All posts filed under: Pregnancy

Top 5 foods for Pregnancy (2)

Top 5 Skin Foods to Avoid Pregnancy Stretch Marks

Don’t we all want to be one of those lucky 10% of women that don’t get stretch marks during pregnancy? The reality is that most of us get at least some stretch marks while growing another human being under our skin. And if you think about it, it’s understandable given that our skin would not normally stretch at such a speed under normal circumstances. Stretch marks are there to be celebrated in a way, a mark that shows a woman’s incredible ability to grow and bring life into this world out of just two cells. But like those wrinkles that appear as we get older and wiser, stretch marks are generally not a welcome side effect of pregnancy. The real question is, how can we avoid pregnancy stretch marks? Did I hear everyone say – moisturizing? Yep, we all thought that. The truth is, moisturizing will help you deal with the common dry skin itchy feeling that you get around your growing belly. But, according to the research, no matter how much cream or oil …

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Christmas Party Survival Guide during Pregnancy

Christmas parties are not quite the same when you’re pregnant. These usually revolve around wine and cocktails, soft cheeses, meats, pates and smoked fish, all wonderful delicacies that will leave you feeling left out, and wondering if there’s anything that you can eat or drink at the party. Not only that, but if your colleagues still don’t know you are pregnant, they may be pretty certain that you are by the end of the party if you’re having to avoid everything. So let’s start with what you can eat, so you can relax a little and find things that you know are safe: CHEESE All those hard cheeses such as cheddar, goat’s cheddar, gouda, gruyere, gloucester, halloumi, lancashire, manchego, parmesan, pecorino, leicester, jarlsberg, are all fine to eat. Soft cheeses including mozzarella, mascarpone, feta, cream cheese, ricotta, quark, goats cheese without rind, roulade, cottage cheese are all safe as well. Brie & camembert are not safe to eat uncooked, but oven baked until piping hot they are absolutely fine. So if you have a say …

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Constipation in Pregnancy

Oh the joys of pregnancy! While you might not have expected to discuss any ‘toilet talk’ other than your baby’s nappies, constipation is an issue for many women during pregnancy, and often an embarrassing one to bring up. But why does it happen? Well, there are a few reasons, some of which you have zero control over (like hormones & the growing weight of your baby). But it’s not all bad news as there are lots of things you can do to ‘relieve’ yourself (you get me?). A yogurt a day keeps the toilet away… Okay, not exactly, but a lot of people think that eating yogurt a day alone will keep you regular. The truth is, that’s just the advertising trick to make you buy more of that yogurt. Natural yogurt does have live bacteria that can be beneficial to your gut, but that does not replace fibre. Dairy products actually do not contain any fibre. A question I ask all of you ladies that I see during your pregnancy that have constipation; do …

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Pregnancy Diet Do’s and Don’ts

Finding out you are pregnant is such an exciting, amazing, nerve-raking, scary, and emotional time, in addition to a whole range of other emotions. It comes with a huge sense of responsibility that what you eat/drink/do/experience is inevitably going to affect your baby (whether positive or negative). Your baby is 100% dependent on you for all of it’s nutrients to build his or her bones, organs, blood, skin (no pressure huh?!). That’s why it’s so important to make sure you eat healthily during pregnancy. Different countries and cultures have their own advice on what you should or should’t eat and drink, most of it pretty common sense and basic (such as alcohol and foods that might make you sick). To make things a little more confusing and add to your stress, advice changes from country to country. But don’t despair, I have made list for you considering all the different advice out there, so that you can have a bit more of a definitive list. Most importantly, I have included a range of foods that …

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Top 15 Tips to Relieve Nausea in Pregnancy

Morning sickness is what we all associate with  early pregnancy, and it seems that most pregnant women experience some form of nausea and/or  vomiting at some point during their pregnancy. It is called morning sickness because it typically affects women in the morning, however many still experience it throughout the day as well. Some are very unfortunate to develop hyperemesis gravidarum; a severe form of vomiting during pregnancy, though this is the minority. Nausea & vomiting usually starts around 6 weeks of pregnancy and continues up to 12-16 weeks, but can last longer in some cases. It is one of the most unpleasant side effects of pregnancy, and yet there is little out there that has been shown to be really effective. You may have heard about a drug called ‘Thalidomide’ that was given to pregnant women in the 1950’s to help relieve nausea and vomiting, but was later found to cause severe malformation of the limbs in their babies. Since then most women are very cautious when it comes to taking drugs for morning …

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Virgin Bellini

With the festive season in full swing, along come the Christmas parties, wine, cocktails, mulled cider, and all the things you can’t have. But just because you’re pregnant it doesn’t mean you need to stay on boring old water or cordial all night. It’s time to explore the ‘mocktail/virgin’ part of the menu. You might be pleasantly surprised  to find that you may not be able to tell much difference! And who doesn’t love a bellini? Lightly sparkling, it’s refreshing and feels like a celebratory drink. Plus, if you haven’t told anyone that you are pregnant yet, they’ll never know your not drinking. Originally an Italian drink made with white peach and prosecco, I’ve stuck to the traditional peach puree, but substituted the alcoholic prosecco for sparkling grape juice. It is a perfect drink for those of you who love a glass of bubbly, or if you are suffering with heartburn as it’s not overly acidic as most other cocktails. You can always try different fruits instead of the peach of course, such as strawberry, …

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Vitamin D for a Healthy Pregnancy

Vitamin D deficiency has been a hot topic in the media lately, and is associated with a whole range of maladies and health problems. But what’s all the fuss about? Vitamin D deficiency is more common than you might imagine. In a London antenatal population, vitamin D deficiency was found in 64% of Middle Eastern women, 58% of black women, 47% of Indian Asian women, and 13% of Caucasian women. This is because the more pigmented the skin, the less vitamin D is absorbed. Obesity is also associated with lower levels of vitamin D in both pregnant women and their babies, with 61% of women who were obese found to be vitamin D deficient. And although you may be someone who takes every opportunity to be out in the sunshine, when wearing sunscreen with factor 8 or over, the ultraviolet light the body needs to create vitamin D is blocked out. Without enough vitamin D the gut cannot absorb calcium and phosphate adequately, which can lead to a number of complications with both mum and …

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Cocoa and Date Truffles

I have yet to meet a pregnant woman who does not crave something sweet from time to time (or all the time!), so to keep you from eating a bar of chocolate a day, why not make these delicious cocoa date truffles? They are (mostly) guilt free, as the only sweetener in them is the dates themselves. Let’s not kid ourselves, they’re not going to taste just like Ferrero Rocher’s, but they’ll do the trick when you’re after something chocolatey and sweet. They’re great as an afternoon pick me up, as they have ground almonds and rolled oats, so won’t give you the sugar rush or the slump an hour later. Dates also have lots of nutrients, and the cocoa itself is rich in antioxidants. These truffles also contain cinnamon, which has been shown to stabilise blood sugar, and also makes everything taste and smell delicious! These truffles are very versatile and you can coat them in whatever mix you prefer. Here I’ve done 3 types: cocoa powder, cinnamon and ground almonds. I’d also have …

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Fresh Fig & Feta cheese salad

Every year I look forward to figs coming into season at the end of the summer. They are my absolute favorite, deliciously sweet and wonderful, and worth waiting for! They are a rather delicate fruit when ripe, but are very versatile and can be eaten with something savoury (as in this salad), made into jam, as a dessert, or simply on their own. They come in various different colours and sizes,  all delicious. When out of season, they can be very disappointing, so keep this salad in mind between July and September only. Dried figs however are available all year round, so you can still reap their health benefits and enjoy them as a sweet snack any time of year. Figs are well-known to help those suffering with constipation as they are full of fibre, which helps get things moving. For people who aren’t used to a fibre rich diet, figs can act as a bit of a laxative, so if you are one of those people, you may want to have a taster portion …

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Folic Acid, Folate and Methylfolate: Which is best?

Okay this is a little bit of a technical post, so scroll down to the ‘So what does this mean for you?’ part if you want to skip the first bit. Folic acid is a B vitamin (B9) that is known to be necessary in early pregnancy. Folic acid is actually the synthetic form of folate, which in turn is naturally occurring and mainly found in green vegetables, beans, and lentils. Folic acid supplements are recommended to be taken when trying to conceive and during the first trimester of pregnancy, to prevent neural tube defects in the baby, such as spina bifida and anencephaly. Some research also suggests that folate plays a role in preventing congenital heart disease and oral clefts in the baby, as well as reducing the risk of preterm birth. Folate has a much bigger role in our bodies that just preventing spina bifida though. It is responsible activating, making and repairing our DNA. It is also in charge of cell division, blood cell production and the conversion of homocysteine; a protein …