A Good Start

August was a grand month for kids nutrition awareness. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics created a campaign called Kids Eat Right Month. It highlighted ways that parents could get involved in their child's diet and lifestyle.

Proper nutrition should really begin with the mother during pregnancy. But today I want to talk about after that child is born and breastfeeding. I recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. It was definitely a struggle to get her here. After delivering her I tried to nurse her but she would not latch. This was the case for five and half weeks. Many mothers would have given up. In fact, I know several who did. They seemed to have all kinds of reasons that included: the baby was not latching right, they didn't feel like they were getting enough milk or the child wasn't getting enough, it was time consuming, etc..  I even heard some people say it doesn't matter I know many children who have done just fine on formula.

Well I'm here to say it does matter. We were not given breasts that lactate for no reason. Breastfed babies are healthier, have a stronger immune system and an improved dental development among other benefits such as a stronger bond between mother/child. The problem is nowadays it seems there is not enough support for mother's trying to breastfeed especially first time moms. With the lack of information and support a new mom can quickly turn to formula. Even doctors can be quick to suggest formula even though it is recommended that infants be given only breastmilk for the first 6 months.

Now I know it is hard ...believe me I had a significant challenge when establishing a routine with my daughter. However, because I had the information and support needed from my family, friends and professor I was able to get through it. To read my personal experience click here.

Below are a few sites that can help one understand why it is so important to breastfeed, tips and common breastfeeding problems.

• Dental/Health Benefits
• Overcoming Breastfeeding Problems
• Support, Tips and Other Important Information

If you know of someone struggle to understand the importance of breastmilk or to breastfeed offer your support. Most likely they really could use it.


Photo Source:

Bravo, K. (2012). "You Can Do It Breastfeeding". Retrieved from
http://www.pacificmotionbirth.com/bottled-up-film-documentary/you-can-do-it-breastfeeding/

Dealing With Morning Sickness

Morning sickness affects many women during their pregnancy, especially during the first trimester. According to BabyMed “70 to 85 percent of pregnant women experience morning sickness”. There is no exact known cause for morning sickness. It could be due to changes in hormones, blood sugar and/or stress. Certain foods may also trigger nausea and vomiting, reducing one's intake. Since this may result in inadequate nutrition intake it is important to help provide the body with the necessary vitamins and minerals by taking a prenatal vitamin every day.

Below are several things one can do to help minimize morning sickness.

• Consume snacks and/or small meals often aim to eat every 2-3 hours.
• Avoid large meals.
• Get up slowly in the morning.
• Stay hydrated between meals with a goal of 64 ounces per day. Avoid drinking them with meals to allow room for more food.
• Have a snack before bed.
• Avoid smells that may cause nausea.
• Consume products with ginger such as ginger tea and ginger ale.
• Eat high protein and complex carbohydrates food items. Peanut butter, apples, celery, cheese, saltine crackers, milk, yogurt, nuts and cottage cheese.
• Avoid foods that are high in fat and salt with little nutrition.
• Relaxing reduces nausea and vomiting. 

References

Neifield, R. Five nutrition tips to help with morning sickness. Retrieved from  http://www.babymed.com/food-and-nutrition/5-nutrition-tips-to-help-with-morning-sickness-during-pregnancy.

Juice Craze: Healthy or Unhealthy?

The latest diet craze has been on juicing fruits and vegetables. But is it really safe? Many argue that there are many benefits such as the body being able to absorb the nutrients better. However, there is no scientific evidence or studies that have proven this to be the case. Not only is there not enough evidence to support this but it is known that eating whole fruits and vegetables can be beneficial to the body as it provides the appropriate fiber the body needs. Juicing results in a loss of this essential healthy fiber, which is the very reason some say it’s suppose to be better for the body to digest and absorb.

Juicing also provides inadequate amounts of calories, may cause dehydration, nausea, fatigue and as mentioned earlier loss of fiber and protein.

Overall while it may help kick start a diet any benefits will go away once one is off the juice diet and reverts back to eating. It is also important to remember that the body is designed to remove toxins via the liver and kidneys. Therefore, one does not need to juice to rid or detoxify the body. As mentioned earlier often times other problems can arise during a juicing.

This is not to say that drinking juice or juicing is a horrible thing because it can provide added fruits and vegetables to individuals who do not enjoy eating whole fruits and vegetables. However, one should be careful to not rely solely on juicing or juice fasts. But one should consume food products from all food groups in moderation and variety.

Photo Source

Haddock, D., (2013).  "Juicing Recipes." Retrieved from http://www.daphnehaddock.com/juicing-recipes/

Peri-Conceptual Nutrition

Peri-conceptual nutrition, nutrition prior pregnancy, is just as important as consuming adequate nutrients throughout the pregnancy. Receiving proper nutrition prior to pregnancy can ensure the body has adequate nutrient stores which will be used throughout the pregnancy allowing the fetus to properly develop.

Therefore, it is important for women thinking of becoming pregnant to evaluate and make any necessary changes to their diet three months to a year before getting pregnant. In doing so it can significantly improve the overall health for the mother and baby.

A diet rich "in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and dairy products" (http://www.americanpregnancy.org/gettingpregnant/preconceptionnutrition.html) can supply the body with the necessary vitamins and minerals. However, because majority of pregnancies are unplanned and the pregnancy may got undetected until she is a couple months along, it is important for women of childbearing age to follow the below recommendations along with a nutrient filled diet prior to pregnancy to ensure proper development of the fetus.

• Folate/Folic Acid: 400 micrograms/day. It can be obtained through dark green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, nuts, legumes, whole grains and fortified breads and cereals. Consuming adequate amounts reduces neural tube defects like spina bifida.

• Calcium: 1,000 mg/day. It can be obtained from dairy products such as cottage cheese, low-fat yogurt and seafood products like sardines, oysters, clams and molasses almonds. Dark green leafy vegetables like broccoli, kale, mustard greens are high in calcium. However, dark green food items are also high in oxalate and phytate, which decrease Ca absorption.

• Avoid caffeine, artificial sweeteners, alcohol and tobacco

Source

"Pre-Conception Nutrition" American Pregnancy Association. March 2011. 6 June 2012. <http://www.americanpregnancy.org/gettingpregnant/preconceptionnutrition.html>

Minimizing Effects of PMS

How can one minimize the symptoms of PMS and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder? The answer is diet and lifestyle changes.

• Exercise regularly 
• Practice relaxation techniques
• Proper sleep patterns
• Eat a balanced diet
• Avoid overeating
• Consume small frequent meal
• Increase trypotophan levels by consuming foods rich in carbohydrates
• Take magnesium, calcium, vitamin D and B6 supplements
• Limit caffeine and salt intake
• Minimize or avoid tobacco
• Reduce alcohol intake

If you would like to minimize the effects of PMS it is best to keep a food journal to track specific symptoms and aid in assessing any changes that may need to be made. Include any food products that are consumed along with how you felt (physically or emotionally). Then record changes that reduced the symptoms or made them worse. Should self-treatment not work or if the symptoms are severe enough that you are unable to function seek help from a health care provider.

PMS

Anyone who knows me knows I have a terrible time during that lovely time of the month. When I was younger it was easy breezy...no problems and no crazy emotions. However, as I've gotten older it kills me and I become crazy. Anyways point is in going to school I've realized that there is a real diagnosis for this. I knew that some people like me had a difficult time each month but I did not realize that there are real disorders for it. Well I'm pretty sure I have it. Let me explain more about the disorders.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) takes place about 5 to 11 days before a woman's cycle. Symptoms include:

• fatigue
• headache
• tender breasts
• abdominal bloating
• swelling of hands or feet
• nausea
• depression
• irritability
• mood swings
• anxiety
• social withdrawal
• clumsiness
• constipation or diarrhea
• food cravings
• intolerance for lights or noises
• confusion
• difficulty focusing or concentrating
• forgetfulness
• sleeping problems, either too much or not enough

A person is diagnosed with premenstrual syndrome when they experience one to five of these symptoms in two consecutive luteal phases (or second half of their menstrual cycle) and the symptoms are so intense that they disrupt work and/or one's social life. Approximately 5-10% of women experience this.

The second disorder related to this lovely time of month is known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder. This is more severe than PMS. It is diagnosed when five or more PMS symptoms occur in two consecutive menstrual cycles. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder usually takes place a week before and symptoms lessen once the period begins.

For those that experience either one of these disorders it can be much like a rollercoaster due to the many physical and emotional changes occurring in response to hormone changes.

...Oh the perks of being a girl. Isn't it wonderful. Luckily there are things a person can do to lessen these symptoms.

Watch for a later post on what one can do to lessen the symptoms.

"Premenstrual Syndrome". PubMed Health. 16 June 2010. Web 17 May 2012. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002474/)

A New Focus

So for school reasons I focused on children nutrition the first few months of this blog. With the class being over I thought it would be fun to go through the various topics throughout one's life and include all the fun things I've learned this semester life. I'll with a girl's menstrual cycle and then into birth, infant, toddler stages, etc..

If you would like to hear more about a particular topic let me know and I'll focus a little more in that area. Otherwise I will just go throughout one's lifespan. Every so often I may add something that is nutrition related that I find interesting. But overall this is the goal for the next couple of months. I hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions let me know.