What to eat when you are expecting?

Getting to be a mother is indeed a blissful feeling. The joy finds no bounds when you come to know that another life is inside you .Naturally you become doubly responsible to handle this particular phase carefully and confidently .You need to sail through the difficult period smoothly.

                                 What you eat can easily determine the wellness of your expecting period. Armed with this knowledge you can easily handle the usual complications of pregnancy like Obesity, Diabetes and hypertension nausea etc. So read on…

Go whole on cereals and pulses, millet:

 A regular intake complex carbs are very essential. It is ideal to have 60% of whole grains such as Millet like Ragi, Bajra, Jowar and  legumes such as Rajmah, Chick Peas etc. along with usual Whole wheat Rotis, cooked rice ,dals  etc. They also give you the daily dose of B-vitamins, fibre along with the extra calories for the healthy development of foetus. The fibre helps greatly in keeping   your sugar levels under control and prevents Constipation, a common problem in expecting women.

 Be generous on Milk and Milk products:

 For healthy bone development of the foetus and to prepare the body for milk production for future lactating period, be generous on milk and milk products for they are the ultimate sources of high quality Calcium and Protein.

Never miss out on the bowl of vegetable salad:

A bowl of fresh vegetable salad can do more than one good to you. They form a cool healthy snack giving a great amount of fibre, vitamins and minerals. Also adds to the nutrient density of your meals. The fibre helps in fighting any digestion problems during the gestational period.

  

Have small and frequent meals to avoid Nausea:

Never have large meals which can cause a lot of heaviness and strain on your digestion and abdomen. You could have small meals like splitting your lunch or dinner. Then do some smart snacking which are rich in fibre. This way you could very well fight your nausea away too. This is especially very useful who put on excessive weight during pregnancy and to deal with any acidity problems.

Good to go on ‘Sour’ foods:

During pregnancy the taste buds crave for the sour foods due to some physiological and hormonal changes. A good intake in the form of Citrus fruits and berries give a good amount of Vitamin C that can control  nausea ,prevailing in some women for all the 9 months.

Take the fruit route:

 Fruits, an important part of your daily diet can help in giving the very essential Folic acid and Vitamin C that help in strengthening the uterus and help in Iron absorption. This is very essential as the blood volume increases rapidly for to cope up with the demand of blood production for delivery and for the growth of baby itself. Folic acid also helps in averting neural defects in new-borns .

Go green:

The green leafy vegetables can provide a great deal of iron ,calcium and fibre  that can help a lot in satisfying the demands of Iron requirement and protect a lot of moms-to be  from Anemia.

 Add more of fish, eggs:

Cut down on meat and chicken based flesh foods. Add more Fish and eggs give the good form of fat, protein to prepare for your body to take on the more demanding motherhood. Good fat will keep any induced stress related increased cholesterol levels at bay.

Cut back on salt:

Toxemia is an abnormal condition of pregnancy characterized by hypertension and oedema and protein in the urine. Increased levels of sodium in your blood are responsible for this condition. It is not only the common salt that causes hypertension. Please take care of your intake of Baked foods, aerated drinks and processed foods also.

Handle sweet cravings smartly:

Craving for sweets is very common during pregnancy. If you are dealing with a weight issue then go for more of fruit juices, milk shakes ,dark chocolates, whole grain muffins  than eating high calorie ,sugar laden chocolates, fondant cakes/tarts etc. which can form an undue burden on already increasing weight.

 Do regular Yoga, Exercise:

Once you have successfully finished with the first trimester, it becomes very essential to kick start with your Yoga and exercise programmes. Breathing exercises are a must till the end of gestational period. However, always consult your gynecologists before starting your  physical  exercises to check on your current status of health.

Get holistic a little!

 Go spiritual and connect with god for a happy and safe delivery of the baby. Naturopathy says having warm Jeera water and hot Rice Kanji with a dash of ghee does help in easing out digestibility problems during the last trimester Be confident to embrace motherhood , happily!!

Get help from your husbands:

It is good to get some help from expecting fathers too. Have a chat with them to make them understand the responsibilities that are coming up in near future.This helps a lot to overcome the difficulties and pressures of motherhood in a great way.

Do not let your gut burn-Heartburns: Causes and control.

What are heart burns?:

When excess acids are produced in the stomach  for some reason or other they start leaking into oesophagus and throat regions leading to heartburns .In  normal digestion, the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) opens to allow food to pass into the stomach and closes to prevent food and acidic stomach juices from flowing back into the esophagus. 
Gastroesophageal reflux occurs when the LES is weak or relaxes inappropriately, allowing the stomach's contents to flow up into the esophagus. The acid flow can considerably disrupt the lives of the suffer by causing an irritating and uneasy feeling.This happens while they eat or drink and also affects their sleep badly.
The burning sensation can be which cn be mild/sporadic and severe or chronic heartburns are usually the symptoms of other diseases too that are related to stomach and gut like 

Peptic Ulcer,Gastritis and GERD. The severity of heartburn also depends on LES dysfunction as well as the type and amount of fluid brought up from the stomach and the neutralizing effect of saliva.

Who have them?

• Personality of certain people make them to susceptible to heartburns apart from above mentioned causes.
• People who are workaholic and stress-ridden are easily prone to the attacks.
• Most people have sporadic and mild attacks which are quick to correct and can be prevented .
• Some have chronic and severe attacks .In this case it is important to understand the root cause and prevent it right at the stage.
• Pregnant mothers commonly undergo this.It is normal.

Identify the condition earlier,it is better!

What are causes heartburns?

1. Not eating on time
2. Too much alcohol and smoking with irregular meal patterns
3. Large meals with less fluids
4. Lack of physical activity
5. Prolonged stress or tension
6. Junk food intake during the big meals times
7. Long courses of anti-biotics with relevant antacid courses.
8. Prolonged conditions of Insomnia.

What should you do to prevent heartburns?

• Eat proper 2 big meals and 2 small meals daily. Create time you will have great choices of food are available ,just search for them.Eat them.
• Take small and frequent meals. Always carry some ready foods like Bananas,apples or soft cookies handy if you are travelling.
• Daily exercises are a must even walking fro 30 minutes would do.
• Have lots of water a little more than what you usually have to ease out the bad feeling in the gut.
• Do quit your habits like alcohol and smoking immediately.Make a slow and a conscious change.
• A light walk after your dinner will be greatly helpful to avoid the nightmarish heartburns that disrupt your sleep.
• For severe cases of heartburns it is better to take help from antacid drugs.A course or two is greatly helpful till put your food style and lifestyle in place.
• Eat lots of fibre and specific fruits and vegetables are good in alleviating the symptoms.
• In case of severe heartburns stick to cooked and half—boiled foods and avoiding eating raw. Once the symptoms reduce you could eat any raw fruit and vegetable.
• Do Pranayama and meditation to release your stress.

Some home remedies are:

1. Keep some raw ginger juice and consume a tsp whenever you get the bouts.
2. Take a tsp of Jeera seeds with water that can ease out the digestion causing lesser acid secretion at a given time.
3. Also try eating an apple after big meals .The carbs in apple can ease the digestion.
4. Have lots of water intermittently between your meals
5. Aloe Vera juice and fennel tea also helps curing short term heartburns.

So take a chill pill and move on with right lifestyle and food style changes and do not let your gut burn…..