Fertility & figs

At the moment in the coastal town of Port Lincoln there are fig trees growing made with lush fruit on every corner. My friend and I may or may not happen to grab a bag full or two when walking the dogs in the morning.

I see figs as one of those special medicinal fruits - the trees only come to fruit for a few weeks each year and that's if you can get to the fruit before the birds do. In clinic when seeing patients my core treatment plan revolves around evidence based medicine and quality nutirtional advice and supplementation. However, during college we were also taught about Naturopathic Philosophy and the history of Herbal Medicine. Parts of Naturopathic Medicine are based on empirical evidence. By this I mean that some of what we suggest to patients is based on practices that are thousands of years old, handed down from elder to elder, community to community, tribe to tribe.

When setting up a pre-conception plan for a couple (and I say couple here because it truly is 50/50 both need to put in 100% effort) it is always imperative to look at the individuals sitting in front of me and what their lifestyle entails in order for me to tweak the plan to suit them and their situation. However, their is one humble fruit that I will always suggest that they incorporate into the diet if it is something that isn't already being consumed. This fruit is the humble fig - I get them to incorporate 1 fig every 2nd day. I say every 2nd day as figs are rather high in natural sugars and to alternate days with a low sugar fruit such as berries.

Many cultures around the world believe that the shape of the fig represents womanhood. They are also believed to have aphrodisiac qualities and represent fertility in both females and males. The whole fig is said to represent male genitalia and the fruit halved is said to represent female genitalia. Ancient elders believed that the milky white substance that drips from the fig when the stem is cut represents a specific "energy" that can be used medicinally to treat infertility and promote the healthy flow of breast milk.

Looking past the folklore figs do have beneficial nutritional value they contain calcium, iron, potassium and zinc, their mineral profile closely resembles that of breastmilk, they contain a high fibre content and are extremely alkalising. Figs also contain nice levels of Vitamin B6 which has been shown to be beneficial in alleviating morning sickness symptoms.

I highly recommend these sweet little fruits as an addition to any diet where conception is the end goal!

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