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Folic Acid in Foods

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Vitamins are best absorbed from their natural sources: food! One of the most important vitamins a pregnant woman needs is folic acid. The American Pregnancy Association recommends that all women of childbearing age get about 400 micrograms of folic acid every day. Folic acid is used by the body to make the extra blood your body needs during pregnancy. A deficiency can increase your baby’s chances of developing spina bifida or anencephaly, both of which are serious birth defects. So which foods have the most of this essential nutrient? Liver is on the top of the list, but that is … Continue reading →

Should You Limit Folic Acid Supplements in Late Pregnancy?

It really amazes me how much medical advice and knowledge surrounding pregnancy changes from year to year, even month to month. Just when you think you know what you need for a healthy pregnancy, someone throws a curve call. This time, that ball is coming from experts at the University of Adelaide in Australia who conducted a study on Folic acid supplements and their effects on children born to mothers who take the supplements late in pregnancy. They studied 557 expectant mothers and how many of their children had asthma three and a half and five and a half years … Continue reading →

The Right Foods Can Counteract Drug Side Effects

At some point in your life, you’ll most likely be taking a prescription medicine. Maybe it’ll be short term; maybe it’ll be long term. Some long term prescriptions can deplete essential nutrients from your body, but a few small dietary changes can help. Statins — drugs that can help lower cholesterol — can deplete levels of coenzyme Q10. This can leave you with sore muscles, elevated liver enzymes, and feelings of fatigue. Adding more lean meat, chicken, and fish to your diet can help boost levels of coenzyme Q10. Medications for high blood pressure, like vasodilators or beta-blockers can deplete … Continue reading →

The Let’s Talk Pregnancy Blog Top Ten: Prenatal Eating Tips

This quick list will help you to make sure you get optimum nutrition during your pregnancy with ease. As long as you remember these ten simple things, you should have no trouble maintaining a healthy pregnancy, barring any unforeseen complications such as preeclampsia, etc. Along with your prenatal supplements, there are certain things that your baby will need to get from you while in utero. You could even print out this list and tape it to your refrigerator for a quick reference before snacking. Without further ado, here are the top ten tips to prenatal eating: TEN: If you don’t … Continue reading →

Nutrients for Reducing Stress

Being a single mom is stressful, but did you know that there are certain nutrients that can help reduce stress and anxiety? There are certain vitamins and minerals that can help you manage your stress levels throughout the day. Vitamin B6 helps your body to produce serotonin, a hormone that produces a calming effect on your body. When your stress levels are high, which is often if you are a single mother, Vitamin B6 is completely depleted throughout your body. Instead of feeling calm, you find yourself on edge, easily irritated, and overwhelmed. Green beans, bananas, and avocados are all … Continue reading →

How to Prepare Your Body for Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a wonderful time of life with a lot of unexpected moments here and there. If you can do a little preparation before you get pregnant, you can help things go smoothly for yourself, your baby and your household. Here are some ways that you can prepare for pregnancy even before you get pregnant. Most likely, you won’t realize that you are pregnant for the first three or four weeks of your pregnancy. Meanwhile, anything you ingest could affect your baby, such as prescription drugs or alcohol. A good rule of thumb is to act as though you are … Continue reading →

Prenatal Vitamins (part II)

One doesn’t have to look very hard (especially with the Internet) to understand that pregnant women (and breastfeeding too) need to take prenatal vitamins. With the onset of the industrial revolution and the invention of chemical pesticides, our food just isn’t as nutrient dense as it used to be. This means that we are not getting all the nutrients that we need to be healthy. While being healthy should be an important goal for everyone, it is paramount for pregnant women. We know that a balance of nutrients are essential for expecting mothers. We also know that conventional foods cannot … Continue reading →

The Woes of Nonconception

We were ready! I had done my research! I had read countless books, starting taking Folic Acid, found a prenatal workout, began to improve my diet, interviewed midwives, and even bought my first maternity shirt. We had decided five months earlier that we would start trying in four or five months. It was time! If we could get pregnant within the next three months we would have our baby in March, April, or May, which would give us time with our baby before the new school year. God had other plans! It never occurred to me that we would have … Continue reading →

An App to Help Prevent Spina Bifida

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Technology has come an extremely long way in a very short amount of time. Just think of where we were even 20 years ago – Commodore 64, anyone? What about Zack Morris’ giant cell phone? Today we can access the world with our fingertips on devices that fit in our pockets. And those devices, more specifically the iPhone and all of its apps, can help us lead healthier lives and give our children a healthier start. We’ve all heard about how important folic acid is in a woman’s diet, especially a woman who is planning to become pregnant, or is … Continue reading →

Spina Bifida Awareness Month

One of the most frequent pieces of advice you hear when you are pregnant is about the importance of getting enough folic acid. Folic acid is really one of those things you should get before you are pregnant, while you are trying to conceive. By the time you find out you are expecting, your pregnancy has already progressed beyond that crucial stage when folic acid is so important. That is why a good prenatal vitamin is so important; and that is why you should start taking prenatals as soon as you stop using birth control. Why am I talking about … Continue reading →