Morning Sickness…

 I could have filed this under the “Mermaid Momma” blog but I decided to place it under my blog Jodelle-Approved section because we all seem to know someone who is pregnant or could become pregnant who will benefit from this information.

Morning sickness is a common symptom among expectant moms, and while some may “expect” this to be a normal symptom that a woman should simply put up with, you should know that morning sickness is not really the mystery everyone makes it out to be. Let me cut right to the chase and give it to you straight:  Morning sickness is A MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY.

Yep, when that baby is growing and it order to get what it needs, babies do not just suck the living daylights out of your ta-tas, they also suck the living minerals right out of your body even before they make their debut.  And since magnesium is responsible for 75% of our body’s processes, you can bet your crocheted baby booties that baby will be stealing all the magnesium.  Enter morning sickness.  Mamma feels tired, achy, nauseous, and even may have muscle cramps all of which is a magnesium deficiency and easily remedied by taking in a good amount of magnesium (not saltine crackers).

Think you can just pop those prenatal and your off to the races, nausea-free?  Think again.  

Prenatal vitamins don’t always have adequate amounts for certain women who experience this.  The recommended daily dosage of magnesium is 400mg, yet for some women that is still to low.  Besides that, most prenatals use a cheap form of magnesium, known as Magnesium Oxide, which is hardly absorbable at all by the body.  This is where “pissing your money away” comes in.

So what’s a yummy mummy to do to get her magnesium levels up?  Here’s my 3 top tips:

1.  Get your gut in check.  Make sure your gut, meaning your intestines, colon, bowel, and the like are in good working order by crowding out any inflammatory foods that break down the gut wall lining.  Foods to be eliminated are gluten, sugar, milk, and soy. Once these foods are eliminated and the gut heals, you will be fully able to absorb the magnesium from foods.  If you have gut inflammation, you can take all the magnesium in the world and you won’t absorb any of it.
2. Crowd out those inflammatory villains with magnesium-rich foods: avocado, guacamole, potatoes, dark leafy greens, small amounts of beans and lentils, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pili nuts, and my personal favorite – cocoa (dark chocolate instead of saltines? Yes, please!) Also, adding in celtic sea salt to your foods as you cook or flavor things is another great way to keep magnesium levels up!
3. Supplement with a quality magnesium supplement in addition to your prenatal (check with your health care practitioner first of course) such as magnesium glycinate, one of the most absorbable forms of magnesium.  Consider a daily intake of 600-800mg to keep morning sickness at bay.

If you or someone you know is a human incubator, consider this information to talk with your health care practitioner about, or consider passing it along to help women get some actual relief from morning sickness, versus just dealing with it in the form of dry, bland, crunchy starch made in a factory. (FYI, Saltines have no magnesium).

Questions, concerns, comments, hit me up at getfitwithjodelle@gmail.com and remember, it’s all about going to the root of the problem instead of just treating symptoms.