Fiona McCulloch

MENSTRUATION ISN'T JUST ABOUT HAVING BABIES Your menstrual cycle is a vital sign, just like your pulse, temperature, respiration rate, and blood pressure. And it provides you with essential information about your health.The Fifth Vital Sign: Master Your Cycles and Optimize Your Fertility brings together over 1,000 meticulously researched scientific references in a textbook-quality guide to understanding your menstrual cycle. In this book you’ll learn:What a normal cycle looks like;The best way to chart your cycle and increase your fertility awareness;How best to manage critical aspects of your health, including better sleep, exercise and a healthier diet;Natural methods for managing period pain and PMS;How to successfully avoid pregnancy without the pill; andHow to plan ahead if you do want to get pregnant.The Fifth Vital Sign aims to better connect women with their menstrual cycles, to break the myth that ovulation is only important when you're ready to have a baby. READ THE FIFTH VITAL SIGN TO BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR HEALTH AND FERTILITY Whether children are a part of your future plans or not, your health matters. Start learning more now, and take control of your health. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lisa Hendrickson-Jack is a certified Fertility Awareness Educator and Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner. She teaches women to chart their menstrual cycles for natural birth control, conception, and overall health monitoring. In her work, Lisa draws heavily from the current scientific literature and presents an evidence-based approach to fertility awareness and menstrual cycle optimization.

Out of the 100 million women—almost 11 million in the United States alone—who are on the pill, roughly 60 percent take it for non-contraceptive reasons like painful periods, endometriosis, PCOS, and acne. While the birth control pill is widely prescribed as a quick-fix solution to a variety of women’s health conditions, taking it can also result in other more serious and dangerous health consequences. Did you know that women on the pill are more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant? That they are at significantly increased risk for autoimmune disease, heart attack, thyroid and adrenal disorders, and even breast and cervical cancer? That the pill can even cause vaginal dryness, unexplained hair loss, flagging libido, extreme fatigue, and chronic infection. As if women didn’t have enough to worry about, that little pill we’re taking to manage our symptoms is only making things worse. Jolene Brighten, ND, author of the groundbreaking new book BEYOND THE PILL, specializes in treating women’s hormone imbalances caused by the pill and shares her proven 30-day program designed to reverse the myriad of symptoms women experience every day—whether you choose to stay on the pill or not. The first book of its kind to target the birth control pill and the scientifically-proven symptoms associated with taking it, BEYOND THE PILL is an actionable plan for taking control, and will help readers: • Locate the root cause of their hormonal issues, like estrogen dominance, low testosterone, and low progesterone • Discover a pain-free, manageable period free of cramps, acne, stress, or PMS without the harmful side effects that come with the pill • Detox the liver, support the adrenals and thyroid, heal the gut, reverse metabolic mayhem, boost fertility, and enhance mood • Transition into a nutrition and supplement program, with more than 30 hormone-balancing recipes Featuring simple diet and lifestyle interventions, BEYOND THE PILL is the first step to reversing the risky side effects of the pill, finally finding hormonal health, and getting your badass self back.

Improve Your Nutrition for Optimal Fertility If you’re ready to embark on the incredible journey of motherhood, there's no time like the present to prepare your body for the most vital role it will ever play—the creation of new life. In Real Food for Fertility, we explore the power of nutrition to optimize your fertility and ensure a healthy start for your future child. Pregnancy demands an incredible amount from your body. Imagine your body as a bank account and pregnancy as a time of massive withdrawals from your nutrient reserves. To thrive during pregnancy and beyond, you must invest in your nutrient stores today. In Real Food for Fertility, we show how preconception nutrition and lifestyle choices not only support your health and vitality but also lay the essential groundwork for your baby’s development. From promoting optimal egg and sperm quality to regulating your menstrual cycle and reducing the risk of pregnancy complications, the benefits of this investment are priceless. Improving nutrient intake before you get pregnant has an even greater impact on pregnancy outcomes than just changing what you eat during pregnancy. But this book isn’t just about nutrition. We delve into topics like the menstrual cycle, fertility awareness, birth control, stress management, toxins, artificial reproductive technology, and the most common reproductive health challenges affecting your fertility. Let Real Food for Fertility be your roadmap and trusted companion as you take the first step toward building your family. In a world where more couples are facing fertility challenges, your nutrition and lifestyle choices can make all the difference.