how to actually reduce BPA in your life

soak and cook dried beans – it’s so much cheaper and tastier

eat fresh tomatoes (not canned)

store food in glass containers

use wooden cooking utensils

never ever ever microwave plastics – even the ones that say they are safe

avoid take-out food containers (chinese food boxes, plastic clam shells, soup bowls) – to do this successfully you really have to cook at home – if you eat out and frequently end up with “leftovers” consider sharing a meal with a friend so you don’t have anything to carry out.

drink tap water and use a ZERO filter- brita and pur pitchers have BPA

change your food processing – hamilton beach makes safe plastic appliances

handle receipts sparingly – get them in your wallet or an envelope right away

drink sodas (if you gotta) from a glass bottle

if plastic smells – it’s not good for you

look under your plastics – the recycle code tells you what’s in it – 1, 2, 4, 5 or 6 is free of BPA. AVOID # 3 & 7

prenatal exposure to BPA is making your daughter a witch

i don’t want to beg but omg plastic! please stop using plastic!

it’s ubiquitous but oh so toxic

it’s in your receipts, your canned tomatoes & beans, your baby food & your soda can

and it’s making your daughter a brat and a half -

this toxic plastic makes us fat, increases prostate cancer in boys and now they find it promotes aggression in girls:

“Researchers found that daughters of women who had higher concentrations of BPA in their urine samples during pregnancy were more likely to have aggressive and hyperactive behaviors than children of women with lower BPA levels, especially if higher exposure was seen earlier in pregnancy.”

YIKES

speakerphone people!…or get a headset

i know that it seems like some tinfoil-on-the-head news but moms need to keep the cell phone away from the body please.

this report from like, 2 years ago, showed that women who used thier cell phones while pregnant had kids who were more likely to be “UNRULY”

well, there are a few factors here that make this reserach a bit inconclusive – perhaps the kids are unruly due to cultural influences that may also increase moms’s cell use – or that kids are misbehaving cause mom’s on the phone all the time… but the research did find a link even for infrequent use.

kids were even unrulier if they used cells themselves

get yourself a headset even when you’re not driving – not a bluetooth, but a hard-wired one so you can keep the cell away from your body (in a purse or bag)

if you have a landline at work or home, you should use it – and try to avoid making calls on the cell when you have poor reception or low power bars – the phone is more likely to be emitting more radiation in order to connect.

texting and speakerphone put you at less risk since you’re holding the phone away from your head – and if you do need to get on the phone, talk short – phones transmit less radiation when you’re listening than when you’re talking

i recommend the mercola blue-tube headset - click here and be warned that a video will play right away

for more info - download the full environmental working group’s report on cell phones

for more great tips – see this list from enviroblog

Nutrition Class this weekend!

Prenatal & Nursing Nutrition basics

October 11 
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Cost: $20

** Bring a friend to the October 11th Prenatal and Nursing Nutrition Basics class and you both come for half price! Be sure to preregister by following the links through our website.

Do you still have questions about what to eat and how to nourish your new body? This workshop will provide you with strategies for achieving and maintaining great health during and after your pregnancy. This class is for conceiving, pregnant and nursing women, as well as partners.

Learn how to stay energized throughout your pregnancy, easy ways to get your necessary nutrients with whole foods and how to manage morning sickness, food aversions and cravings.

The class is facilitated by Kathryn Davis, BS and Leah Shuchter, MPH.
Leah Shuchter is a prenatal health counselor, doula and yoga teacher.
Kathryn Davis is a nutritional consultant and yoga teacher.

To register or for more information please call:
(347) 678-7151 or contact me at Leah@NaturalPregnancies.com

planned homebirth is as safe as hospital birth

A Canadian study found that “the risk of infant death following planned home birth attended by a registered midwife does not differ from that of a planned hospital birth”

i love canadians

“Women planning birth at home experienced reduced risk for all obstetric interventions measured, and similar or reduced risk for adverse maternal outcomes,” writes Dr. Patricia Janssen from the University of British Columbia and coauthors. Newborns born after planned home births were at similar or reduced risk of death, although the likelihood of admission to hospital was higher.

what’s important to remember is that this is not a random trial – meaning that women who choose to have home-births are a self-selected group and tend to be, on average, less likely to have a high-risk pregnancy.

just sayin…don’t be off-put by naysayers if you’re planning a homebirth -

who knew? fruits are good for you!

well really, scientists have been underestimating the polyphenol content of apples, peaches and nectarines.

it turns out that the method of extracting these antioxidants wasn’t as comprehensive as they initially thought and that there’s more!

EAT A FRUIT – and go eat a fruit from a farmers market or with a sticker that starts with 9.

we have returned for fall!

summer vaction is over! back to writing about you and your baby and your baby body.

keep reading readers!

prenatal prescription: a book report

first i would suggest that if you’re looking for cookbooks and books on pregnancy – check thrift stores – I found this book at the goodwill – I didn’t realize it was so old (2001)

when i went to google it  – it was only on amazon (how adorable)

This book is all about how stress and nutrition in the womb creates a propensity towards disease later in life – poor nutrition sets the body up for weight gain and diabetes, and stress creates an overly sensitive negative cortisol feedback loop. well great.

it has a really strong message to moms to assert themselves as strong, capable, and in need of some extreme self-caring! pregnant moms have a full time job of managing the pregnancy: nutrition, exercise, yoga, meditation & kind loving words from partners & friends & family. if you have an actual full-time job, you will need to manage the stress and nutritional hurdles and get yourself on the road to wellness. my suggestion is to talk to your boss -see if you can arrange your schedule to fit in a visit to the gym or a yoga class or a massage every day – make sure you take your lunch breaks and get fresh air and a well-balanced fresh meal. Ask for help from coworkers or friends to help keep you on track by sharing healthy meals, activities and conversation.

i’m only half-way through and i wish the author was a little less meaty but i think it’s a really important message about taking care of #1

eating for 1.15

Science Daily has an article about a study showing that just 500 calories extra a day leads to increased weight gain. well thanks, science!

The takeaway is that increased weight can lead to complications in your pregnancy, labor and postpartum mood & recovery.

My article on things to enjoy during pregnancy will be helpful for moms who don’t know where to begin. But basically, you only need to add in about 300 high quality useful (nutrient-dense) calories in your second and third trimesters to gain the right amount of weight during your pregnancy.

the article goes on: “It might be obvious that a healthy diet and exercise reduce the odds of gaining too much weight during pregnancy, but more and more women are doing just that. Part of the problem is that providers don’t counsel moms on weight gain”

This is where I come in (and other health counselors) We are here to bridge the gap between doctors and moms – digest the important info and work directly helping you and your baby grow with the highest quality nutrition. I aim to provide you with the knowledge you will need to make healthy and smart choices for the development of your baby´s brain, body and soul.

for more info on my health counseling practice, see my website

“Eating fried foods ‘was a huge predictor of excessive weight gain’ Women who ate one serving a day were four-times as likely to gain too much weight”

come on moms! put the rotisserie down and get some support to eat right!

fill your guts with bugs

A study from the Netherlands showed that “One year after giving birth, women were less likely to have the most dangerous kind of obesity if they had been given probiotics [bacteria] from the first trimester of pregnancy…new research that suggests manipulating the balance of bacteria in the gut may help fight obesity”

While that sounds kind of gross, all it means is: eat fermented foods! If you’re not pregnant, i’d suggest raw organic kombucha – not enough is known about it during pregnancy. If you’re preggers, drink goodbelly, and eat bubbie’s saurkraut & pickles and get your fill of yogurt (organic please). If you don’t eat dairy, turtle mountain makes coconut yogurt; silk & stoneyfield make organic soy yogurt.