Health and Wellness

This guest post is from the nurses at Laurel Fertility Care, a local fertility practice with offices in Mill Valley, San Francisco, and Modesto. Visit them online at www.laurelfertility.com.

Throughout patients' fertility journeys, it can be easy to forget the other health practitioners who play a vital role helping patients reach their fertility dreams. At Laurel Fertility Care, one of the most important relationships occurs between the patient and nurse. Every visit to the doctor's office either starts or ends with a check-up with the nurse to ensure that the patient is nurtured emotionally, physically, and mentally. Below is a list compiled by nurses at Laurel Fertility Care of what they encourage patients to understand and think through before agreeing to any treatments.

1. Understand (and explore) your reproductive system. "Yes, this may sound like your fifth grade health class instructor," commented Laurel Fertility Care nurse May Pepito, "but honestly it is so helpful to know how an average female reproductive system works and how your reproductive system regularly functions. Understanding and educating yourself before going into your fertility doctor's office will save you time and money." For more information, visit WedMD's comprehensive page.
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This guest article is by Lisa Brent, ND, LAc. Lisa is a naturopathic doctor specializing in women’s health and integrative gynecology at the Owning Pink Center in Mill Valley, CA.

Are you in your early forties and doing everything right, yet gaining weight with every passing year? You aren’t alone. Ask any mom and chances are she will tell you that her metabolism has changed over time, and especially after pregnancy. While we are all guilty of snacking on goldfish scattered on the floors of our cars, most of us do try hard to eat well and get some kind of regular exercise. It is frustrating when these efforts do not produce the results they used to when we were younger.

What’s the root cause of this age 40+ weight gain?

There are two main reasons for this: stress and metabolic compromise. It is well known that metabolism changes over time. Around middle age, many women begin to slowly gain weight even though they have not changed their diet or exercise regimen.

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Get ready for back-to-school at any of Marin's Whole Foods Market locations. As part of Whole Foods' Project Healthy Lunch, you can stop by one of the stores and make a free healthy school lunch for your child.

Also check the Whole Foods Market website for some tasty-sounding and healthy back-to-school and kid-friendly recipes, like creamy cherry dip (pictured).

For more information on Project Healthy Lunch, contact each store directly: San Rafael (415) 451-6333, ; Mill Valley, (415) 381-3900; Novato, (415) 878-0455.

Here are the Project Healthy Lunch schedule and details:

I recently was searching the web for info about organic foods and recipes for my kids and came across an article that discusses the dangers of pesticides and how they can adversely affect people, especially during periods of fetal development and childhood when exposures can have long lasting effects. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested for pesticides on fruits and vegetables collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The EWG has categorized produce into either the "Dirty Dozen" or the "Clean Fifteen"—the twelve fruits and vegetables that you should always buy organic and the fifteen that are least affected by pesticides.

Some of the produce with the highest pesticide loads included staples like peaches, nectarines, apples, blueberries, potatoes, and bell peppers. Needless to say, you should always seek out the organic versions of these foods. Among those with the lowest pesticide loads were onions, avocados, pineapple, cabbage, watermelon, and sweet corn.

Are you a mom who has trouble getting enough sleep? You're not alone! In this guest article, Dr. Lisa Brent offers some facts about insomnia and what you can do to combat it and get the rest you need and deserve.

“Sleep when the baby sleeps” is advice many mothers receive when they bring a new baby home. This is a really great idea, but it is not always so easy to do. For many women, sleep does not come easily, even when they are completely exhausted by the daily (and nightly) demands of motherhood.

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Traveling with an infant or toddler can be a unique challenge, especially when getting them to sleep. Marin parent coach, infant/toddler sleep researcher, and family therapist Angelique Millette has complied the following list of handy tips for traveling with children.

Angelique works throughout the Bay Area and across the country supporting families and helping them meet life's challenges. You can learn more about her and her services at www.angeliquemillette.com.

It's the summer time and many parents have been calling with questions about traveling with their young ones. I've put together a list of tips and suggestions, many of them tried-and-true, by parents:

Summer usually means a lot of time spent outdoors—at the beach, by the pool, playing sports, or enjoying the outdoors—which invariably brings up the need for adequate sun protection. While the only sure-fire way for you and your family to avoid the sun's damaging rays is by covering up with shirts and hats and hanging out in the shade, that may not always be an option, so we need to resort to using sunscreen. What would summer be, after all, without the ritual of slathering up the children with gobs of UV-blocking goo?

While many sunscreens promise a lot to the consumer (especially those with SPF 50+ ratings), do they really deliver the protection the advertise? Fortunately, the Environmental Working Group's 2010 Sunscreen Guide is available to help sort the good sunscreens from those that won't help much.

With the recent surge in whooping cough cases, we asked local pediatrician and frequent Marin Mommies contributor Dr. Steven Martel to answer some questions our readers had about this potentially serious illness.

The re-emergence of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, has garnered much media attention due to the recent epidemic.

Pertussis is a highly contagious, vaccine preventable disease caused by a particular bacterium. The disease spreads via respiratory droplets which result from sneezing or coughing onto surfaces. The disease usually begins with symptoms that are similar to the common cold, particularly runny nose and fever. Over the course of 7–10 days the affected person develops a spasmodic, difficult to control cough which can make it hard to breathe. The infection’s characteristic “whoop” cough is responsible for its common name. However, the “whooping” sound is uncommon in infants. The cough usually lasts for about 6 weeks.