Have you been experiencing constipation, nausea, or heartburn since becoming pregnant? During pregnancy mamas often experience digestive issues. Thankfully, there are ways to mitigate a troubled tummy. Yoga Mamas' Holistic Nutritionist, Sarah Robinson has listed 6 of her go-to tips:

1. Eat smaller, more frequent meals 
Instead of eating three big meals a day, try eating smaller amounts frequently. This can help prevent you from being overly full at each meal, which can exacerbate nausea. This is especially important for mamas dealing with heartburn as well, since eating large quantities at once is a common trigger for heartburn. 

2. Prioritize movement
Movement is important during pregnancy for many reasons, but it can also be really helpful in managing constipation. Walking in particular helps improve digestion and increase transit time (aka the total time that it takes for your food to be digested, from start to finish). Doing a couple of brisk walks a day, even for just 20 minutes or so can help improve your digestion. Instead of laying down after meals, getting up and going for walks can also help reduce heartburn. This is because being upright during the initial stages of digestion means that gravity is helping your food move south where it should be going, instead of back up. 

3. Focus on fiber-rich foods
It can be tempting during pregnancy (especially when you’re nauseous) to mostly eat refined carbohydrates such as crackers, white bread, and pasta. These are okay in moderation, but they are quite low in dietary fiber and can make constipation worse. If you’re struggling with constipation during pregnancy, try including fiber-rich sources of carbohydrates such as oats, quinoa, whole grain crackers, brown rice, sweet potatoes, and fresh fruit. 

4. Sip on ginger tea 
Many people find that ginger is helpful in relieving nausea, and it’s a great option for pregnancy-induced nausea because fresh ginger is completely safe for mom and baby. You can easily make ginger tea by grating fresh ginger into hot water with a bit of lemon and honey. You can also purchase ginger lozenges to suck on when you’re out and about and the nausea hits. 


5. Swap leafy greens for root vegetables
For many pregnant women with nausea and food aversions, leafy greens and raw vegetables are no longer appealing - especially during the first trimester. Instead of trying to force these foods down, opt for root vegetables instead, as these are generally easier to tolerate when nauseous. Root vegetables are also high in insoluble fiber, which helps speed up digestion and prevent constipation. 

6. Slow down at meal time 
Slowing down at meals and thoroughly chewing your food can help your food digest more efficiently. Most people assume that digestion begins in the stomach, but it actually begins in your mouth. When you chew your food, digestive enzymes are released into your saliva that starts to break down your food before it even hits your stomach. Chewing slowly and thoroughly ensures that these enzymes are able to do their job. Plus, breaking your food down into smaller pieces means that there is less work for your stomach to do. This will start the digestive process off on the right foot and can help ease pregnancy-related digestive issues.   

Experiencing digestive issues or other pregnancy concerns? Book a complimentary session with Sarah, Yoga Mamas' Holistic Nutritionist. 

There are so many options out there for prenatal vitamins, all the choices can be overwhelming! Prenatal vitamins help keep you and your baby healthy. It’s recommended that you take prenatal vitamins 3 months prior to trying to conceive, for the duration of your pregnancy and three months postpartum to help you recover. Taking prenatal vitamins while you’re pumping or breast/chestfeeding is also recommended.

Yoga Mamas' Naturopathic Doctor, Dr. Shannon Vander Doelen made a short list of things she recommends her clients to be mindful of when making the decision. Below are three things to consider when choosing a prenatal:
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1. Make sure you’re able to take it for a year or longer. If your body is not responding to it well (ie it makes you nauseous,) you should try a different one because you won’t be able to tolerate it for an extended period of time. 
   
   
2. Be weary of prenatal vitamins that claim to include all of your daily needs in one pill. It’s usually very difficult to pack everything into one. Typically you need to take more than one pill a day.
   
   
3. Take your prenatal vitamins with food. It helps with the absorption of nutrients and decreases the chance of nausea.
   
   
4. A good way to tell if your prenatal vitamin is of good quality is by checking which type of vitamin B9 (also known as folate) it has. Folic acid is the synthetic and inactive version of vitamin B9. Our bodies have to convert it into the active form of folate so that your body can use it. The other form of folate is 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), which is the active form. 50% of the population is not able to convert folic acid into folate, so choosing a prenatal vitamin with 5-MTHF is a better option. Folate supports a baby’s brain and nervous system development.

Speak with your health practitioner when deciding on which prenatal vitamin to take. If you’re looking for a naturopathic doctor, Dr. Shannon Vander Doelen is accepting new patients! She’s available online and can treat anyone who resides in Ontario.

Written By Taya Griffin, Breastfeeding Consultant and Homeopathic Practitioner

When I counsel mothers-to-be regarding breastfeeding they are surprised when I tell them to head to the grocery store in preparation! I thought I would share a few of the items on my list with Toronto Yoga Mamas:

Original blog written by Andrea Yu, Lumino Health

Practicing self-care is a great way to manage stress. But it isn’t just about working out or meditating. What you eat — and how you eat — can also be a part of your self-care routine. Yoga Mamas registered dietitian, Iman Algheriany explains how implementing the benefits of good nutrition is one of many ways to take care of yourself.


Why should nutrition be part of your self-care routine?  
Algheriany says that there is a close connection between self-care and nutrition. In times of stress, when we aren’t practicing self-care, our appetite, hydration and gastrointestinal health are affected. “Stress can cause malnutrition and even constipation,” Algheriany explains. “It affects how our body digests, absorbs and even eliminates waste.”

But in times of stress, Algheriany says that good nutrition habits tend to be the first thing to go. “We turn to comfort eating when we’re stressed,” she says. That leaves us feeling sluggish and emotionally fatigued.


How do you take care of yourself and practice self-care when it comes to diet? 
There are many ways to take care of yourself through nutrition. Here are 6 key nutritional practices from dietitian Iman Algheriany to add to your self-care checklist.


1. Have a good relationship with food 
“Nutrition is not black and white,” Algheriany explains. Labelling certain food items as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is counterproductive for self-nutrition. And so are diets. “You’re always thinking ‘I have to give something up’ when you’re on a diet,” she says. “Or you think ‘I can’t have fun anymore’. That’s the exact opposite of self-care. I never think about restricting or limiting.”

Instead Algheriany’s approach is to think about how we can feel good and energized through the way we eat. “We need to have a balance between pleasure and health in a mindful way,” she says.


2. Listen to your body 
“By following a regular eating pattern, your body gives you the right cues for hunger and satiety,” Algheriany says. “You’ll get a little hungry prior to lunch. That’s an indication that your body knows it’s time for a meal.” Algheriany says that we shouldn’t wait until we’re extremely hungry to eat. “That’s when we’re going to eat everything in sight,” she explains.

At the other end of the scale, we can also pay attention to our satiety, or feelings of fullness. “We shouldn't leave a meal feeling full or stuffed,” Algheriany says. Instead, we should stop eating when we feel satisfied. Alternatively, we shouldn’t stop eating if we still feel hungry. To help our body establish good hunger and satiety cues, she recommends having three meals a day. “Lunch is probably the one meal that’s most often skipped,” she says. “It’s unfortunate because that’s when your body needs the most fuel. It’s the peak of the day.”


3. Practice the 80/20 rule every day 
What makes diets stressful is the all-or-nothing approach. Portions are limited or certain foods are forbidden, even if our body craves them. “It's important to have a balance between eating ‘good’ and enjoying life to sustain good habits,” says Algheriany. “That balance is key. Be 80% on your A-game and 20% human.”

She discourages the concept of a ‘cheat day’. “If we do it for a whole day, we are going to throw our nutritional status off,” she says. Instead, we should adopt the 80/20 rule into our self-nutrition every day of the week.
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4. Eat mindfully  
Eating mindfully allows us to better listen to our hunger and satiety cues. It also encourages us to chew more thoroughly and eat at a slower pace. “It’s as simple as turning off all electronics,” says Algheriany. This removes distractions so that we can focus on what we’re eating. “I find that if we’re mindful during a meal, we only eat the right portions,” says Algheriany. “We really do listen to our bodies.”

Another way to eat mindfully is to use all our senses when we eat. Focus on the visual appearance of the meal and the different colours incorporated within it. Think about the texture of the food as you chew and how it smells. If you’re dining with someone else, listen to what they’re saying. Or pay attention to the sounds around you while you're eating.


5. Be kind to yourself 
“Don’t beat yourself up if you have an off-day,” says Algheriany. She says it’s common for people to compensate for a ‘bad’ day by restricting themselves the day after. That can cause more stress, during which a hormone called cortisol is released. “Cortisol can actually cause further weight gain,” Algheriany explains. “We really have to be nicer to ourselves.”


6. Use meal prep as a form of stress management 
Algheriany suggests making food at home more often than we eat out. There is the benefit of being able to control added sodium and fats. But cooking can also be a relaxing activity. “It’s a form of stress management without us even recognizing it,” Algheriany says. “I’m finding a lot of clients, especially with the pandemic, they’re trying new recipes and different cuisines.”

Cooking with a spouse, friends or family is also a great way to spend time with loved ones. Socializing is an important part of the self-care checklist for many of us. “We’re able to connect a lot when it comes to cooking together or prepping together,” explains Algheriany. For people with busy schedules, she recommends doing meal planning and prepping once a week. “We’re making it easier for ourselves to prioritize our nutrition when we’re busy,” she says.
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