fertility was born in Caitlin’s kitchen when she was chatting with Sophia and Caitlin’s mom said how informative and fun their banter was. After a long process of website creation, episode recording and life in general the podcast went live on July 4th 2020. Both Caitlin and Sophia’s personal businesses have flourished since virtual appointments became popular during 2020. They have created online courses and support groups that has made it possible for them to reach so many more people. The women agree that their greatest delight is that they can help you and your fertility journey. Be sure to listen to the end as Sophia and Caitlin are offering an amazing giveaway opportunity to their listeners. Caitlin and Sophia are moving in to this 2nd year of the podcast propelled by what you need and plan to bring more exciting and fun stuff your way.

During this episode of Food Freedom and Fertility, hosts Sophia Pavia and Caitlin Johnson discuss details and important information regarding ovulation. As fertility specialists, Sophia and Caitlin receive tons of questions on ovulation. Today they will touch on the most common questions they receive about the subject.  Our hosts will cover topics like: what is ovulation, ovulation timelines, ways to learn your body’s basic ovulation signals. The 3 big ovulation signs are: Cervical mucus (this being the most reliable) Cervical position Basal body temperature The goal for this episode is to discuss the most common questions regarding ovulation and hopefully helps you understand a few things: Are you ovulating? When are you ovulating? How can you predict ovulation? How can you time intercourse well around ovulation?   For more detailed information on ovulation please check out Sophia and Caitlin’s websites for online course information.   Sophia Pavia’s Website Caitlin Johnson’s Website

This week Sophia and Caitlin do an entire podcast on all of their favorite items! The will share with you their favorite kitchen items, bath products, supplements, period tracking apps and much more!  Here are the links to all of the items discussed on this episode! Kitchen Things - All of these are on Caitlin’s Amazon Store Pour Over Coffee with metal mesh Tea cup with loose leaf tea insert:  Instant Pot Zester Good blender or food processor Cast Iron Skillet   Butcher Box Organic grass feed meat directly to your door!   Personal Care Products Pixie Cup - Menstrual Cup Diva Cup Primally Pure - Caitlin’s favorite clean deodorant. Can use code PCOSFN10 to get 10% off.  Annmarie Skin Care  Supplements These are available through Fullscript Caitlin’s Supplement dispensary - where you can get 10% off products and free shipping on orders over $49. Myo-Inositol Brands: Protocol for Life Balance - ¾ tsp twice daily is 4.5 gm dose and will make the bottle last 2.5 months.  Testoquench for Women by douglass labs Preconception tea by herblore -  Tracking App read your body - like that it visualizes the cm change with color kind of like kindara, allows for extra notes and syncs with tempdrop.    

On this episode of Food Freedom and Fertility, Caitlin Johnson and Sophia Pavia get the male perspective on the infertility journey when Caitlin's husband, BJ joins them. The conversation starts with the discussion of what it is like to share your personal journey with a potential life partner and how it is received. They dive into a variety of emotions and scenarios from the view point of a male partner. Join BJ and our hosts as the explore the journey from start to present, this would be a great episode to share with your partner. 

In today’s episode of Food Freedom and Fertility Sophia and Caitlin have guest, Pam Caldwell of Herb Lore. Pam Caldwell is a Certified Herbalist, Fertility, Pregnancy, Birth, Postpartum & Lactation Specialist, Ordained Minister, Angel Therapy Practitioner, Certified Intuitive, Certified Professional Spiritual Teacher, and Reiki Master. She's been in professional practice since 1996, and is one of the few herbalist in the country who's specially trained and is expert in these areas.   Pam is midwifery and lactation trained and has created a line of organic herbal products for pregnant women trying to conceive women breastfeeding women, as well as organic herbal products for immune system health, sleep, relaxation, anxiety, stress and depression for the whole family. As she's very particular about quality and freshness.   During this episode we will discuss the variety of products that Pam’s company Herb Lore provides, the benefits and helpful properties for those trying to conceive, those currently pregnant and post-partum care. We will breakdown the different types of products, the way they are taken, and the benefits.   Sophia and Caitlin are huge fans of Pam Caldwell and Herb Lore and also share their personal experiences with her products and other herbs on the market.   Be sure to visit www.HERBLORE.com to learn more about the helpful herbs during your fertility journey.