Is It Okay To Stay Paleo During Your Pregnancy?

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Pregnancy is a time in a woman’s life where she has to be aware of what she puts into her body, not just for herself, but for her baby as well. So is it okay to stay Paleo during your pregnancy?

Once you become pregnant, your nutritional needs change, including caloric intake, micronutrient needs, and even sometimes macronutrient ratios. The lifestyle you stick to during pregnancy can alter how you feel during pregnancy, how much weight you gain, how morning sickness affects you, and can even set the stage for your baby’s health.

If you want to stay Paleo while pregnant, you’ve probably already come into some clashes with your doctor – unless you’re lucky. The USDA recommends a diet very different from what Paleo provides.

There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to staying Paleo while pregnant, including diet, exercise, and even what you put on your body when it comes to personal hygiene.

Nutritional Needs

You’ve probably heard the saying, “eating for two” during pregnancy. This isn’t exactly true, though, as a woman only needs about 300 calories extra starting in the second trimester.

In addition, a woman’s weight gain is really dependent upon her body composition before she got pregnant. A woman who is overweight to start with can get away with gaining a lot less than a woman who was underweight before becoming pregnant.

Eat Enough for Your Activity Level

Pregnancy is not the time to diet. Your actual intake requirements will change depending on your activity level. If you have a desk job, don’t work out, and are pretty much sedentary, then your caloric intake should be a lot less than someone who has a strenuous job or works out a lot.

Basically, if you figure out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, you can eat at maintenance during the first trimester and add 300 calories per day during the second and third trimester.

Standard Nutritional Recommendations vs. Paleo

The USDA and its infamous Choose My Plate recommendations are pretty outrageous. They suggest looking for low-fat and fat-free options over butter and fatty meats, and even recommend “healthy” oils like soy, corn and canola! 

For a woman who is almost 18 weeks pregnant, the Choose My Plate recommends nine ounces of whole grains per day! The USDA recommends a low-fat diet with “healthy” canola oils. Paleo has a very different approach.

Paleo nutrition, of course, follows suggestions almost completely opposite from what conventional “wisdom” recommends. For example, whole milk (if you do dairy) is not only healthy, but ideal. Low-fat is most certainly not. Healthy oils are those like coconut and olive, not canola, soybean, corn, and other vegetable oils.

A typical Paleo breakfast for a pregnant woman might consist of two or three eggs scrambled in raw milk pastured butter, some cooked chicken, fish, or seafood, some fruit, and some wilted spinach or other greens. There’s absolutely no need for toast, a bagel, or other grain.

The Importance of a Balanced Diet during Pregnancy

Women who were following a low-carb diet pre-pregnancy should probably increase their carb intake during the first trimester. The placenta grows best when fed a good diet with moderate protein, moderate carbs, and high fat.

This can also help prevent low blood sugar, which is thought to contribute to morning sickness. When your pregnant body craves carbs, go for potatoes, berries and root vegetables.

If you find yourself with lots of carb cravings, listen to your body. Just make sure to pick healthy carbs, like those from sweet potatoes, white potatoes, beets, and other root vegetables. Fruit like berries are also a great choice.

Pick those that are local and in-season, and try to avoid those on the Dirty Dozen list unless you get them organic. Eat as much from the Clean 15 list as you want, of course.

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Supplements

Most doctors will recommend a prenatal vitamin to pregnant women, and for good cause. Most women simply don’t eat a diet sufficient in all of the micronutrients needed to grow a healthy baby.

Even women who eat a strict Paleo diet probably could benefit from a good-quality prenatal vitamin, or various vitamins separately depending on what is lacking in their diet. Make sure if you do choose a multi, that you pay close attention to the amounts of each micronutrient.

Most have too much of some things (like Iodine or Folic Acid) for women who eat Paleo, and not enough Vitamin D or Vitamin K (if it even has Vitamin K in it at all). A great source of Vitamins D and A is fermented cod liver oil, particularly if you don’t eat organ meats.

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Exercise

Exercise is another of those sensitive subjects where a lot of people will think that just because you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t work out. This couldn’t be farther from the truth, but of course, it all depends upon your activity level before pregnancy.

If you never did any cardio or lifted weights before you got pregnant, pregnancy is not the time to start. If you worked out regularly before, there’s no reason to stop just because you got pregnant (unless there’s a medical reason).You can certainly exercise while pregnant. Just make sure to take it easy!

General tips would be to make sure your core temperature stays below 102F, avoid high-risk or contact sports, and don’t allow your heart rate to stay above 140 for more than a few minutes at a time. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids before and during, and stop immediately if you feel lightheaded, nauseous, or dizzy.

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Natural Hygiene Tips

Being Paleo isn’t just about the foods you eat; it should also address what you put on your body, like personal hygiene products. Natural hygiene items will help reduce your exposure to toxic substances, and thereby reduce your developing baby’s exposure as well. Read the ingredients on labels and try to avoid as many chemicals as possible.

You might even consider switching your household cleaning products to natural ones like vinegar and baking soda. You’ll not only be making the best choice for your baby, but you’ll save money, too.

Watch these 2 videos below:

EXERCISE DURING PREGNANCY | DO’S AND DON’TS!

Pregnancy Stretching Routine | Best Stretches to Relieve Pregnancy Symptoms!

Written by PaleoHacks Team

Author Bio:

PaleoHacks is an online paleo diet community that promotes a healthy lifestyles through primal methods. PaleoHacks started as a way for people share recipes, ideas and general opinions about the Paleolithic lifestyle. Now, whether it be the paleo diet, physical fitness or overall wellness, PaleoHacks has evolved into an online resource for healthy living. check us out on Facebook.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

Why Do I Need Vitamin B12 and How to Get More?

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Vitamin B12- More Important Than You Realize

Vitamin B12 is possibly one of the most important vitamins, period. You may only be modestly familiar with it, but certainly your cells are not; B12 is involved in the metabolism of every cell in the human body.

Deficiency of B12 is akin to going crazy, as it is linked to psychosis. It is found in a variety of foods though, so rest assured that it is fairly easy to get enough.

However, deficiency rates are much higher than they should be and they are especially common among vegans and vegetarians. This is also true of pregnant women. So, read on about how, and why, getting enough vitamin B12 is vital to good health.

Why It’s Important

Vitamin B12 is vital to every cell, and nearly every chemical reaction in the body. Plants and animals are not capable of constructing vitamin B12. This is intriguing, since humans can construct a variety of things endogenously. Bacteria and archaea can biosynthesize vitamin B12 because they have the required enzymes.

DNA production requires B12. Since DNA is an important structural element to nearly all life, you can begin to understand the vital importance of B12. Cells will swell in size (they normally divide quite quickly) if B12 is low. This is known as macrocytosis.

Besides DNA production, B12 is used in production of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are brain chemicals, which help to communicate information throughout our brain and body.

Nerve damage is a risk for people extremely low in vitamin B12. Symptoms usually first appear in the hands and feet and then may even move to the brain. Vitamin B12 is vital for mood regulation, sleep and overall health.

B12 is also important for mood regulation. Researchers have found that low B12 levels in the body can stop serotonin production, which is especially important when being treated with anti-depressant medications.

Some researchers have even pinpointed obsessive-compulsive disorder as an early manifestation of B12 deficiency. People with OCD have dysregulation in the serotoninergic system and in the efficacy of SRIs. This lends credence to the earlier point that adequate B12 levels are vital to normal physiologic function and mood, as well as sleeping patterns.

Also, the majority (a whopping 62%) of pregnant women have been found to be deficient in vitamin B12. If pregnant, getting enough B12 will make a huge difference to the health of both yourself and your unborn child.

Best Seafood Sources of Vitamin B12

It almost seems as though fish was created almost solely as vehicles for B12! Higher in omega-3 fatty acids, the most important of which is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), wild-caught seafood is a vital part of any nutrient-dense diet.

Of the many Paleo-friendly foods that contain vitamin B12 — most of which are fish — the best by far are sardines. With a whopping 337% of the daily value of B12, all for less than 200 calories, sardines should be your go-to food when you’re feeling low.

Unsurprisingly, tuna is another great source of vitamin B12. With over 100% of the daily value for less than 200 calories, tuna contains plenty of this special vitamin. Try making these spicy tuna rolls to get your fill!

Salmon is next on our list, with over 200% of your daily value of vitamin B12, and it is also quite possibly the most perfect food you can eat, nutrient-wise. These Salmon Burgers Recipe with Jicama Coleslaw and Dill Dressing taste pretty perfect, too!

Cod is also a great choice, with just over 100% of your daily value of B12. Though not quite as nutrient-packed as our first three foods listed, cod is excellent by any other standard form of measure.

With a full daily serving of selenium, cod is a great seafood choice to make, as often as possible. Bulk up on seafood: sardines, tuna, salmon, cod, scallops and shrimp have the highest concentrations of vitamin B12.

Scallops, though often forgotten, are an excellent source of vitamin B12 and many other nutrients. They are high in choline, selenium, protein, phosphorous and iodine.

Easily making the cut for so-called “superfoods”, scallops should be added to any healthy Paleo diet.

Shrimp is another great choice, as well as a source of astaxanthin, which is being studied for its antioxidant properties. Shrimp is also high in selenium, phosphorous, choline, protein, copper and iodine but low in calories.

Best Meat Sources

The first non-seafood item on our list, lamb contains much more than your daily recommended amount of vitamin B12. It is also packed with other nutrients and minerals, such as: vitamin A, copper, selenium, iron and riboflavin.

There is also plenty of zinc and enough protein to make lamb an obvious choice for your next nutrient-packed meal. Grass-fed beef is also an excellent choice.

Unfortunately, plant foods are not a great source of vitamin B12. This puts vegans and vegetarians at risk for deficiency, and they may be the best candidates for supplementation.

Supplementation

Though it should be very feasible to get enough vitamin B12 when following a Paleo diet, there are some reasons and situations which may require certain individuals to follow a supplementation plan.

This can include, but is not limited to: improper absorption, complications due to other medications or conditions, and/or a vegan or vegetarian diet. Need a vitamin B12 supplement? We recommend getting methylcobalamin.

In fact, I recommend to all my vegan and vegetarian clients that they supplement with vitamin B12 to make sure they do not become deficient.

The three kinds most common types of supplements are hydroxocobalamin, cyanocobalamin and methylcobalamin. Of these, I always have my clients supplement with methylcobalamin, which has been shown time and time again to be the most superior form.

The Bottom Line

Does it seem that you may be deficient in vitamin B12? It is more common than people seem to think. Hopefully I’ve outlined both the dangers of deficiency in this vitamin, and the right way to include great amounts of it in your diet.

Nerve damage and anemia are not things that you want to experience, and eating some tuna or sardines is a small (and easy!) remedy to this potential problem.

Watch this video – All About Vitamin B12 in 10 Minutes

Written by Casey Thaler

Author Bio:

Casey Thaler, B.A., NASM-CPT, FNS is an NASM® certified personal trainer and NASM® certified fitness nutrition specialist. He writes for Paleo Magazine®, The Paleo Diet® and Greatist®. He is also an advisor for Kettle and Fire and runs his own nutrition and fitness consulting company, Eat Clean, Train Clean®.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook