Fertility Boosters

                                 Want to get pregnant, start by getting healthy

 

If your one of the millions of Canadian couples trying or thinking about conceiving a child, getting pregnant can be one of the most pleasurable and frustrating things in life.

Below you will find suggestions on how to make the process a little easier to achieve for you and your partner.  Although your partner may want to take his time and enjoy each session as an individual and pleasurable experience, we think you’ll find the suggestions will help you through the decision of trying to become a parent easier to deal with.

Shedding the extra pounds that you have worked so hard on adding to your frame is one step on the road to increased fertility.  Quitting smoking increases lung capacity and air flow and increases blood flow to the important parts of the male and female anatomy.  Just as reducing alcohol consumption to less than eight drinks a week and cutting back on caffeine can all help increase a couples chances of conceiving say reproductive endocrinologists and infertility experts.

Here’s the latest research on fertility boosters:

Spread natural peanut butter on the bagel you get at Tim Horton’s.  A Harvard school of public health study determined that women whose lifestyle includes a diet with fewer trans-fats and more mono-unsaturated fats, vegetable proteins, multivitamins and iron were most likely to conceive.  The study also corroborated that being overweight or obese can significantly hamper conception.

Think about the benefits of acupuncture.  Acupuncture raised the likelihood of conception by 65 percent for women undergoing embryo transfer via in vitro fertilization, according to a recent University of Maryland review of seven clinical trials involving 1,366 women.  While this research is preliminary, it’s something to consider as a complement to other healthy fertility choices.  Do research to locate a qualified, well trained acupuncturist who sterilizes his or her needles (to avoid diseases associated with needles, such as hepatitis C and HIV).

Toss a salad.  A small Spanish study found that men who are more fruits and vegetables and fewer meat and dairy products improved their sperm quality and count.  This has been supported by other research that indicates antioxidant-rich produce also has natural benefits that help increase sperm count.

Ticked Off

 

                                                         Lyme disease on the rise in Canada

 

If not diagnosed and left untreated, the symptoms of Lyme disease will progress from flu-like lethargy to severe heart and neurological damage.  If treated with antibiotics, the normal prescription for Lyme disease, this disease is treatable with modern techniques, but many times this debilitating disease is misdiagnosed as something else and left untreated, in which case the complications associated with Lyme disease increase.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) usually records less than 60 cases a year of Lyme disease in a country with upwards of 30 million souls, but acknowledged in a 2008 report on Lyme disease in Canada that a large percentage of cases of Lyme disease probably go unreported or are mistakenly recorded as something else.  The British Columbia based Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation argues that the real figure is more like 2,000 cases of Lyme disease each year, which they base in part on statistics from the U.S. that show cases in the United States have doubled in number since 1991 to more than 20,000 a year.  The PHAC is currently working with the provinces and Canadian government to require doctors to make a report of all cases of Lyme disease they treat each year.

The Lyme causing bacteria (Borrelia burgdoferi) are transmitted primarily by two species: the blacklegged tick, which are most prevalent in parts of Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia, but their range has been reported lately by ecologists to be increasing and they can currently be found across the geological regions of Canada.

Prevention is the best cure for most diseases and Lyme disease is no different.  To help, wear long sleeved shirts and tuck pants into socks when in blacklegged tick infected areas, and use DEET-based insect repellent – containing up to 30 percent DEET for adults; 10 percent for children six months to 12 years of age;  and don’t give infants under six months any as it can cause additional medical concerns.

Vasogen’s Heart Stops

Mississauga, Ontario – Rumours that Toronto-based Vasogen Incorporated’s new Celacade treatment for heart failure, also referred to as Acclaim II, is a failed drug and that clinical trials for their new product has reached the failure stage, apparently its new Celacade system has suffered a striking reversal of study requirements that are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has apparently started the rumour mill spinning at breakneck speed today about the possible closure of the firm and the total loss of 125 high paid employees of the troubled firm.

This comes directly after the company announced it was cutting 85 percent of its current workforce and seeking alternatives to save cash because of the recent announcement of the failure of their Celacade System, but that about 15 employees would remain after the restructuring move.

We were able to contact representatives of Vasogen, who wished to stay unnamed, for comment about the current situation.  Vasogen officials stated that the company needs to restructure to find about 3 million for planned restructuring in the second half of the year, thus the cost cutting actions to allow them to achieve their goals to allow the company to stay afloat.  They stated that they would be discontinuing operational and financial support for European commercialization and exploring alternates for their cash strapped European marketing partner, Grupo Ferrer.

In conclusion, bringing a new drug onto the marketplace is a time consuming and expensive adventure for most pharmaceutical companies, the hoops they need to jump through, the years of trials, often mean in the end the product never makes it to market.  If Vasogen’s new Celacade System works and can provide sufferers of ailments with treatments that will help alleviate the symptoms and effects of their afflictions, then eventually it will get approved, but time will tell.