Decrease Heartburn With Your Diet

Heartburn does not just affect those who are high stressed or love their spicy foods. Pregnant women suffer from heartburn too. You may find as your pregnancy progresses you experience more and more heartburn. However, there are changes you can make in your pregnancy diet to decrease the amount of heartburn you have.

Heartburn happens when the acid from your stomach leaks up into the esophagus. Heartburn is very common during pregnancy. In fact, one in four women experience heartburn during their pregnancy usually during the third trimester. During the third trimester your baby has grown a tremendous amount and your uterus has moved up and is now putting pressure on your stomach. This crowds the digestive tract and allows acids to travel back up the esophagus.

There are ways you can help prevent heartburn during pregnancy. You can start by taking your time while you eat, eat mindfully and chew thoroughly. Not only will you enjoy your food more but your stomach will not have to work as hard to digest your food. You also want to try eating early and eat at least two hours before you go to bed at night so your body has plenty of time to digest your food.

Keep your meals small. Stick with eating six small meals through out the day. Large meals fill your stomach, which adds more pressure and will increase the likelihood of heartburn. A full stomach makes it that more likely that some of the food along with stomach acid will make its way back up the esophagus.

Also, make sure you keep your fluids and solids separate. Too much fluid mixed with too much food can distend the stomach which can aggravate heartburn. You also want to eat sitting up. Don't eat while lying down, and if you are having a bed time snack make sure you are propped up by pillows.

Your weight plays a part in how much heartburn you may experience. The heavier you are, the more pressure you are placing on your esophageal sphincter. This is another reason why you should to stay within the recommended weight gain guidelines. Eating a healthy pregnancy diet can help you stay within this framework.

Be mindful of what you are eating, and you will be able to figure out what foods are causing your heartburn. Once you figure out what foods cause heartburn, you can cut them out of your pregnancy diet. Some foods you might want to steer clear of are highly seasoned spicy foods, soda, tomatoes sauce, chocolate, and some citrus. Greasy foods are also a big contributor to heartburn. Cutting out greasy, fried food is going to help with your heartburn prevention.

When all else fails, take something for your heartburn. Tums and Rolaids are perfectly safe to take during pregnancy. If you are not comfortable taking any over the counter medicines try some natural ways such as eating a handful of almonds. Almonds are a stomach settler and might help with your heartburn. Another natural remedy is a tablespoon of honey mixed with milk is a favorite for preventing heartburn. You can also try eating pickles.

Like with some pregnancy discomforts, heartburn is one that can be avoided as long as you take the steps and eat properly. Make sure to keep your pregnancy diet healthy and well rounded, filled with fresh fruits and vegetables and you will find you have less heartburn than you expected.

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Manage Your Pregnancy Weight Gain

Any obgyn will tell you that the recommended weight gain for pregnancy is 25-30 pounds. Some women will gain more, some will gain less. But how can you tell if you are gaining too fast during your pregnancy. Too much weight gain can increase your chances of a c section and put you at risk for being overweight after.

Some doctors say that if you put on more than 3 1/2 pounds in your first trimester and are of a normal weight you are putting weight on too fast. If you are overweight and put on more than 2 pounds, you are gaining too fast. Keep in mind though that even if you gain a lot in your first trimester, it doesn't necessarily mean you will gain a lot your whole pregnancy.

Some women gain a lot in the first trimester because morning sickness has them only able to eat carbs and nothing else and still end their pregnancy gaining no more than 25 pounds. If however you find that your weight gain is still not slowing down once you enter your second trimester, there are some tips you can try to help slow it down.

First, start using the principles of holistic nutrition. Change what you are putting in your body. If you are eating healthy foods in moderation your weight gain will slow. It is never a good idea to diet while you are pregnant so make sure you are eating whole foods filled with nutrients and not just empty calories. Apply some basic calorie cutting strategies such as using skim milk instead of whole milk, taking skin off your chicken and grilling or broil instead of frying or sauteing. You will also want to cut out most of your sweets. These are empty calories that are providing no nutritional value to you or your baby.

Next, cut down on the fat you are taking in. Look at what you are eating and how it may have hidden fat in it. Some salad dressings can be loaded with fat, so you might want to try putting your dressing on the side, or even try just using a little lemon juice instead of dressing. Watch how much oil you use when you are cooking or when you are going out to eat and stick to good oils such as extra virgin olive oil.

Get active! You could be gaining weight faster because you are not active. As long as your doctor gives you the go ahead, start a walking program. Walking is one of the best things you can do for your body and your baby. Not only does it help with your weight gain, but some women and doctors swear that walking through out most of your pregnancy could help ease the pains of childbirth. If you can not walk due to weather conditions you might want to look into joining a prenatal exercise class.

Lastly pay attention to what you are eating. Are you following the ideas of holistic nutrition? If not, you may find the food you are putting in your body, as well as the amount is leading to your weight gain. Stick with healthy whole foods and you will be right on track.

Even though you are pregnant, the old adage of eating for two really is not correct. You need to eat well balanced meals, follow a holistic nutrition plan, and make each mouthful count. Following these steps will help you keep your pregnancy weight gain well within the normal limits. It will also set you up to have healthy eating habits after the baby is born, which will help you take off the weight and teach your new child how to eat well.

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Learn the basic holistic nutrition principles at Natural Pregnancy Project. naturalpregnancyproject.com/holistic-nutrition-and-pregnancy/

Pregnancy Diet - Eat to Beat Fatigue

Ask any pregnant woman who is in her first or third trimester how they are feeling and the answer will almost always be "tired". One of the first clues that many women have that they may be expecting a visit from the stork is the fact that they find themselves droopy eyed in the middle of the day for no reason.

You may find that doing a simple task as walking around the block leaves your desperate for an afternoon nap. The energy you use to have is now faced with the challenge of growing a baby and your body is hard at work. You are also producing more blood, using more water and nutrients and have a higher heart rate and metabolism when you are pregnant. While the best defensive against the tiredness you will face is to get more sleep. There are also some healthy foods choices you can make that will help you get through your day if you do not have the opportunities to take naps.

First, adjust the size of your meals. Anyone who eats a large meal is going to feel tired afterwards regardless of if they are pregnant or not. Being pregnant is going to make the effect of a big meal that much worse. Most of your energy is going to be used towards digesting the meal so of course you will feel sluggish and drained. Eat smaller meals and eat more often. Eating six small meals a day will help you combat fatigue.

Eating a good breakfast is the best way to start your day. You are refueling your body after a long foodless night with a good breakfast. A good breakfast is not a cup of coffee and a piece of toast. You want to stick to complex carbs and protein. Two eggs and a bowl of fruit is a great way to start your day. These foods will stay with you and keep your blood sugar level as the morning goes on as well as keeping your energy up.

Do not skip lunch. There are many people who skip lunch thinking they will make up for it by having a big dinner. This is bad when you are not pregnant but it's even worse when you are pregnant. You need that midday meal to help refuel your body. As with your breakfast, you should keep it filled with whole grains and protein. Have a whole grain pita and stuff it with chicken salad and add a side of grapes or an apple. Skipping meals leads to dips in your blood sugar levels. You want to keep your blood sugar as even as you can throughout the whole day. This means providing the right kind of fuel to your body every few hours.

Plan to eat most of your calories during the day. A pregnant woman needs an extra 300 calories a day throughout their second and third trimester. The first trimester those are not needed yet. You should eat these extra calories through out the day in the form of healthy snacks such as nuts, cheese, veggies and dips like hummus. Do not save your biggest meal until the end of the day. Your body needs these calories to help you get through your day. Steer clear of the quick sugar fixes like candy and soda. In the end these will only make you more tired.

Lastly, make sure you are getting enough iron. Eat iron fortified food such as spinach and lean red meat to keep your energy up. There are times when extreme fatigue could be the symptom of an iron deficiency and you might need an iron supplement also.

Besides eating well, make sure you get plenty of rest even if this means pushing your bedtime up and giving up those late night TV talk shows. As any parents of newborns will tell you, get your rest while you still can.

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Learn more about a healthy pregnancy diet naturalpregnancyproject.com/pregnancy-diet-good-nutrition-is-key-to-a-healthy-pregnancy/

Eating Well Through Morning Sickness

There are a few women out there in this world who sail through their pregnancy without so much of glimpse of queasiness. The rest of us have no such luck. Chances are you are the type of women who the mere smell of what use to be your favorite food sends you running to the nearest toilet. The mere sight of steak can send you heaving and just thinking about eating that salad turns you greener than the romaine lettuce it contains. You probably curse the silly fool who named it "morning sickness" when all pregnant women know it is more like all day sickness.

There are different degrees of morning sickness. Each woman and each pregnancy is different. Some women may spend a lot of their first trimester hovering over the toilet, and finding they are averse to their favorite meats and vegetables, other women may only have a slight twinge of sickness. The good news is though, this is usually only temporary. Most women start feeling better between their 12th and 14th week of pregnancy. Even better news is that your baby is handling this much better than you are. As hard as it is to eat healthy during this period there are some things you can do to help ease your discomfort.

For starters, eat often. It has been shown that an empty stomach tends to make your morning sickness even worse. This is why so many of us feel so bad when we first wake up. We've had nothing in our system which means our stomach acids are going crazy since nothing is there to soak them up. The trick to this is to eat often. Try eating six mini meals a days and make sure you have plenty of snacks. Make sure you eat often in bed. Before you go to bed for the night have a snack that is high in protein and in carbs such as nuts and raisins, yogurt and bread or a cheese stick and crackers. Keep a stash of crackers or ginger cookies by your bed and make sure you have one before you even think about getting out of bed in the morning.

You will always want to eat mainly carbs and protein. Stick with crackers or fruit to give you some comfort during those first few months. Other good snacks are pretzels, saltines and whole grain toast. For fruits stick with melons and bananas. For your protein add a little cheese or some nuts to your snacks or any time you are feeling a little green. Yogurt is also an excellent choice when fighting morning sickness also.

Make sure you drink your water. If you are vomiting it is essential that you stay hydrated. Making sure you stay hydrated is probably more important that making sure you eat those first few months. Becoming dehydrated can cause a problem for you and your little one so make sure you drink at least 8 glasses of water or juice through out the day. You can also suck on ice chips or fruit juice popsicles if you are having problems keeping liquids down.

The most important thing to keep in mind those first three months is not to beat yourself up if you can not eat as healthy as you would like to. You will still have plenty of time to make up for it after you get through this storm. Just make smart choices when it comes to what you eat and snack on and that will pave the way for when you can eat as a normal person.

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Learn the building blocks of a healthy pregnancy diet.naturalpregnancyproject.com/pregnancy-diet-good-nutrition-is-key-to-a-healthy-pregnancy/