This interesting study looked at cruciferous vegetables (specifically cabbage and Brussell sprouts) to see if they had any estrogenic activity. Basically they found that low doses of cruciferous vegetables can help block estrogen induced tumor activity, however, high doses actually induced tumor growth … so once again research agrees with the age old wisdom of Chinese Medicine.
 
J Agric Food Chem. 2000 Oct;48(10):4628-34

Endometriosis can be a debilitating condition for some women. Curcumin is a component of several Chinese herbs that have been traditionally used to treat endometriosis. It is also found in high amounts in curry. Researchers recently began to look at this in controlled settings and found that curcumin both helped prevent endometriosis from spreading AND helped actually eliminate it (induced apoptosis). So if you suffer from endometriosis, consider adding curry to your diet and seeing your local Chinese or Ayurvedic herbalist.  
Fertility and Sterility, Volume 88, Supplement 1, September 2007, Pages S204-S205

A recent review found that “acupuncture exerts long-lasting beneficial effects on metabolic and endocrine systems and ovulation [in PCOS patients]”.
 
J Neuroendocrinol. 2007 Nov 28 [Epub ahead of print]
 
Note: our clinical experience confirms this. We have found that Chinese Medicine can help most cases of ovulatory problems (PCOS or otherwise). We have had a number of cases of women who either had never had a confirmed ovulation or only ovulated with Clomid, that were able to ovulate on their own within 3 - 6 months of treatment with acupuncture and herbs. Chinese Medicine should be considered as a first line of therapy for anovulation in our opinion.

If you were a female gymnast back in the day or a tabla player, chances are you have been well exposed to talc. Turns out talc can increase the risk of ovarian cancer … thats the bad news. The good news is that pycnogenol was recently shown to prevent chemical induced carcinogenesis of the ovaries. So this is another tool for prevention of ovarian cancer and to help preserve the DNA integrity of the ovaries.
 
Phytother Res. 2007 Jun;21(6):579-86

A recent study identified a compound in chrysanthemum that seems to help block angiogenesis and therefore can help prevent tumors from spreading. The flower is commonly steeped and combined with lycium berries for a tasty tea that is also very good for your eyes.
 
Phytother Res. 2007 Oct;21(10):954-9

This is an older study, but very important. We have more and more people taking male fertility supplements, most of them high in zinc. Yes, zinc will help your sperm quality if you need it. In other words, if you are deficient in zinc it will be beneficial. If your zinc levels are normal, then you may actually damage your sperm. In this study they found that elevated levels of zinc in seminal plasma may be related with defective motility. In other words, unless you have certain physical signs of a nutrient deficiency, you should get tested before deciding which supplements are appropriate for you.
  
Andrologia. 1990 May-Jun;22(3):279-83

New research may explain the mechanism by which a ketogenic diet (such as the Atkins diet) is able to control epilepsy in about half of epileptics. In this study, researchers found that leptin administered directly to the brain or nasal epithelium significantly inhibited seizures. The authors concluded that leptin-triggered signaling may be a key to how a ketogenic diet combats epilepsy.
  
J Clin Invest. Published online 2007 December 20.

Cinnamon bark was found to have antiviral effects against herpes simplex 1. Not entirely intuitive but seems to work, at least in silk worms …
  
J Gen Virol. 2008 Jan;89(Pt 1):188-94

This study found that gold nanoparticles greatly reduced sperm motility. This will become a bigger deal as new nanotechnology becomes more popular. It also may be relevant to gold that is introduced into the body in terms of fillings, etc.
   
Reported in Fertility & Sterility ahead of press in December 2007

Believe it or not, a component of chocolate may inhibit angiogenesis (blood vessel formation) in human ovarian cancer cells. Cancers use this blood vessel formation so they can spread (metastasize). So chocolate may help prevent metastasis … the problem is the sugar in sweetened chocolate may feed some tumors …
   
Oncol Rep. 2000 Nov-Dec;7(6):1285-91.