Prenatal Nutrition that Mends Everything From Leg Cramps to Digestion

Eliminate Anxiety, Restless Sleep, Nausea, Bloating, Leg Cramps & More with Improved Pregnancy Nutrition

While you may feel excited about the prospect of a baby, there are some days during pregnancy when you feel truly awful. Common side effects of pregnancy include sinus congestion, heartburn, constipation, edema of feet and legs, varicose veins, carpal tunnel, increased risks of diabetes and just general anxiety, exhaustion and ickyness that may be hard to pinpoint.

A key reason why you may be experiencing some of these less pleasant aspects of pregnancy are directly related to your diet.

Honestly, most of us just do not eat as much of the daily protein and minerals recommended for a healthy prenatal experience.  A few important additions however, may make all the difference in the world to how you feel.

•  A huge boon to alleviating leg cramps is to be found in your calcium/ magnesium imbalance. I recommend powdered Cal.Mag supplements. Mix it up in a soothing cup of pregnancy or bedtime tea, and voila! No more leg cramps with a peaceful night’s sleep in the first evening. Obviously, you can totally take the tablets,  but the powder absorbs more readily into your system, I find.
• As well, be sure to add a banana,  and an orange or grapefruit to your daily diet. The Vitamin C & Potassium in these yummy treats work together synergistically for  better absorption of your other minerals.
• Giant fruit smoothies may feel refreshing, but they are super sugar-heavy and may actually cause bloat rather than support the relaxation you seek. Try water rich fruits like watermelon, cucumber, and coconut to slake the sweet tooth without too much added sugar.
• Another handy tip – drink the juice of one fresh lemon squeezed into your water daily. The extra boost of Vitamin C is important for several reasons. My favorite, is that it works with the calcium you are taking to support collagen production that nourishes healthy skin from the inside to reduce the likelihood of stretch marks (which are really micro tears in the deeper layers of your stretching skin). It also helps to neutralize extra acid in your system that builds up, especially if you still drink coffee, eat red meat or other acid-producing foods.
• A spoonful of apple cider vinegar in water or added to your salad’s dressing is another great boost to your system that also works on alleviating morning sickness by cutting extra stomach acid quickly.
• If you are a pickle fan (and that includes kimchi, sauerkraut, ot things like my favorite French Cornichon pickles & Picholine or Niçoise:olives mmmm), then these tiny powerhouse bites are a perfect snack addition to your digestive arsenal. They are loaded with gut friendly & immunity boosting bacteria plus loaded with heart healthy, cholesterol-busting nutrients. 
• Juicy, ripe Papaya with a squeeze of lime juice is wonderfully beneficial for your digestion because of the natural papain enzymes and easy absorbing antioxidants. Loaded with Potassium, Folate, Vitamin A and Vitamin C, it is another water rich fruit that aids in constipation while easing digestion.
• A soothing cup of Fennel or Ginger tea (less spicy with Red Raspberry) before bed helps cut the gas from bloat-inducing foods like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and onions. In fact, avoiding these foods after birth in the beginning months of nursing will also help prevent your poor baby from getting nasty gassy colic. Drinking this tea while breastfeeding will flow these gas cutting properties through your breast milk too.
  • Nothing is more awful than soothing your baby with colic pain and you cannot figure out what to do. What to watch out for?
    • • Baby will be fussy and draw knees up to chest.
      • Wants to nurse but pops off the nipple frequently.
      • Cries heart rending screeches, etc.
      • The remedy- steep one spoonful of organic fennel seeds in a tea ball for 10 minutes. Let it cool to room temp and feed one undiluted spoonful of the tea to baby, reserving the rest in a glass jar in the fridge, (it’s good for a few days). Even in a newborn, it is totally fine and better than the icky artificial gas drops or sugary, colic waters. In about 5 seconds, a satisfying burp will erupt and your little one will fall happily back to sleep. So should you 😉
• Remember the benefits of your exercise for digestion, elimination, sleep and general overall well being and preparedness. Exercise, and especially Yoga during your pregnancy does far more than alleviate symptoms of malaise, insomnia and bloating, it also helps to keep your body in relaxed strength for labor. Common sense precautions do apply of course, but the yoga practice serves for much more than just a healthy body. It helps create a healthy mind and spirit that welcomes a general sense of readiness hard to quantify, but so delicious to cultivate.. Read more about this here.