Viva la Vitex!

I picked up a bottle of Vitex at my local health food market yesterday and I took my first pill last night. I couldn't find any information online that says you should start it on CD1 or if you can start at anytime, but I figure that my cycle is already on the fritz--Seriously, my chart has officially gone insane! It now resembles a freaking heart monitor! WTF?

So Vitex it is! I've also been reading about soy isoflavones, which apparently acts like clomid and is a natural way to stimulate ovulation. You're supposed to take 50-100 mg a day for 4 days at the beginning of your cycle (CD3-7 and CD5-9 were two suggestions that I saw).

Supposedly it suppresses estrogen, which stimulates the brain to produce more FSH. When your ovaries start to produce follicles and they grow, estrogen production will pick up again. Soy Isoflavones work in much the same way as Clomid but it's a more natural approach. Apparently it doesn't work for everyone (neither does Clomid), but with thin, anovulatory women with elevated estrogen (aka me!) there's a pretty decent success rate. I guess you can buy it at lots of drugstores and even Wal-Mart, so it looks like I'll be spending a little more time in the vitamin aisle.

Also, while I'm on the topic of homeopathy, I thought I'd save this list of estrogen producing foods. I have to say that as a healthy eater, I'm really upset to see a lot of these foods on the list. I'll have to do some digging to see to what extent each of these effects your estrogen (and plant estrogen is different than animal estrogen, so it's effect isn't as great), but seriously? Chick peas, tomatoes, eggplant, carrots, garlic, EVOO, and peppers have a huge presence in my diet!

Foods Containing Natural Estrogens
Alfalfa
Animal flesh - I include this for your information, as I've already cut this out of my diet due to the hormones in it.
Apples
Carrots
Cherries
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) -WHAT? I can't imagine cutting hummus out of my life!
Cucumbers
Dairy Foods
Dates
Eggs
Eggplant
Flaxseeds
Garlic
Oats
Olive oil
Olives
Papaya
Parsley
Peas
Peppers
Plums
Pomegranates
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Red beans
Rice (relatively high)
Sesame seeds
Soybean sprouts
Soybeans
Split peas
Sunflower seeds
Tomatoes
Wheat
Yams


Estrogen Inhibiting Foods
If you are suffering from ovarian cysts and other situations that estrogen might exacerbate, the following estrogen inhibiting foods might be of interest to you. I've been shoveling in the Broccoli because I knew that it was good for high estrogen, but it's good to know there are more types on the list.

Berries
Broccoli
Buckwheat
Cabbage
Citrus
Corn
Figs
Fruits (except apples, cherries, dates, pomegranates)
Grapes
Green beans
Melons
Millet
Onions
Pears
Pineapples
Squashes
White rice