Naturopathic Approaches to Infertility
The medical approach to infertility is a challenge for doctors and patients. Drug therapies pose risks, and in vitro fertilization is expensive and difficult. Naturopathic approaches to infertility are largely ignored in medicine but without good reason. Amy Terlisner, NMD, and Jaclyn Chasse, ND, explore this fascinating and important topic: Terlisner’s article is titled “Sperm Meets Egg: An Initial Fertility Checklist,” while Chasse writes about “Integrative Approaches to Infertility for Women.” Terlisner emphasizes the need to determine if the women is suffering with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and has insulin resistance. If there is insulin resistance, Terlisner recommends dietary management with reduction of carbohydrates, increasing exercise, and nutrients helpful in improving insulin resistance. Chasse agrees that general lifestyle management is greatly helpful in improving fertility – addressing obesity, eating a Mediterranean diet, managing stress, and using adequate supplementation to support ovulation and sperm functioning. Chasse thinks that hormone supplementation with melatonin and DHEA may be necessary to improve ovarian functioning.
Sara Wood, ND, wonders if the insulin resistance and elevated androgens in PCOS have a “chicken and egg” relationship – which comes first? Wood argues that one cannot dismiss the diagnosis of PCOS in a patient simply because she is not obese. Lise Alschuler, ND, updates us on an integrative approach to breast cancer. She comments that thermography should not be used as a “stand-alone” evaluation for breast pathology. Her recommendations for naturopathic support include black cohosh, indole-3-carbinol, melatonin, mushrooms, and vitamin D. Tori Hudson, ND, offers us two remarkable pieces in this issue. First she does a 2012 review, then she has put together her list of the “Top Five Herbs in Women’s Health.” Many readers were intrigued with Dr. Jacob Schor’s provocative article in the January issue, calling into question the theory of 2/16 estrogen metabolite ratios. In this issue, Jonathan Wright, MD, and Thomas Klug, PhD, respond to Dr. Schor’s article, arguing that there is good science justifying continued testing of estrogen metabolites.
Jonathan Collin, MD
-
-
-
Jonathan Collin, MD, recently retired, published the Townsend Letter for 40+ years, contributing content regularly, as well as deciding the content and order of every single issue ever published. In addition to his work on the Townsend Letter, Dr. Collin also had a successful private medical practice, seeing patients in two different offices, before he even started the Townsend Letter. The crossover of being able to use his real-life experiences to help guide the focus in the magazine, in addition to being able to use the knowledge gleaned from the countless articles he read, served in both the long term and the short term, to help improve the lives and health of unknown numbers of patients and readers, over the decades. This knowledge and insight also helped make the Townsend Letter a magazine that was mailed out to subscribers in more than 25 different countries, helping spread knowledge, wisdom, and overall health around the globe.
View all posts
-
Jonathan V. Wright, MD (ND, hon) is the Medical Director of Tahoma Clinic, where he also practices medicine. A Harvard University (A.B. 1965) and University of Michigan graduate (M.D. 1969), he continues to be a forerunner in research and application of natural treatments for healthy aging and illness. Along with Alan Gaby, MD, he has since 1976 accumulated a file of over 50,000 research papers about diet, vitamins, minerals, botanicals, and other natural substances from which he has developed non-patent medicine (non-“drug”) treatments for health problems. Dr. Wright has taught natural biochemical medical treatments since 1983 to thousands of physicians in the USA, Europe, and Japan.
View all posts
-
-
-
Dr. Tori Hudson, Naturopathic Physician, graduated from the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in 1984 and has served the college in several capacities, including: Medical Director, Associate Academic Dean, and Academic Dean. She is currently a clinical adjunct professor at NUNM), Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, Bastyr University and the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. Dr Hudson has been in practice for 40 years, is the medical director of her clinic, “A Woman’s Time” in Portland, Oregon, co-owner and director of product research and education for VITANICA and the program director for the Institute of Women’s Health and Integrative Medicine. She is also the founder and co-director of NERC (Naturopathic Education and Research Consortium), a non-profit organization for accredited naturopathic residencies.
Dr. Hudson has been appointed as a faculty member of the Fellowship in Integrative Health and Medicine, Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine.
Dr. Hudson was awarded the 1990 President’s award from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians for her research in women’s health, the 1999 prestigious Naturopathic Physician of the Year award, the 2003 NUNM Alumni Pioneer Award., the 2009 Natural Products Association Pioneer Award and in 2012 was inducted into the NUNM Hall of Fame. In 2016, she was the recipient of the annual Oregon Association of Naturopathic Physician’s “Living Legends” award.
In 2021 she received the 2020 American Botanical Council’s prestigious Fredi Kronenberg Excellence in Research and Education in Botanicals in Women’s Health Award for 2020.
She is a nationally recognized author (book: Women’s Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine second edition, McGraw Hill 2008) and the Menopause Companion (2023), speaker, educator, researcher, and clinician. Dr. Hudson serves on several editorial boards, advisory panels and as a consultant to the natural products industry. She also writes monthly columns and freelance articles for several publications.
www.drtorihudson.com
www.instituteofwomenshealth.com
www.awomanstime.com
www.vitanica.com
View all posts
0 Comments