Natural Pregnancy Project

photo credit: ralphbijker

I’ve been reading a lot lately on food allergies, sensitivities, and even natural chemicals that are in some foods and how they affect our children’s behavior, as well as our own.

I was getting concerned with some of my little one’s behavior and was talking to a friend. She mentioned to me that it sounded like food, and not necessarily discipline. That’s where my research started. As with most things, it seems once I start doing a little research the more the subject comes up.

If you have had food sensitivities or food allergies it’s more likely your children will have similar interests, so it’s wise to find out what you can do while your pregnant and your children are young to decrease the likelihood of food allergies.

Here are some of the resources I have found.

Fed Up With Food Additives This site is very comprehensive and will give you tons of information on food allergies, food sensitivities, as well as sensitivities to naturally occurring chemicals in food.

The author of this site also has written a book called Fed Up . She is from Australia and I was only able to find it on Amazon. It is a very good book, especially if you are already experiencing issues with food sensitivities. It provides all the information on which foods contain which additives/chemicals, as well as an explanation of the elimination diet. She also provides quite a few recipes in the back with explanations of what chemicals/additives they do have. If you think your children are experiencing behavior related to food additives I highly recommend this book.

IF you decide the FAILSAFE diet is for you and your family she has also written a The Failsafe Cookbook to help you follow the Failsafe diet.

Today I was watching Good Morning America and saw an American mom who is battling some of the same issues. She is working on getting artificial food colorings taken out of American foods, and spearheading a movement to make our foods more natural.

Her website is very informative, and written in language Americans will easily understand. She provides a list of doctors who are helping her, including Dr. Sears. She provides many studies and informative articles, as well as an ongoing blog about the subject. This information starts with what moms can do while they’re pregnant to help prevent allergies in their children, and continues on to how to manage allergies in schools. Allergy Kids is a great website, and provides so much useful information for the new mom, and the moms dealing with this issue.

I’d love to hear what you think about the issue of food additives, colorings, and your experiences managing these issues in your children. Feel free to leave comments or join us on the forum!

Thank you for stopping by the Natural Pregnancy Project. This is an ongoing project so please subscribe to my RSS feed to keep up to date with all future research! Thanks for visiting!

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 photo credit: ladnlins

7 Reasons Why You Should Consider Eating Colorful Foods
By Francesca Durham

Our bodies are designed to be self-regulating, self-renewing life forms able to respond sensibly to our ever changing world. To maintain a healthy nutritional way of eating requires more nutrient-dense foods, and consuming a diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds provides that.

When you return to eating traditional and natural foods you restore your health. Remember eating in harmony with nature is the most important way we can care for our bodies at the very core.

The constant push and pull effect on your ‘body and soul’ through dieting (or using food as a means to feel in control) only confirms your uncertainty about life and your place in the world.

Foods are not only classified by their color energy, they are also organized by their nutritional effects, taste, temperature and actions of their properties and common healing qualities. The following list is of food categorized by color:

1. Red foods - Great source of protein

Red foods are a great source of protein, vitamins, and minerals such as Vitamin C, and beta-carotene.
Consider adding these red and black foods into your diet: strawberries, raspberries, cherries, tomatoes, watermelon, guava juice, red cabbage, beet root, radishes, red onions, chillies, red pepper, pink grapefruit, black beans, kidney beans, red meat, chicken, fish.

2. Orange foods – Detoxify Your body

Orange foods help detoxify the body and help you maintain good vision, bone and tooth development as well as healthy skin and hair. Consider adding these orange foods into your diet: apricots, peaches, oranges, mango, sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, squash, orange/yellow peppers.

3. Yellow foods - Generate power

Yellow foods generate power and when you lack energy in your diet it can lead to poor memory, lack of concentration, tension, irritability, digestive problems and a lack of proper nutrient absorption. Consider including these yellow foods for a healthy diet: lemon, bananas, grapefruits, rice, corn, rye and wheat, eggs, certain fish, fish oils and foods rich in fatty acids.

4. Green foods – Give you all day energy

Green foods contain the most powerful combination of nutrients in any grain, herb or food source. Powerful green foods are essential to maintain your energy all day long and will create a sense of well-being. Add to that your strengthened immune system, fewer food cravings and you’ll experience an optimum balance for total health. Consider adding these green foods into your diet: asparagus, watercress, spinach, broccoli, parsley, dill, romaine lettuce, zucchini, green peppers, green apples, pears, avocados, green grapes kiwi and limes.

5,6, & 7. Blue, Indigo, Violet Foods – Improve your circulation

The colors found in blue and purple foods are considered high in anti-cancer properties. Blue foods are helpful for the voice, and the organs and glands of the neck. Indigo and violet foods work in connection with the pineal and the pituitary glands. Blue foods also contain water-soluble vitamins that strengthen tiny blood vessels, which can help relieve swollen feet or ankles, and speed up the healing of bruises.

Blue, indigo and violet foods are particularly good with your evening meal specially if your meal was high in fat. Heavy meals like this cause the body to become sluggish and blood flow slows. Blue, indigo and violet foods contain nutrients that help to minimize this tendency and improve circulation after eating.

Consider adding these blue and indigo foods into your diet: blueberries, black currants, plums, concord grapes, purple cabbage, as well as, Vitamin E, kelp, iodine and seaweed products. These colored foods are particularly helpful for maintaining overall health if you have a consistent daily exercise routine.

Eating has different purposes and we need to have a flexible attitude to food. Sometimes it provides fuel for the body to keep our energy levels high and at other times it is a social activity or form of relaxation. Remember when your eating habits are pleasurable, it is a way to celebrate your life, your health and your self-worth in relation to the world and other people.

The powerful colors of food provides healing when necessary, and developing healthy eating habits is a worthwhile journey when you consider the benefits that colorful foods bring to your life.

ABOUT: Francesca Durham is a certified NLP life coach and personal development specialist focusing on women in transition. She offers various programs and services including Life Coaching through Colour helping women achieve balance and harmony in both their personal and professional lives. Her main website is http://www.FrancescaDurham.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Francesca_Durham
http://EzineArticles.com/?7-Reasons-Why-You-Should-Consider-Eating-Colorful-Foods&id=722170

[tags]color therapy, eating colorful foods, nutrition pregnancy[/tags]

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By Claude Fullinfaw

The medical world has for decades seen the importance of good nutrition during the various stages of pregnancy that a woman goes through. It has found that pregnancy places huge demands on the body as the unborn baby goes through huge spurts of growth in the first nine months of its development in the womb. Studies have shown that the pregnant mother needs more than adequate amounts of nutrients during this stage and even if the amounts of vitamins and trace elements were missing in lesser dosages it would seriously impact on the baby’s development. Studies have shown that small deficiencies of one nutrient such as omega 3, iron or vitamin B6 may affect the baby’s brain development seriously.

Pregnancy and vitamin supplements:

The major growth burst start in the second and sixth week of conception where we see huge development of the baby’s new organ system and the heart starts to beat at around the 4th week. For this to take place we see a huge growth in the cellular system of the new baby’s body and there is a massive demand for the proper nutrients in the form of vitamins, minerals and trace elements to be at hand to help with the building blocks needed for proper development.

For the cellular growth to take place, the baby’ s cells need adequate amounts of nutrition in the form of vitamins and minerals in the right ratios and balances for optimum growth to take place. During pregnancy and the lactating months following the pregnancy the young mother has huge demands placed on her body by the baby she is caring and her body is depleted of vital nutrients by this so called loving “parasite that has invaded her body.” It is prudent that the young mother to be looks after her nutrition as she is not only responsible for her health but that of the child she is carrying. Most prenatal vitamins for pregnant mothers seem to be inadequate with the amounts of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids they seem to have.

Young mothers-to-be must consult their physicians about what vitamins are safe for them. Unfortunately most physicians do not have a good in-depth knowledge of what is adequate and safe to take on the market. This is not their fault as nutrition does not play a huge part in the medical world. And this is unfortunate as studies are coming out that proves that nutrition is vital for cellular growth of the human body and we just cannot get the right amounts needed from our foods.

The importance of pre-pregnancy vitamins:

Women who are considering getting pregnant should start taking omega 3 fatty acids way before pregnancy to help the future development of the child they will carry to have proper brain development during pregnancy. This is important as the nervous system starts to develop immediately after conception and way before the woman even knows if she is pregnant.

Important vitamins such as omega 3 and folic acid has a positive effect on your health and that of the baby during pregnancy. By taking proper nutrition way before pregnancy you can almost guarantee that your pregnancy will have the proper nutrition for your baby’s growth. It is like you are taking an insurance policy out for your future family. Keep in mind that the brain development takes place well past birth and so you should be taking omega 3 fatty acids during the lactating months to ensure your baby is properly nutrient.

Supplementing with folic acid during pregnancy helps to reduce neural tube defects by 50%. In order to protect the baby from such defects you should consider daily supplementation with folic acid way before the pregnancy.

Too much vitamin A acetate may lead to birth defects. Take a multivitamins that is free from vitamin A but rather has beat-carotene which the body can break down to vitamin A as and when it needs it. It is the safer alternative. Optimal nutrition helps to give you and your baby years of good health and happiness.

Claude Fullinfaw provides more information on health and nutrition for men, women and children. You can benefits from his work at My Healthy Supplement

***** Jackie’s Note *******

I think what she says about doctor’s not knowing much about nutrition and supplements is true. I also think it’s really important to look at your vitamins and see what they have in them. I had a multi vitamin from a “nutritional supplement” company that I was thinking about taking during pregnancy ~ it was NOT touted as a prenatal, but it had like 4 times the amount of vitamin A I should have been taking. I looked at a different bottle of vitamins from a different company that WERE considered prenatal and the vitamin A level was almost as high in those.

I think in this super size society people think the same things about vitamins. You’re really getting your money’s worth if you get 100,000 IUs of something instead of just 10,000 which is actually recommended. Even though I don’t think doctor’s focus is on nutrition and supplementation run your supplement by them just to be sure. My original caregiver was aware of the vitamin A issue and told me not to take the one I was planning on taking.

He offered me samples of different prenatals he had in the office.

Did you take prenatal vitamins? Do you think they are necessary? Do you think a natural pregnancy includes prenatals or just a solid healthy diet? I’d like to hear what you think, leave me a comment or stop by the Natural pregnancy and childbirth forum and let’s talk about it.

[tags]prenatal vitamins, supplementation during pregnancy, pre pregnancy vitamins, folic acid pregnancy, vitamin a during pregnancy[/tags]

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