Pregnancy can be hard enough without feeling like you need to learn a new language to understand all of the pregnancy acronyms being tossed about. Here’s a little cheat sheet to help you out!…
What does antioxidant mean?
We’ve all heard the term antioxidant before. We know they’re a good thing. But what does antioxidant mean?
In short, antioxidants are molecules that neutralize free radicals in the body. These free radicals are created in response to a variety of conditions, including poor diet, pollution, smoking, toxins, sun exposure, and medications. Free radicals are also created through normal metabolic processes. We can do our best to minimize exposure to some of these things, but we can’t eliminate them completely from our lives. Free radicals are dangerous because they are highly volatile molecules that can easily damage healthy cells.
The good news is that antioxidants can help neutralize these free radicals so that they don’t damage cells and lead to disease. If your diet includes a variety of fruits & vegetables, chances are you’re already getting the antioxidants you need. As a general rule, …
Pregnancy Due Date Chart
What is the first day of your last menstrual period? It’s a simple question. But watch out! If a medical professional is using it to calculate your due date, it might not give you an accurate answer.
Calculating a due date isn’t always simple. Okay sure. If you have 28 day cycles and always ovulate on day 14, it’s pretty easy. Those handy little pregnancy due date calculator wheels will work great for you. Congrats! But for a lot of women, it’s not that simple. There are several reasons why a pregnancy due date chart might not work for you, and understanding how pregnancy due date charts work can help you use them effectively.
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5 Diet Changes to Make Before You Get Pregnant
I’m writ
ing this blog post after returning from Nashville attending the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. One of the things that I kept hearing over and over was that when it comes to healthy pregnancies, one of the best things you can do is to start the pregnancy healthy. It’s better for you AND your baby!
Here are 5 diet fixes you can start now, before you get pregnant….
5 Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables
Admit it. You k
now you need to eat more veggies. They’re good for you and can help improve your health in SO many ways. But, it’s hard sometimes to make yourself eat more vegetables, especially when the ice cream, pasta, muffins, and other processed carbs seem to be calling your name!
Even as a dietitian, it’s something I struggle with too…every single day. Here are 5 easy ways to eat more vegetables that I’ve come up with to add more veggies to my diet. …
Folic Acid, Folate, and Pregnancy
If you’ve read anything at all on nutrition during pregnancy, you probably know that folic acid and pregnancy go hand in hand. Folate (or folic acid) is actually one of the B vitamins, B9 to be exact. Folate is the form of the vitamin found naturally in foods, whereas folic acid is found in supplements. A lack of folate/folic acid during pregnancy (approximately 3-4 weeks after conception) has been associated with birth defects and neural tube defects, such as spina bifida. Unfortunately, neural tube defects can occur even before a woman realizes that she’s pregnant. …
