Painkillers are widely used to deal with this pain and a variety of non-drug approaches may also help. Weekly acupuncture has been shown to ease painful periods in 90% of women, with a 41% reduction in the use of painkillers. This approach may be attractive to women who want to handle their menstrual pain without medication, either because it is no longer effective or because of unacceptable side-effects. There is also evidence that lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking can reduce menstrual pain. Women treated non-surgically for painful periods report increased physical activity levels a year after starting treatment, but the majority are negative about the prospect of continuing on with their nonsurgical efforts at pain relief.

*31\198\4*

The  vitamins are water-soluble which means you lose them when passing urine.

Vitamin B6

Research has shown that giving B6 to women who have trouble conceiving increases their fertility. In one study a group of women who had stopped having periods because of a hormone imbalance were given vitamin B6 for three to four months. Some of the women started to have regular periods again.

And in another study, 12 out of 14 women who had been trying for up to seven years conceived after taking vitamin B6 daily over six months.

You should take up to 50mg a day.

Your partner should take up to 50mg a day.

Vitamin Â12

Vitamin B12 is vital for cellular reproduction and a number of studies have shown its potential for increasing male fertility.”6 In one study in the 1980s, men with low sperm counts were given vitamin B12 each day and over a quarter of them improved by more than five times.

You should take up to 50mg a day.

Your partner should take up to 50mg a day.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is another powerful antioxidant. Like selenium, it plays a protective role in the body and benefits both male and female fertility.

With some couples, the woman is ovulating so her tubes are not blocked, and the man is producing a good quantity of sperm, yet the sperm cannot penetrate the egg, so there is no fertilisation. This is obviously a major problem and, in cases of poor fertilisation, even where the sperm count is good, doctors may have to resort to ICSI.

However, an intriguing piece of research looked at men who had good sperm counts but low fertilisation rates during IVF treatments. These men were given vitamin E each day. One month after starting treatment, the fertilisation rate had increased from 19 per cent to 29 per cent. These findings suggest that the antioxidant activity of vitamin E may make sperm more fertile.

Like other antioxidants, vitamin E combats free radicals. (Linked to cancer, coronary heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis and premature ageing, free radicals speed up the ageing process by destroying healthy cells.) High levels of free radicals in semen can cause sub-fertility so it is important that any sperm problems are corrected by ensuring an adequate intake of antioxidants.

If you have been told you have unexplained infertility I would recommend that you and your partner take vitamin E supplements. And if you have had a miscarriage you should take a vitamin E supplement because it prevents abnormal clotting.

One study, published in 1960, showed that giving vitamin E to both partners resulted in a significant increase in fertility.120

If you are over 35, and have been told that your fertility problems are caused by your age, then you are also likely to benefit from taking vitamin E. Studies show that adding antioxidants, such as vitamin Ñ and vitamin E, to an animal’s diet significantly reduces age-related ovulation decline. Another study concluded that ‘these findings may have direct implications for preventing or delaying maternal-age-associated infertility in humans’.

You should take 300-400 IU a day.

Your partner should take 300-400 IU a day.

*49/73/5*