Nutritionist’s List .. organic diet guide
organic diet guide Essential Grocery List
organic diet guide offers practical, no-nonsense advice that takes into account real-life budgets, real-life schedules, and real-life cooking skills.
organic diet guide recommends adding fresh fruits and vegetables to the mix, but even with just his recommended staples, you’ll be within 15 minutes a tasty, healthy meal.
These ingredients cook quickly and easily, and you can make hundreds of dishes from them.
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Nutritionist’s List .. organic diet guide |
organic diet guide Essential Grocery List :
Instant brown rice
Canned beans (unsalted)
Canned tomato products (unsalted)
Intact whole grains (quinoa, kasha/buckwheat, oats)
Whole wheat pasta (or whole-grain corn pasta or brown rice pasta)
Frozen vegetables
Frozen soups
Frozen fruit
Dried fruit (for baking and seasoning)
Almond butter
Raw almonds
Load your plate with vegetables.
Even the USDA has abandoned the confusing food pyramid in favor of a simpler “healthy plate” diagram. To build a healthy plate, fill half your plate with vegetables — and, no, French fries don’t count! Choose “crunchy” vegetables, such as broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts, and leafy greens like kale and Swiss chard. On the other side of the plate, but whole grains or legumes in one quarter and a serving of healthy, lean protein in the other.
Eat a balanced breakfast.
You’ve heard it before, and it’s true: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating a healthy breakfast is absolutely crucial to help kickstart metabolism, improve cognitive function, and help you make better food choices throughout the day. The ideal meal includes protein, healthy fat, and some complex carbohydrates.
Don’t starve yourself.
This strategy is not only unhealthy — it nearly always backfires. If you don’t eat enough calories throughout the day, you’ll be more likely to overindulge at night. When you focus your efforts all day on skimping on food, you set yourself up for an eating binge later on. And instead of sitting down to a healthy evening meal, you’re more likely to reward yourself for being so “good” all day by reaching for a calorie-bomb like a pint of ice cream or piece of cake.
Ask questions when you eat out.
Menus can be very deceiving, and even healthy-sounding entrées might be loaded with butter or smothered in a heavy sauce. Don’t be afraid to take control. Ask for details about how a dish is prepared, request sauces and dressings on the side, and make sure the server knows that you’re looking for a simple, healthy selection.
Have a plan when you hit the grocery store.
You know it’s a bad idea to go to the store when you’re hungry, but that’s not the only key to smarter shopping. The biggest mistake people make is not knowing what they need and, instead, browsing the aisles for inspiration. That leads to buying more packaged foods and less fresh, whole foods. Go in with a list based on recipes you intend to cook for the week and focus your shopping on the store’s perimeter, which is home to the fresh produce, dairy, meat, and fish.
Cut down on processed foods.
Not all packaged or pre-made food is bad for you, but you’ll need to read nutrition labels carefully in order to choose wisely. Ideally, you should gravitate toward healthy options that make nutritious cooking easier, like frozen vegetables and canned beans, and skip the meals in a box that is loaded with preservatives, hidden sources of fat, and too much sugar and sodium.
Limit your sodium and sugar.
Putting down the salt shaker and skipping sugar in your coffee is a step in the right direction, but that’s not where most people get the majority of their salt and sugar. Sodium and sugar are rampant in most packaged foods from pasta sauce and mac and cheese to rice mixes and soups. Start by checking the nutrition label on your breakfast cereal (some pack up to 20 grams of sugar per serving!).
Don’t just count calories.
Not all calories are created equal. People eat those 100-calorie packs of cookies or other snacks and focus on the fact that it’s only 100 calories, but they don’t pay attention to what else they’re getting, especially in terms of sugar and fat. The better approach: Focus on healthy, nutrient-dense foods that are naturally low in calories and rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Switch to whole grains.
When it comes to carbohydrates, brown is better. Whole-grain foods (like whole wheat, brown rice, and oatmeal) contain more nutrients and fiber than their processed white cousins. Not only are these complex carbohydrates healthier for you (higher fiber intake has been linked to a reduced risk of diabetes and heart disease), but they also help keep you full longer. So instead of shunning carbs in an effort to lose weight, start by swapping out the white ones for whole grains.
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Nutritionist’s List .. organic diet guide |
Enjoy your food.
This may sound obvious, but many people think that healthy eating and enjoyment are mutually exclusive. Pretend you never heard the word “diet.”‘ Instead, work toward a lifestyle built on healthy choices that are going to work for the long-term. In order to achieve that goal, find nutritious foods that you enjoy eating. Food should be something you relish and that nourishes you. It’s not just fuel.
Breastfeeding superfoods | Healthy Breastfeeding Diet
Nutrition Tips for Breastfeeding Moms!
Breastfeeding superfoods
It isn’t always easy to get all the nutrition that you need. When you’re a mom, whether you have a newborn or toddler, you’re busy and tired. Plus, if you don’t have much help, it can be tough to take care of all you have to do in a day.
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Breastfeeding superfoods | Healthy Breastfeeding Diet |
The thought of cooking healthy meals and taking care of yourself can easily fall by the wayside.
It’s understandable. But taking care of yourself is important. If you skip meals or don’t eat well, you’re likely to become more exhausted, lose excessive amounts of weight, and not feel well at all. But, if you do take the time to eat well and care for yourself.
you’ll feel healthier and stronger. That’s better for you and your baby. So, here are some healthy eating tips for breastfeeding moms.
Try to maintain a well-balanced diet. If you can, eat at least three full meals along with a variety of healthy foods and snacks each day. You may find that eating six smaller meals works better for you. Try to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.
lean proteins, and whole grains while limiting empty calorie snacks. Keep healthy snacks, fruit, and already cut-up veggies readily available, so you’ll be more likely to grab them as a snack instead of a cookie or a bag of chips.
What Is The Paleo Diet?
Add some fish to your weekly meal plans. If you enjoy eating fish, seafood is a healthy source of protein that also provides you with essential omega-3 fatty acids.
You can safely enjoy different types of low-mercury seafood such as salmon, light canned tuna, catfish, tilapia, cod, shrimp, crab, squid, and clams two to three times a week.
Get enough calories each day Breastfeeding and making breast milk uses up a lot of energy. So, while you’re breastfeeding, you should take in about 500 extra calories a day.
Now, what kind of calories are we talking about here? Junk food has lots of calories, but those calories aren’t nutritious.
Belly Fat in Women
So that’s not the kind you need. You can still have some junk food once in a while, but try to get most of your extra calories through healthier meals and snacks.
Eat some milk-making foods. Many of the healthy foods and snacks that you can choose during the day also promote a healthy supply of breast milk.
Oatmeal, chickpeas (hummus), dark green vegetables, and almonds all have properties that support milk production while being an excellent addition to your healthy breastfeeding diet.
Stay hydrated.
Breast milk is made mostly of water. And, breastfeeding—specifically the let-down reflex—can make you feel thirsty. So, you need to drink plenty of fluids.
Drink enough to quench your thirst and try to get in at least eight glasses of water or other healthy beverages every day. A good rule of thumb is to have a drink of water each time you breastfeed your baby.
That should be about 8 to 12 times a day, so you’re sure to be covered. If you don’t take in enough fluids, it can lead to dehydration and constipation. It can also cause a decrease in your breast milk supply.
Breastfeeding superfoods
Take your vitamins. While a healthy breastfeeding diet contains all the vitamins and nutrients that you need, you can still continue to take your prenatal vitamin.
However, you should keep in mind that vitamins cannot replace a healthy diet, they can only add to it.
On the other hand, vitamins may be necessary if you have a vitamin deficiency, you’re breastfeeding on a vegetarian or vegan diet, or you’ve had weight loss surgery.
Your doctor will let you know which additional vitamins you should be taking.
Consider any history of allergies in your family. If there is a strong history of food allergies, eczema, or asthma in your family, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian.
There may be some food items such as dairy products, peanuts, or shellfish that you should put off eating to prevent diarrhea, colic-like symptoms, rashes, and allergic reactions in your baby.
Be careful about dieting. If you’re worried about losing weight after the birth of your child, you’re not alone. It’s a common concern among mothers. However, you shouldn’t start a diet program too soon if you’re breastfeeding.
It’s not healthy to go on a strict calorie-reducing diet or to take diet pills and weight loss herbs while you’re breastfeeding. Doing so can be harmful to you and your baby.
But, once your body heals from childbirth and your breast milk supply is established, your doctor may recommend a healthy diet and exercise program to help you get to your target weight.
Of course, you need to be reasonable and remember that it took you nine months to get to where you are now, so be sure to give yourself at least that long to get back to where you want to be.
When it comes to breastfeeding, your baby will get everything compulsory for congruous magnification from your breast milk.
What you victual matters and breastfeeding superfoods should be your go-to. Good pabulum will avail increase your milk supply, give you more energy and avail you take off baby weight.
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Breastfeeding superfoods | Healthy Breastfeeding Diet |
The Real Mom’s Guide
What to eat:
APRICOTS
Eating apricots can increase prolactin, which is the hormone that tells your body to produce milk. Apricots contain essential nutrients such as dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium. Fresh is better than canned.
SALMON AND SARDINES
An excellent source of protein, salmon is rich in vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids. It is also one of only a few sources that has natural vitamin D, and many women have vitamin D deficiencies. B12 and omega-3 are thought to help ward off postpartum depression. Salmon is great for breastfeeding moms because it contains large amounts of DHA, a type of fat important for the development of a baby’s nervous system. Wild-caught, farm-raised or canned salmon is good for you. Both salmon and sardines can increase breast milk production.
BEEF
Breastfeeding moms have more need for the mineral zinc. Choose grass-fed beef when you can because it has more omega-3 fatty acids and doesn’t have added antibiotics and hormones.
EGGS
Eggs are rich in protein, choline, lutein, vitamins B12 and D, riboflavin and folate. They are a quick, easy meal or snack.
VEGETABLES
Leafy greens are rich in vitamins A, C, E and K as well as fiber, antioxidants and minerals including calcium. Plus — drum roll — they are so low in calories you can eat them all day long and not have to worry about how many calories you have consumed.
Secret Anabolic Recipes | Cook Healthy | Muscle Building Meals
SWEET POTATOES
Just one medium sweet potato meets the daily recommendation of vitamin A for breast-feeding moms. Vitamin A is important for vision, bone growth, immune function and cell specialization. Your baby is dependent on your dietary intake to get the vitamin A required for growth and development. That’s another advantage of breast-feeding. Breast-fed babies are very rarely found to be deficient in vitamin A. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of potassium too.
BEANS
As great sources of protein, iron and fiber, legumes and beans belong in your diet. They also have lots of minerals and phytochemicals — naturally, non-nutrient chemicals a plant produces. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, studies on phytochemicals have shown they can stimulate the immune system, block bad substances we eat, drink and breathe from becoming carcinogens (cancer causing), reduce the kind of inflammation that makes cancer growth more likely.
NUTS AND SEEDS
(Breastfeeding moms should have 1,000 mg of calcium daily.)
Nuts and seeds contain protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
On the seeds side, try sesame seeds. They also are packed with calcium as well as fiber, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, copper and manganese. Toast and sprinkle them over a salad or veggies.
WHOLE GRAINS
Breads
Rice
Pasta
Oatmeal
Brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and oatmeal are all complex carbohydrates
YOGURT
We’ve told you that calcium is important. Get some of the required 1,000 mg a day from low-fat or Greek yogurt. It’s also a good source of protein. There are so many flavors available that you are sure to find ones you like. Add fruit or granola for an even yummier yogurt. (Caution: If your baby has been diagnosed with milk protein intolerance, dairy products like yogurt should not be part of your diet.)
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Breastfeeding superfoods | Healthy Breastfeeding Diet |
Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Cholesterol
Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Cholesterol
Here are a few tips for taking the next step.
Go longer. If 20 minutes of activity a day feels good for a while, try for 30. Or 40. You can do this all at one time, or you can break it up into chunks. For example, get 15 minutes of activity in the morning before work, 10 more during your lunch hour, and 15 after work. Or break it into four 10-minute sessions.
Go harder. Spending more time exercising is one way to increase activity. But it’s not the only way.
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Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Cholesterol |
If you walk now, try walking faster, or walking on hills or stairs. Maybe even carry a couple of lightweights while you walk. The extra energy you use for the harder activity will increase your muscle mass and make you stronger.
Try something new. Dust off that bicycle and go for a ride. Or try swimming. Going for a swim gives your body a great workout without any impact on your bones, joints, or feet.
Add dancing to your routine, paddle a boat, or give yoga a try. Talk to your doctor about activities that might be right for you.
Lose weight if you need toIf you need to lose a few kilograms to reach a healthy weight, don’t think you have to try a radical fad diet.
The best way to lose weight is to eat better and move more. Eating smaller portions of healthier food will make you feel better. And along with exercise or even light activity, eating better can help you lose extra kilograms if you have them.
If you smoke, quitQuitting smoking can help you raise your HDL. It’s one of the best things you can do for your health. But it isn’t easy. Here are a few tips for when you’re ready to quit:
Get ready. Set a date to quit. Pick a time when you won’t have a lot of stress in your life. Before that date, get rid of ashtrays and lighters. And don’t let people smoke in your home.
Change your routine. For example, if you smoke after eating, take a walk instead.
Use medicine. It can help with cravings and stress. Your doctor can prescribe medicine that can help you quit smoking.
You might have to make a few changes to follow a heart-healthy diet. The truth is that making lifestyle changes takes some work.And making lifestyle changes that become part of your normal routine is harder still. The key is to make small changes and make them a habit.
And when you’ve turned one small change into a lifelong habit, start again with another small change.Below you’ll find some tips for making small changes that can help you get started on healthy changes.Eat healthy foods.
Here are a few tips to get you started on making small changes at home:Eat one more serving of fruits or vegetables every day.
Add an apple or some carrots at lunch, or double your helping of vegetables at dinner.Avoid deep-fried foods. Swap the fried chicken for baked chicken.
Or skip the french fries and have a salad instead.Think of meat as a side dish, not the center of the meal. You can still eat meat. Just be smart about it. Eat leaner meat and less of it.
Try a vegetarian meal each week. You’ll be surprised at how delicious and filling a meal without meat can be.Switch to skim milk. If you’re drinking whole milk, try the step-down approach.
Change to 2% milk for a month, then to 1% for another month, and then move to skim. Use it in your coffee too.Eat healthy fats such as monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat.
Monounsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils such as canola and olive oil. Polyunsaturated fats are found in fish and in vegetable oils such as safflower and corn oil.
At the grocery store:Buy less red meat and more white-meat chicken or turkey. Don’t forget to remove the skin before you cook or eat it.Buy more fresh fish and shellfish.
When you cook it, try baking, poaching, or grilling. Don’t batter or fry it.Use soft or liquid margarine instead of butter or hard margarine. Check the label to make sure liquid (not hydrogenated) vegetable oil is the first ingredient.
Eating out:Don’t order deep-fried foods. Ask your server how the items on the menu are cooked. Avoid the chips and salsa, and skip the bread and butter too.Pay attention to serving size. Don’t eat everything on your plate just because it’s there.
Restaurant portions very often contain too much food. Eat a reasonable amount, and take the rest home.
Watch out for high-fat salad dressings and toppings at the salad bar. If your salad comes prepared, ask for the dressing on the side.Order meats that are roasted, baked, blackened, broiled, or boiled. Trim off the fat.
Ask for gravy or sauce on the side, or don’t get it at all. Avoid fried, grilled, sauteed, stewed, braised, or breaded meats.
Stay active
You don’t have to run out and join a gym to get active. Start small, and try to make exercise a part of your daily routine.
For some people, some forms of physical activity might be unsafe or should only be started after talking with a doctor. If you have any concerns, talk to your doctor before starting any exercise or fitness program.
Here are a few tips if you’re just starting out:To start, just walk more. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park farther away at the grocery store. Walk your dog for longer than usual.
Then find times in your day when you can fit in a half-hour of exercise.And find something that you enjoy doing. Make it fun and easy for yourself to do it, and you will be more likely to keep doing it.
Work your way up to getting moderate to vigorous activity for at least 2½ hours a week. It’s fine to be active in blocks of 10 minutes or more throughout your day and week.Remember that getting more active is not a one-time thing. Activity is something to build into your daily life, for the rest of your life.
What Is The Paleo Diet?
Snacks To Lower Cholesterol…
Popcorn
Benefits of Popcorn:
Improves Digestion
Lowers Cholesterol Levels
Regulates Blood Sugar
Rich in Polyphenols
Whole Grains
Benefits of Whole Grains:
High in nutrients and fiber
Lower your risk of heart disease
Reduce your risk of obesity
Lower your risk of type 2 diabetes
Support healthy digestion
Reduce chronic inflammation
May reduce your risk of cancer
Linked to a reduced risk of premature death
Nuts
Benefits of Nuts Have Healthy Fats:
A Great Source of Many Nutrients
Loaded With Antioxidants
May Aid Weight Loss
Lower Cholesterol and Triglycerides
Veggies With Hummus
Benefits of Veggies With Hummus Are Vitamin-Rich:
Super Nutritious and Packed With Plant-Based Protein
Rich in Ingredients Proven to Help Fight Inflammation
High in Fiber That Promotes Digestive Health and Feeds Your Good Gut Bacteria
Contains Heart-Healthy Ingredients That May Reduce Heart Disease Risk
Oatmeal
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Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Cholesterol |
Benefits of Fiber-Rich Oatmeal Soaks up Cholesterol:
Improving cholesterol levels
Providing antioxidants
Improving insulin response and reducing blood sugar
Providing plenty of vitamins and minerals
Promoting healthful bacteria in the digestive tract
Managing weight
Reducing the risk of asthma
Having an inordinate quantity of things to do and too minute time on your hands, victualing salubrious may be low on the list of your priorities. On some days, full course repasts are neglected in favor of more expeditious, lighter snacks. Let’s face it snacking is natural. If you are hungry between repasts, your body is telling you that it requires alimentation now. Ergo, you should definitely victual something to curb your hunger until the next repast. Victualing the erroneous snacks, however, is what can get you into trouble. Snacks high in fats and carbohydrates can increment cholesterol levels, cause weight gain, and can ineluctably lead to complications such as heart disease, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
Belly fat in women | What Causes Belly Fat in Women?!
Common causes of excess belly fat include the following :
Poor diet
Sugary food, such as cakes and candy, and drinks, such as soda and fruit juice, can:
cause weight gain
slow a person’s metabolism
reduce a person’s ability to burn fat
Low-protein, high-carb diets may also affect weight. Protein helps a person feel fuller for longer, and people who do not include lean protein in their diet may eat more food overall.
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Trans fats, in particular, can cause inflammation and may lead to obesity. Trans fats are in many foods, including fast food and baked goods, for example, muffins or crackers.
The American Heart Association recommends that people replace trans fats with healthful whole-grain foods, monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats.
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Belly fat in women | What Causes Belly Fat in Women?! |
Reading food labels can help a person determine whether their food contains trans fats.
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Too much alcohol
Consuming excess alcohol can cause a variety of health problems, including liver disease and inflammation.
A 2015 report on alcohol consumption and obesity in the journal Current Obesity Reports indicates that drinking excess alcohol causes males to gain weight around their bellies, though study results in females are inconsistent.
Secret Anabolic Recipes | Cook Healthy | Muscle Building Meals
Lack of exercise
If a person consumes more calories than they burn off, they will put on weight.
An inactive lifestyle makes it hard for a person to get rid of excess fat, particularly around the abdomen.
Stress
Asteroid hormone known as cortisol helps the body control and deal with stress. When a person is in a dangerous or high-pressure situation, their body releases cortisol, and this can impact on their metabolism.
People often reach for food for comfort when they feel stressed, and cortisol causes the excess calories to remain around the belly and other areas of the body for later use.
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Genetics
There is some evidence that a person’s genes can play a part in whether or not they become obese. Scientists think genes can influence behavior, metabolism, and the risk of developing obesity-related diseases.
Poor sleep
Too little rest can have an impact on well-being.
A study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine links weight gain to short sleep duration, which could lead to an excess of belly fat.
Both poor quality and short duration of sleep can play a part in the development of abdominal fat.
Not getting enough good sleep may, potentially, lead to unhealthful eating behaviors, such as emotional eating.
Belly Fat in Women
Smoking
Researchers may not consider smoking to be a direct cause of belly fat, but they do believe it to be a risk factor.
How to lose belly fat
By considering the following changes, people may be able to lose their unwanted belly fat:
Improve your diet
A healthy, balanced diet can help a person lose weight, and it is also likely to have a positive effect on their overall health.
Lifestyle Changes to Improve Your Cholesterol
People should avoid sugar, fatty foods, and refined carbohydrates that have low nutritional content. Instead, they should eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates.
Reduce your alcohol consumption
A person trying to lose excess abdominal fat should monitor their alcohol intake. Alcoholic drinks often contain additional sugar, which can contribute to weight gain.
Increase your exercise
A person can lose belly fat by exercising as part of their daily routine.
A sedentary lifestyle brings with it many serious health problems, including weight gain. People trying to lose weight should include a good amount of exercise in their daily routine.
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Get more sunlight
A 2016 review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health indicates that exposure to sunlight in animals could lead to a reduction in weight gain and metabolic dysfunction.
The review highlights that few studies have looked at the effects of sunlight on humans, in respect of weight gain. It states that more research is required to support the findings so far.
Reduce your stress
Stress can cause a person to gain weight. The release of the stress hormone cortisol influences a person’s appetite and could cause them to eat more.
Stress-relieving tactics include mindfulness and meditation, and gentle exercise, such as yoga.
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Improve your sleep pattern
Sleep is vital to people’s overall health, and too little rest can have a severe impact on well-being.
Why do we get belly fat?
Before we discuss how to naturally get rid of a flabby tummy, let’s first look at what led to the belly fat accumulating in the first place. There are three reasons women collect belly fat:
Hormones
Lifestyle choices and habits
Dietary habits
Hormones:
The female body has been designed to naturally store fat in the hips, thighs, and buttocks to support childbirth and breastfeeding during childbearing years. But as you age, estrogen production decreases, and much of that fat is redistributed to the belly. This turns into visceral fat.
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Lifestyle choices and habits:
Lifestyle choices such as the amount of sleep you get, the amount of stress you carry, and your activity levels have a large impact on your belly fat and overall wellbeing. Are you active? How much TV do you watch in a given night?
Dietary habits:
Arguably more important than the previous two causes of belly fat, your dietary habits must be kept in check. Excess calorie consumption and the type of foods you consume are a large contributor to belly fat as well.
Now that we understand what has lead to the muffin top, let’s talk about how to get rid of it. I’ve compiled the top 22 ways to shed your belly fat naturally: that means no pills, no wraps, no surgery. Consider this your ultimate guide to naturally getting rid of your gut!
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Avoid sugary foods
We all know that sugar isn’t healthy. It contains fructose, which has been linked to several chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and liver disease when consumed in excess.
Grab a hand full of nuts for your afternoon snack. These contain healthy fats and don’t contain sugar like most snack foods.
Avoid sugary drinks
Sugar-sweetened drinks are full of liquid fructose, which can lead to belly fat. And since your brain doesn’t process liquid calories the same as solid calories, you’re likely to end up consuming more than you should. And that’s why sugary beverages can even be worse than high-sugar foods.
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
To lose and prevent belly fat, it’s a good idea to avoid those sugary beverages and alcoholic mixers containing sugar.
Exchange your soda for sparkling flavored water.
Consume soluble fiber
Consuming high-fiber foods each day has been shown to promote fat loss. Studies show that soluble fiber causes you to feel full and naturally promotes fat loss. In an observation study, soluble fiber was shown to help reduce belly fat. Soluble fiber has even been shown to combat belly fat.
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
“An observational study of over 1100 adults found that for every 10-gram increase in soluble fiber intake, belly fat gain decreased by 3.7% over a 5-year period,” according to Healthline.com. Flaxseeds, Brussels sprouts, avocados, legumes, and blackberries are all excellent sources of soluble fiber.
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Belly fat in women | What Causes Belly Fat in Women?! |
Make avocado toast for breakfast, sprinkle some blackberries onto your yogurt, or make a side of Brussel sprouts for dinner.
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Avoid trans fats
Trans fats have been linked to fat gain along with several other diseases.
A study conducted over six years found that monkeys consuming a high-trans-fat diet gained significantly more weight and abdominal fat than the test group.
To avoid gaining belly fat, make sure you are proactively reading labels, and avoid products containing trans fats.
Avoid large amounts of alcohol
It’s called a beer belly for a reason. Research has shown that too much alcohol will lead to belly fat. Carefully monitoring, and cutting back if needed, can help reduce the size of your tummy.
Begin your night with a number in mind. Then don’t surpass that number of drinks. Switch to sparkling water once you’ve hit your predetermined number of adult beverages.
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Eat protein
Studies have proven that if you consume more protein you’ll be more likely to have less fat around your belly.
When you consume protein your body releases a hormone called PYY. This hormone helps to decrease your appetite.
Get a good protein powder: one without the added junk. I talk about my favorite protein powders and what I look for when buying protein powder in this post: Best Supplements for You and Your Family.
Reduce stress
When you are stressed your body produces cortisol (a.k.a. the “stress hormone”) and in turn, increases your appetite causing an increase in belly fat.
Where you tend to gain fat depends on your genes, your hormones, your age, your birth weight (smaller babies more readily add belly fat later in life), and whether you’ve had children (women who have given birth tend to develop more visceral fat than women who haven’t).
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
As young adults, women on average have less visceral fat than men, but that changes with menopause. In a four-year study at Louisiana State University tracking healthy middle-aged women, every one of them put on some subcutaneous belly fat, but only those who entered menopause added significant amounts of visceral fat. Lowered estrogen levels (which increase the proportional influence of testosterone) contribute to the shift toward a male pattern.
You can’t change your birth weight or your genes, and you can’t hold off menopause. (Studies are mixed about whether hormone replacement therapy influences visceral fat gain.) But there are several ways you can minimize the accumulation of visceral fat. The good news is that because it’s more readily metabolized into fatty acids, it responds more efficiently to diet and exercise than fat on the hips and thighs. Here are some approaches that may help:
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Keep moving. Exercise can help reduce your waist circumference. Even if you don’t lose weight, you lose visceral fat and gain muscle mass. In the Louisiana study, the women going through menopause (those who gained visceral fat) also became less physically active.
Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days, such as brisk walking or bicycling at a casual pace. Also, Kahn suggests, create opportunities to add motion to routine tasks. For example, park farther from your destination and walk the rest of the way, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and stand while you talk on the phone.
Studies have shown that you can help trim visceral fat or prevent its growth with both aerobic activity (such as brisk walking) and strength training (exercising with weights). Spot exercises, such as sit-ups, can tighten abdominal muscles but won’t get at visceral fat.
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Exercise can also help keep fat from coming back. In a study at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, dieting women lost an average of 24 pounds and reduced both visceral and subcutaneous fat, with or without aerobic or strength-training exercise. In the following year, those who maintained their exercise programs — a modest 40 minutes twice a week — maintained their visceral fat loss, while those who didn’t exercise or abandoned their programs showed a 33% average increase in visceral fat.
Eat right. Choose a balanced diet that helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Include plenty of calcium: according to another study from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, the more calcium a woman consumes, the less visceral fat she gains. Avoid products that seem to encourage belly fat deposition, including trans fats (hydrogenated vegetable oils) and fructose-sweetened foods and beverages.
Don’t smoke. The more you smoke, the more likely you are to store fat in your abdomen rather than on your hips and thighs.
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Belly fat in women | What Causes Belly Fat in Women?! |
What Causes Belly Fat in Women
Get your sleep. Too little is bad. A five-year study found that adults under age 40 who slept five hours or less a night accumulated significantly more visceral fat. But too much isn’t good, either — young adults who slept more than eight hours also added visceral fat. (This relationship wasn’t found in people over age 40.)
Mind your mood. In the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, middle-aged women who showed more hostility and had more depressive symptoms also had more visceral fat — but not more subcutaneous fat. In other studies, higher levels of the stress hormone
Is intermittent fasting a quick fix | Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting Surprising update!
the main reason people try intermittent fasting is to lose fat.
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
Intermittent fasting is not a diet, it’s a pattern of eating. It’s a way of scheduling your meals so that you get the most out of them. Intermittent fasting doesn’t change what you eat, it changes when you eat.
Why is it worthwhile to change when you’re eating?
Well, most notably, it’s a great way to get lean without going on a crazy diet or cutting your calories down to nothing. intermittent fasting is a good way to keep muscle mass on while getting lean.
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
To understand how intermittent fasting leads to fat loss we first need to understand the difference between the fed state and the fasted state.
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Is intermittent fasting a quick fix | Intermittent fasting |
Your body is in the fed state when it is digesting and absorbing food. Typically, the fed state starts when you begin eating and lasts for three to five hours as your body digests and absorbs the food you just ate. When you are in the fed state, it’s very hard for your body to burn fat because your insulin levels are high.
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
After that timespan, your body goes into what is known as the post–absorptive state, which is just a fancy way of saying that your body isn’t processing a meal. The post–absorptive state lasts until 8 to 12 hours after your last meal, which is when you enter the fasted state. It is much easier for you body to burn fat in the fasted state because your insulin levels are low.
When you’re in the fasted state your body can burn fat that has been inaccessible during the fed state.
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Because we don’t enter the fasted state until 12 hours after our last meal, it’s rare that our bodies are in this fat burning state. This is one of the reasons why many people who start intermittent fasting will lose fat without changing what they eat, how much they eat, or how often they exercise. Fasting puts your body in a fat burning state that you rarely make it to during a normal eating schedule.
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The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Fat loss is great, but it isn’t the only benefit of fasting.
1. Intermittent fasting makes your day simpler.
I’m big on behavior change, simplicity, and reducing stress. Intermittent fasting provides additional simplicity to my life that I really enjoy. When I wake up, I don’t worry about breakfast. I just grab a glass of water and start my day.
I enjoy eating and I don’t mind cooking, so eating three meals a day was never a hassle for me. However, intermittent fasting allows me to eat one less meal, which also means planning one less meal, cooking one less meal, and stressing about one less meal. It makes life a bit simpler and I like that.
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
2. Intermittent fasting helps you live longer.
Scientists have long known that restricting calories is a way of lengthening life. From a logical standpoint, this makes sense. When you’re starving, your body finds ways to extend your life.
There’s just one problem: who wants to starve themselves in the name of living longer?
I don’t know about you, but I’m interested in enjoying a long life. Starving myself doesn’t sound that appetizing.
The good news is that intermittent fasting activates many of the same mechanisms for extending life as calorie restriction. In other words, you get the benefits of a longer life without the hassle of starving.
Way back in 1945 it was discovered that intermittent fasting extended life in mice. (Here’s the study.) More recently, this study found that alternate day intermittent fasting led to longer lifespans.
3. Intermittent fasting may reduce the risk of cancer.
This one is up for debate because there hasn’t been a lot of research and experimentation done on the relationship between cancer and fasting. Early reports, however, look positive.
This study of 10 cancer patients suggests that the side effects of chemotherapy may be diminished by fasting before treatment. This finding is also supported by another study that used alternate day fasting with cancer patients and concluded that fasting before chemotherapy would result in better cure rates and fewer deaths.
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Finally, this comprehensive analysis of many studies on fasting and disease has concluded that fasting appears to not only reduce the risk of cancer but also cardiovascular disease.
4. Intermittent fasting is much easier than dieting.
The reason most diets fail isn’t that we switch to the wrong foods, it’s because we don’t actually follow the diet over the long term. It’s not a nutrition problem, it’s a behavior change problem.
This is where intermittent fasting shines because it’s remarkably easy to implement once you get over the idea that you need to eat all the time. For example, this study found that intermittent fasting was an effective strategy for weight loss in obese adults and concluded that “subjects quickly adapt” to an intermittent fasting routine.
How do I try intermittent fasting?
There are four popular fasting approaches periodic fasting, time-restricted feeding, alternate-day fasting, and the 5:2 diet. Time-restricted feeding, sometimes called daily intermittent fasting, is perhaps the easiest and most popular fasting method. Daily intermittent fasters restrict eating to certain time periods each day, say 11 in the morning to 7 at night. The fasting period is usually around 12 or more hours that, helpfully, includes time spent sleeping overnight. Periodic fasting will feel most familiar: no food or drinks with calories for 24-hour periods. Another type of fast, alternate-day fasting requires severe calorie reduction every other day. Lastly, the 5:2 method was popularized by author Kate Harrison’s book “The 5:2 Diet” and requires fasting on two nonconsecutive days a week.
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
Is fasting an effective weight-loss method?
If you are obese or overweight, fasting is an effective weight-loss method, if you stick to it. But it is no more effective than a diet that restricts your daily calories. We know this because there were no additional weight-loss or cardiovascular benefits of fasting two days per week, over an ordinary calorie-restriction diet, in a study of 150 obese adults over the course of 50 weeks.
But you should also consider how difficult the diet will be to stick to. In a study of 100 randomized obese and overweight adults published in 2017, the dropout rate was higher with those who were fasting, 38 percent, compared with 29 percent for calorie restrictors, and 26 percent for those who kept eating as they normally did.
“Some people really struggle with having to monitor their intake and constantly record food in an app every day. So the takeaway of the study was if daily calorie restriction doesn’t work for you, maybe alternate-day fasting would be a little easier,” said Krista Varady, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the senior author of the study. “There’s nothing magical here. We’re tricking people into eating less food, in different ways,” she said in 2017.
There is some new evidence that shows different forms of fasting are not equal — in part because some are easier than others, but also because some forms of fasting better match our body’s natural circadian rhythm, thus lowering insulin levels, increasing fat-burning hormones and decreasing appetite.
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
Basically, because our metabolism has evolved to digest food during the day and rest at night, changing the timing of meals to earlier in the day may be beneficial.
In a study done in Dr. Peterson’s lab, 11 adults did time-restricted feeding (eating from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and a control 12-hour eating period, for four days each. On the last day of each session, researchers measured energy expenditure and hunger hormones and found that time-restricted feeding improves the appetite hormone ghrelin and increases fat burning. “It’s shown to reduce the amount of fat in the liver, which is a risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Peterson.
Bottom line: If you want to lose weight and are someone who hates counting calories, you might consider fasting, as both methods offer similar weight-loss benefits.
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Is intermittent fasting a quick fix | Intermittent fasting |
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
Should I try intermittent fasting?
The most effective diet is the one you can stick to while still living your best life. It’s hard to know which will work best before trying, but doctors and recent studies offer some guidance. Dr. Peterson said that complete, zero-calorie fasts generally prove to be too difficult to maintain. “People stick with them maybe for the short-term, but they get quite hungry in the long-term,” she said.
Time-restricted feeding — fasting overnight and into the next morning — is likely the easiest form of fasting to comply with. A longer than normal fasting period each night allows you to burn through some of your sugar stores, called glycogen. That does a couple of things. It gives your body a little bit more time to burn fat. It also may help your body get rid of any extra salt in your diet, which would lower your blood pressure, Dr. Peterson said.
Intermittent Fasting Plans | Intermittent Fasting for Beginners
Most people trying to lose weight should strive for 16 calorie-free hours, adding that “the easiest way to do this is to stop eating by 8 p.m., skip breakfast the next morning and then eat again at noon the next day.” (Caffeine-dependent people can have sugar- free black coffee or tea before lunch.) But don’t expect to see results immediately; it can take up to four weeks to notice an effect.
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Intermittent Fasting Plans | Intermittent Fasting for Beginners |
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
Weight loss As mentioned above, intermittent fasting can help you lose weight and belly fat, without having to consciously restrict calories.
Insulin resistance Intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance, lowering blood sugar which should protect.
Heart health Intermittent fasting may reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers, blood sugar and insulin resistance.
Cancer intermittent fasting may prevent cancer and Anti-aging.
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Brain health Intermittent fasting increases the brain hormone BDNF and may aid the growth of new nerve cells. It may also protect against Alzheimer’s disease.
Fat loss is great, but it isn’t the only benefit of fasting.
Intermittent fasting makes your day simpler.
Intermittent fasting helps you live longer.
Intermittent fasting is much easier than dieting.
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
What is intermittent fasting?
Many diets focus on what to eat, but intermittent fasting is all about when you eat.
It’s important to check with your doctor before starting intermittent fasting. Once you get his or her go-ahead, the actual practice is simple. You can pick a daily approach, which restricts daily eating to one six- to eight-hour period each day. For instance, you may choose to try 16/8 fasting: eating for eight hours and fasting for 16. Williams is a fan of the daily regimen: She says most people find it easy to stick with this pattern over the long term.
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Another, known as the 5:2 approach, involves eating regularly five days a week. For the other two days, you limit yourself to one 500–600 calorie meal. An example would be if you chose to eat normally every day of the week except Mondays and Thursdays, which would be your one-meal days.
Longer periods without food, such as 24, 36, 48, and 72-hour fasting periods, are not necessarily better for you and maybe dangerous. Going too long without eating might actually encourage your body to start storing more fat in response to starvation.
Mattson’s research shows that it can take two to four weeks before the body becomes accustomed to intermittent fasting. You might feel hungry or cranky while you’re getting used to the new routine. But, he observes, research subjects who make it through the adjustment period tend to stick with the plan, because they notice they feel better.
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
What can I eat while intermittent fasting?
During the times when you’re not eating, water, and zero-calorie beverages such as black coffee and tea are permitted.
And during your eating periods, “eating normally” does not mean going crazy. You’re not likely to lose weight or get healthier if you pack your feeding times with high-calorie junk food, super-sized fried items, and treats.
Belly Fat in Women
Seven ways to do intermittent fasting
There are various methods of intermittent fasting, and people will prefer different styles. Read on to find out about seven different ways to do intermittent fasting.
1. Fast for 12 hours a day
Different styles of intermittent fasting may suit different people.
The rules for this diet are simple. A person needs to decide on and adhere to a 12-hour fasting window every day.
According to some researchers, fasting for 10–16 hours can cause the body to burn its fat stores into energy, which releases ketones into the bloodstream. This should encourage weight loss.
This type of intermittent fasting plan may be a good option for beginners. This is because the fasting window is relatively small, much of the fasting occurs during sleep, and the person can consume the same number of calories each day.
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
The easiest way to do the 12-hour fast is to include the period of sleep in the fasting window.
For example, a person could choose to fast between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. They would need to finish their dinner before 7 p.m. and wait until 7 a.m. to eat breakfast but would be asleep for much of the time in between.
2. Fasting for 16 hours
Fasting for 16 hours a day, leaving an eating window of 8 hours, is called the 16:8 method or the Leangains diet.
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During the 16:8 diet, men fast for 16 hours each day, and women fast for 14 hours. This type of intermittent fast may be helpful for someone who has already tried the 12-hour fast but did not see any benefits.
On this fast, people usually finish their evening meal by 8 p.m. and then skip breakfast the next day, not eating again until noon.
A study on mice found that limiting the feeding window to 8 hours protected them from obesity, inflammation, diabetes, and liver disease, even when they ate the same total number of calories as mice that ate whenever they wished.
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3. Fasting for 2 days a week
People following the 5:2 diet eat standard amounts of healthful food for 5 days and reduce calorie intake on the other 2 days.
During the 2 fasting days, men generally consume 600 calories and women 500 calories.
Typically, people separate their fasting days in the week. For example, they may fast on a Monday and Thursday and eat normally on the other days. There should be at least 1 non-fasting day between fasting days.
There is limited research on the 5:2 diet, which is also known as the Fast Diet. A study involving 107 overweight or obese women found that restricting calories twice weekly and continuous calorie restriction both led to similar weight loss.
The study also found that this diet reduced insulin levels and improved insulin sensitivity among participants.
A small-scale study looked at the effects of this fasting style in 23 overweight women. Over the course of one menstrual cycle, the women lost 4.8 percent of their body weight and 8.0 percent of their total body fat. However, these measurements returned to normal for most of the women after 5 days of normal eating.
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
4. Alternate day fasting
There are several variations of the alternate-day fasting plan, which involves fasting every other day.
For some people, alternate day fasting means a complete avoidance of solid foods on fasting days, while other people allow up to 500 calories. On feeding days, people often choose to eat as much as they want.
One study reports that alternate-day fasting is effective for weight loss and heart health in both healthy and overweight adults. The researchers found that the 32 participants lost an average of 5.2 kilograms (kg), or just over 11 pounds (lb), over a 12-week period.
Alternate day fasting is quite an extreme form of intermittent fasting, and it may not be suitable for beginners or those with certain medical conditions. It may also be difficult to maintain this type of fasting in the long term.
5. A weekly 24-hour fast
On a 24-hour diet, a person can have teas and calorie-free drinks.
Fasting completely for 1 or 2 days a week, known as the Eat-Stop-Eat diet, involves eating no food for 24 hours at a time. Many people fast from breakfast to breakfast or lunch to lunch.
People on this diet plan can have water, tea, and other calorie-free drinks during the fasting period.
Intermittent fasting Weight Loss
People should return to normal eating patterns on the non-fasting days. Eating in this manner reduces a person’s total calorie intake but does not limit the specific foods that the individual consumes.
A 24-hour fast can be challenging, and it may cause fatigue, headaches, or irritability. Many people find that these effects become less extreme over time as the body adjusts to this new pattern of eating.
People may benefit from trying a 12-hour or 16-hour fast before transitioning to the 24-hour fast.
Causes &Treatment Depression During Pregnancy
Treatment Depression During Pregnancy
Causes &Treatment Depression During Pregnancy |
If you have untreated depression, you might not seek optimal prenatal care, eat the healthy foods your baby needs or have the energy to care for yourself.
You are also at increased risk of postpartum depression and having difficulty bonding with your baby.
Depending on the severity of your depression, treatment options might include psychotherapy or antidepressants in addition to psychotherapy.
Causes &Treatment Depression During Pregnancy
If I take antidepressants during my pregnancy, will they hurt my baby?
talk to your doctor first, before stopping any medication.
Some newborn babies may have symptoms such as irritability, fast breathing, tremors and poor feeding if their mothers took antidepressants during pregnancy.
These symptoms are almost always mild and pass quickly, usually within 2 weeks. Serious problems are very rare.
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What causes depression?
We’re not exactly sure. It may be a combination of things, like changing chemicals in the brain or changing hormones.
Hormones are chemicals made by the body. Some hormones can affect the parts of the brain that control emotions and mood.
Women with depression may not recognize they have it (especially if they have never had depression before).
Depression can have serious consequences for both you and your baby.
Early treatment is the most effective, and screening can detect symptoms early.
Ten to fifteen percent of women will be diagnosed with depression during pregnancy and in the postnatal period.
The most likely time for depression to begin is in the first few weeks after the baby’s birth. Common symptoms and signs of depression during and following pregnancy include:
feeling depressed or miserable consistently for most of the day and for most days of the week
feeling irritable, angry or anxious a lot of the time
increased crying, sometimes for no apparent reason
reduced interest in things that you would normally enjoy
not able to sleep (even when your baby is sleeping) or sleeping more than usual
reduced appetite or over-eating
excessive fatigue and tiredness
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difficulty concentrating and being forgetful
preoccupation with morbid thoughts or being anxious about multiple things, such as bad things happening to you, your pregnancy, your baby or your partner
feeling disconnected from your baby, that your baby is not really yours or that you do not have a bond with your baby
excessive feelings of guilt and/or failure, that you are a ‘bad mother’
thoughts of harming yourself
thoughts that things would be better for you and your baby if you (and your baby) were dead, leading to thoughts of suicide.
What causes depression?
There are many things that can contribute to, or make you vulnerable to depression, including:
The simple lifestyle shifts in the Eat Sleep Burn ugly belly fat…
a history of depression or anxiety
family members who have had or have depression or anxiety
stress during your pregnancy or if it was unplanned
your expectations of motherhood are unrealistic and you can’t meet them
a traumatic or complicated birth
relationship/marriage difficulties
lack of social support
your baby is sick or unsettled.
Causes &Treatment Depression During Pregnancy
Depression also may be caused by genes. Genes are parts of your body’s cells that store instructions for the way your body grows and works.
Genes are passed from parents to children. Depression is more common in people whose family members have depression. This is called a family history of depression.
Risk factors for depression during pregnancy include:
You’ve been physically or sexually abused. Or you have problems with your partner, including domestic violence (also called intimate partner violence or IPV).
Your pregnancy is unplanned or unwanted. Or you’re single or pregnant as a teenager.
You have stress in your life, like being separated from your partner, the death of a loved one or an illness that affects you or a loved one. Or you’re unemployed or have low income, little education or little support from family or friends.
You have diabetes. Diabetes can be preexisting diabetes (also called pregestational diabetes). This is diabetes you have before pregnancy. Or it can be gestational diabetes. This is a kind of diabetes that some women get during pregnancy.
You have complications during pregnancy, like being pregnant with multiples, birth defects and pregnancy loss. Multiples is when you’re pregnant with more than one baby. Birth defects are health conditions that are present at birth.
They can change the shape or function of one or more parts of the body. Birth defects can cause problems in overall health, how the body develops or how the body works. Pregnancy loss is when your baby dies before birth.
You smoke, drink alcohol or use harmful drugs. Anxiety and Life stress, family history of depression and Poor social support.
If I’m depressed, will it affect my children?
Depression is treatable. But if it is not treated, it will affect your children.
Depression can also affect attachment, which is important for your child’s development. Attachment is a deep emotional bond that a baby forms with the person who provides most of his care.
A “secure attachment” develops quite naturally. A mother responds to her crying infant, offering whatever she feels her baby needs—feeding, a diaper change, cuddling.
Secure attachment helps protect against stress and is an important part of a baby’s long-term emotional health. It makes a baby feel safe and secure, and helps him learn to trust others.
Can depression be cured?
With treatment, most people recover from depression. Treatment can include one or more of the following:
Social support: Community services or parenting education.
Family therapy: With your partner and/or children. This can help when children are older.
Individual therapy: Talking one-on-one with a family doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, or other professional.
Medication: Drugs used most often to treat depression are SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors).
What is the treatment for depression during pregnancy? If you feel you may be struggling with depression, the most important step is to seek help.
Talk with your health care provider about your symptoms and struggles. Your health care provider wants the best for you and your baby and may discuss options with you for treatment.
Treatment options for women who are pregnant can include:
Support groups
Private psychotherapy
Medication
Light therapy
Are there any safe medications to treat depression during pregnancy?
There is a lot of debate over the safety and long-term effects of antidepressant medications taken during pregnancy.
Some research now shows that certain medications used to treat depression may be linked to problems in newborns such as physical malformations, heart problems, pulmonary hypertension and low birth weight.
Causes &Treatment Depression During Pregnancy |
A woman with mild to moderate depression may be able to manage her symptoms with support groups, psychotherapy, and light therapy.
But if a pregnant woman is dealing with severe depression, a combination of psychotherapy and medication is usually recommended.
Women need to know that all medications will cross the placenta and reach their babies.
There is not enough information about which drugs are entirely safe and which ones pose risks.
But when treating major depression, the risks and benefits need to be examined closely.
The medication that can offer the most help, with the smallest risk to baby, should be considered carefully.
If medication seems like the best treatment for your depression, forming a collaborative treatment team is the best course of action.
This would include your prenatal care provider and your mental health provider.
Ask both health care professions about what treatments will be best for you and your baby.
Find out if you have options for medications and do research on them.
What long term effects do they have? Is your baby likely to deal with withdrawal symptoms after birth? Is this medication linked to health problems in the newborn or developmental delays in the future? Also, always remember that you need to weigh the possibilities of problems in the future versus the problems that can occur right now if your depression is not treated appropriately.
Are there any natural treatments?With the controversy regarding the use of some antidepressants during pregnancy, many women are interested in other ways to help treat depression.
As mentioned above, support groups, psychotherapy, and light therapy are alternatives to using medication when treating mild to moderate depression.
In addition to these, you may want to talk with your health care providers about some of the other natural ways to help relieve the symptoms of depression.
Exercise – Exercise naturally increases serotonin levels and decreases cortisol levels.
Get adequate rest – Lack of sleep greatly affects the body and mind’s ability to handle stress and day to day challenges.
Work on establishing a routine sleep schedule that has you going to sleep and getting up at the same time.
Diet and Nutrition – Many foods have been linked to mood changes, the ability to handle stress and mental clarity.
Diets high in caffeine, sugar, processed carbohydrates, artificial additives, and low protein can all lead to issues regarding your mental and physical health.
Make a conscious decision to start fueling your body with the foods that can help you feel better.
Acupuncture – New studies report acupuncture to be a viable option in treating depression in pregnant women.
Causes &Treatment Depression During Pregnancy
Omega-3 fatty acids – For years it’s been known that omega-3 can help with a number of health issues, but the newest studies are showing that taking a daily supplement of omega-3/fish oils can decrease symptoms of depression.
Pregnant women would want to make sure to take a mercury-free version of fish oil and check with their care provider or nutritionist on a recommended amount.
Herbal remedies – There are a number of herbal and vitamin supplements known to affect moods and the hormone serotonin.
Talk with your health care provider and nutritionist/herbalist about whether to use St John’s Wort, SAM-e, 5-HTP, magnesium, vitamin B6 and flower remedies.
Many of these can not be used in conjunction with antidepressants and should be evaluated on the dosage for pregnant women.
If you do not feel comfortable talking with your health care provider about your feelings of depression, find someone else to talk with.
It is important that someone knows what you are dealing with and can try to help you.
Never try to face depression alone. Your baby needs you to seek help and get treatment.
Causes &Treatment Depression During Pregnancy |