It is no secret that many cultures utilize food as medicine. In this country we are not as good at that principal. There is no other time like the present to be aware of what we are putting in our body. You are growing a human, so it is safe to say that it there are foods that are great for growing a baby, and some that are not. About 80% of your immune system resides in your gut, and what you eat directly impacts your gut. Digestive and immune health have never been more important.
My go to Food/health and wellness practitioners are Lily Nichols who is the author of Real Food for Pregnancy, Dr. Aviva Romm, and the wellness brand Sakara. People on this planet have relied on food for healing, nourishment and energy, but taking a look at how that is impacting the body is something that this culture has not valued until recently. We skip meals. We knowingly eat over processed food not thinking about how it impacts our microbiome. We skip meals. We don’t read labels, and if we do, we typically have not idea what they actually mean. Think about when we become pregnant our meals, and everything that we consume comes under instant fire. We are either told to go ahead and eat anything in sight because we are “eating for two” which by the way is the dumbest advice ever, or we are constantly watched and told that everything that we eat is bad for the baby. The problem? We don’t really understand how it all works. I have spent a lifetime fighting damaging food relationships, and I feel like I have finally found some resources that use science, and is not confusing and boring. Let me break down my favorites, what they are about, and why you need to visit these sites, buy the books, listen to the podcasts and understand how imperative this knowledge is and how making changes isn’t going to be as hard as you think.
SAKARA: This is my favorite Lifestyle company around. Here’s why. It has changed how I eat, nourish my body, and take care of the single most important person in my house. Me. Now, I know that might sound a little egotistical, but stay with me. I have three children, a husband, and a gigantic Golden Retriever puppy (70 IBS at 7 months). If I have brain fog, exhaustion, energy issues, it really does come down to how I am taking care of myself. If I’m down…..I have a lot of people relying on me to take care of them, and I can’t do it if I’m not well. I used to grab what I could, eat whatever was lying around. I was exhausted, crabby and felt awful. I started listening to their podcast, and was hooked. There is no calorie counting, just real clean eating and they offer three or five day meal delivery. It is the best and easiest way to nourish your body. They focus on the their nine pillars of nutrition which are things like eat the rainbow, body intelligence, nutrient density, and it’s backed by science. I always tell my clients, even if you just do the three day meal plan for one week postpartum, you will be giving yourself the best food that you possibly can, and will not have any hassle in figuring out what to eat. The Prenatal Vitamin is curated to support all stages of pregnancy, is clean, plant-based, medical grade and doctor formulated. Use my code XOHOLLY for 20% off your first order. You’ll thank me later, I promise!
Lily Nichols book Real Food For Pregnancy is an absolute godsend. There is no obsessive calorie counting or portion control on the menu. Just evidence based on science, and you all know that I am a big fan of that! This book is the missing peice. Lily breaks down the complicated science of food that we all roll our eyes at, and presents the information in a easy to apply change your life kind of way. It really is the most comprehensive nutrition book for pregnancy available. Giving you recipes and explaining what “Real Food” is and how use the information to nurture our body. “Real Food is as close to it’s source as possible and grown or raised in conditions that maximize nutrient density.” (Lily Nichols) Let me ask you this question. If you knew that what you ate during pregnancy could impact whether your baby suffers from skin issues, asthma or a laundry list of other issues, would you eat differently? What we eat impacts the long term health of ourselves AND our baby. Get the book! Just get it, you won’t regret it.
Dr. Aviva Romm is frankly just no bullsh*t. Her new book is coming out on June 8th and is called Hormone Intelligence. Dr. Romm has spent over 35 years as a midwife, DR and herbalist. What we eat impacts our health ecosystem. Why do 80% of women suffer from gynecological issues? There is a wealth of FREE information on her website and podcast and it is well worth your time to get over there and give it a listen. The most important decision that we can make is to decide how we want to feel, and all of her research and education is a no BS way to help us do that. Little hint here….It all goes to back to what we consume, our microbiome, and our ecosystem. We can’t fix everything, but we owe it to ourselves to take the best care of ourselves that we can. If we aren’t well, we can’t be the best possible mom to our kids.
As I move through this life and get older one thing that I have come to realize, is that all of it moves really fast. My oldest will be graduating in two weeks, and my youngest is five. There is a lot I still need to do to keep up with these kids and the best way to do that is through really taking a look at how I take care of my body. Once I started to pay attention, educate myself, I felt better. I mean a lot better. We hear it a lot. Stop eating all of the things, however sometimes we do what is easy and just say to ourselves that we’ll do it later. Do it today. Do it now. I promise you will be amazed at how you feel, how your body serves you. You honestly can’t afford not to make changes now. I know that I put it off for way to long, but now I don’t miss the “old” way of eating, I crave the rainbow, and you will too.