There’s no denying the radiance of an expecting woman. Pregnancy brings a glow, thicker hair that’s loaded with volume and strong healthy nails.  This has a lot to do with hormone changes taking place, plumping up her skin with more healthy oils and bringing up to up fifty percent more blood volume to the body, therefore increasing circulation and enhancing vitality. But it’s not just the physiological changes a woman undergoes that enhances her beauty, it’s also the fact that she may be eating healthier than ever before, avoiding alcohol and caffeine (which deplete mineral stores) and taking a prenatal vitamin.

 

After all, you are what you eat...

 

The standard America diet is chock full of chemicals, additives and very little nutrition.  So I definitely advocate for changing your diet first, because getting nutrition from food is always better than trying to get it from supplementation.  But even with a healthy diet full of diverse fruits and vegetables, many of us are still deficient in vitamins and minerals because of our soil quality. 

An article in Scientific American states:

"Modern intensive agricultural methods have stripped increasing amounts of nutrients from the soil in which the food we eat grows."

This leads not only to less healthy foods, but also a whole slew of other ecological issues which I could write another article about.  But for now let’s get back to what you need for healthy hormones. Foods highest in nutrition with the best soil quality will come from local organic produce.  Getting out to your local farmers market is a great way to connect with your community, but if that is not an option for you, or you’re afraid that you may not be getting enough of these nutrients, consider supplementing.

 

Here are the essentials for women’s health, whether pregnant, post partum or just trying to optimize fertility and wellness. 

 

-Magnesium:  Whether soaking in Epsom salts, rubbing on a magnesium oil blend or taking it orally, magnesium is involved in over 300 catalytic reactions in the body but is especially important to our pituitary gland.  For women this regulates our entire hormonal system, so when in doubt, supplement.  It also soothes anxiety and puts us into a state of ease.

Food sources: dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, cashews

 

- B-Complex: B vitamins regulate our energy, heal our nervous systems and are crucial for metabolic functioning.  B6 also regulates progesterone in the body, which is important for our eggs to develop and also contradicts excess estrogen. 

Food sources: green leafy vegetables, cauliflower, celery, eggs, oysters, crab

 

- Vitamin D and K: 93% of women struggling with infertility are low in vitamin D, but its not only crucial for our hormones, vitamin D also supports our immune system and when depleted can exacerbate inflammation, allergies and illness.  Taken alone, vitamin D encourages calcium build up in your body, which could also end up in soft tissues.  Vitamin K steps in and makes sure the calcium goes to your bones and teeth where it belongs.

Food sources: cod liver oil, fatty fish, eggs, or soaking in the sun!

 

-Vitamin C: This works to grow and repair tissue in the body, from the hair and nails to bones and blood vessels. It also prevents free radical damage and is crucial for enhancing the quality of eggs.  

Food sources: citrus fruit, broccoli, cabbage.

 

-Folate:  Folic acid is one of the most important vitamins to sustain pregnancy.  It prevents cleft lips, congenital heart defects, spina bifida and urinary tract abnormalities.  Besides the importance for baby, it also regulates a woman’s blood pressure and lowers cancer risk. It must be taken in its natural form 5-methyltetrahydrofolate because folic acid isn’t easily assimilated and may instead build up in the blood stream. 

Food sources: lentils, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, black beans

 

-Zinc: This works with over 300 bodily enzymes to keep things functioning. A deficiency can cause imbalanced estrogen and progesterone as well as menstrual irregularity.  There is also evidence that low levels of zinc are linked with early miscarriage. 

Food sources: sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, oysters, yogurt. 

 

-Probiotics:  A healthy and diverse population of bacteria in the gut not only helps us break down our food and excess hormones, but there is also reserach showing that much of our serotonin (the happiness neurotransmitter) is also produced in the gut. Our small intestine is also responsible for absorbing nutrients from the food we eat, so if its not functioning properly we may become deficient even if we eat right and supplement. 

Food sources: kefir, kombucha, kimchi, saurkraut and other fermented vegetables

 

Eating a nutrient dense diet is one of the most important things you can do for your health and hormones.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE food, and even though it is definitely my weak spot, I've learned that any comfort food recipe can be recreated in a healthy way, it just takes a little effort to learn.  If you're accustomed to a standard american diet and don't know where to start check out my resources page for links to some of my favorite food bloggers and recipe books, or if you want more specialized nutritional guidance, send me a message and we can set up a one-on-one wellness session!  

 

Sources:

http://americanpregnancy.org/your-pregnancy/pregnancy-glow/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/

https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(08)01571-9/fulltext

http://natural-fertility-info.com/fertility-diet

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-and-vitamin-k#section2

https://www.medicinenet.com/folic_acid_the_benefits_for_women/views.htm