About this episode
I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was about fourteen... My periods were heavy and irregular... The doctor put me on the Pill at fourteen... I was about 27 when I stopped taking the Pill. - Alison Fertility is an indication of peak health - a healthy human should be fertile for as long as possible. This indicates optimal endocrine, metabolic and nervous system functioning, as well as adequate-to-optimal nourishment. In our modern-day thinking, we have reduced fertility to simply something you look at when you want to get pregnant , and we casually ignore warning signs from our body when our fertility, metabolic and endocrine systems are crashing. In this episode, we recount Alison's incredible fertility journey , what the doctors told her about her hopes of ever conceiving naturally, and what she found as a solution. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Get more news from Alison & Andrea by signing up to their newsletter at the top of the page here. For more tips, inspiration and recipes plus a free 30-page guide to Baking with Ancient Grains sign up for Alison's newsletter here! Get our two podcast cookbooks: Meals at the Ancestral Hearth Spelt Sourdough Every Day Alison's course, Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering The Basics Alison's Sowans oat fermentation course Get 10% off US/Canada Bokashi supplies: click here and use code AKP . Get 10% off UK Bokashi supplies. Visit our (non-Amazon!) bookshop for a vast selection of ancestral cookbooks: US link here and UK link here . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Our podcast is supported by a community of ancestral cooks around the world! Come join our community! You can choose to simply sponsor the podcast, or select from a variety of levels with benefits including monthly live Zoom calls, a private podcast feed stuffed with bonus content from Alison and Andrea, and a Discord discussion group. To read more about becoming a supporter and explore the various levels, click here! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Run Down: 21:19 Fertility - it isn't just relevant if you want to get pregnant! 25:00 Alison's Fertility Story 37:03 How long did it take to restore her cycle? 41:05 Gradual change 41:08 Traditional fertility foods 52:44 How do we incorporate these foods into our kitchen? 01:02:08 Other factors that affect fertility 01:09:08 Questions for the podcast * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 5* reviews on Apple Podcasts, mean the world to us! Here's how you can leave one: Open the Apple Podcast app Find Ancestral Kitchen Podcast in your library Scroll down to 'ratings and reviews' Click on 'write a review', give us 5*s and then tell us why you love listening in the box below * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Resources : Our booklists for the US! Our bookstore in the UK! "If you're reading a book and you don't like it, stop reading it." - Alison Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care Ningxia Affiliate Link Lexy's book recommendation for maintaining fertility later in life: New Menopausal Years by Susun Weed Weston A. Price Foundation Do you have memories, documents, recipes or stories of those who cooked ancestrally? If so, we would love to hear from you! Visit our website here for how to share. Thank you for listening - we'd love to connect more: The podcast has a website here! Alison is taking a break from Instagram. You can stay in touch with her via her newsletter at Ancestral Kitchen The podcast is on Instagram at Ancestral Kitchen Podcast The podcast is mixed and the music is written and recorded by Alison's husband, Rob. Find him here: Robert Michael Kay