Earlier this week we talked about using food as medicine to help decrease feelings of anxiety and depression (see that post here). Today we will continue the discussion by touching on foods that can increase anxiety/depression and lifestyle changes we can make to help decrease these feelings. Remember, food affects SO much more than we often give it credit for. We can become overly reliant on medications to "cure" us of these ailments but looking to diet and lifestyle FIRST is always going to be our best bet.
Caffeine
Caffeine has been shown to decrease levels of serotonin in the brain, causing us to become irritable and depressed. If that wasn’t enough, caffeine can also disrupt our sleep cycles, putting more stress on the body and affecting our gut bacteria balance.
Caffeine is also a diuretic, meaning it causes more frequent urination and as a result, we can become dehydrated. Dehydration, no matter how little, can cause depression so it is important to ensure we maintain a good hydration status.
Refined Sugar
Not only does refined sugar affect our balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut but it also causes our blood sugar levels to look like a roller coaster with high highs and low lows. Refined sugar is absorbed quickly into the blood stream and causes a temporary surge in energy levels by elevating our blood sugar. Remember: what goes up comes down just as fast and we are left feeling fatigued and irritable.
Alcohol
When we are anxious it can seem as though alcohol eases stress but unfortunately this is not the case long term. Alcohol is a depressant as well as a diuretic, which makes it a double whammy on our mood.
Tip: If you are drinking, be sure to stay well hydrated and consume lots of foods containing B vitamins (see here for my post on B vitamins) to help combat the negative effects of alcohol consumption on mood. Drinking alcohol leaches B vitamins from our body and they come out in our urine. To help prevent low levels of B vitamins in the body, be sure to replenish regularly using good food sources.
Lux Lighting
Exposure to bright light has the ability to increase our serotonin levels without using any drugs. This is especially useful in people who live with Seasonal Affective Disorder (which is defined as "depression associated with late autumn and winter and thought to be caused by a lack of light").
"Bright light works by stimulating cells in the retina that connect to the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that helps control circadian rhythms. Activating the hypothalamus at a certain time every day can restore a normal circadian rhythm and thus banish seasonal symptoms.
Light therapy entails sitting close to a special “light box” for 30 minutes a day, usually as soon after waking up as possible. These boxes provide 10,000 lux (“lux” is a measure of light intensity). That’s about 100 times brighter than usual indoor lighting; a bright sunny day is 50,000 lux or more. You need to have your eyes open, but don’t look at the light. Many people use the time to read a newspaper, book, or magazine, or catch up on work.” (1)
Check out this link for some light box devices that you can incorporate into your day from October to April when the amount of daylight we are exposed to is diminished significantly.
Exercise
Exercise is probably one of the last things you want to do when you’re feeling anxious or depressed however 15 to 20 minutes of moderate exercise (think: dancing to the radio or going for a walk) can do wonders for mood enhancement.
Challenge
I challenge you all this week to give up white refined starches (white bread, pasta, rice, cookies, cakes, etc.) and perform 15 minutes of walking daily. Doing this will help to stabilize your blood sugar levels and prevent those highs and lows that we can experience when we consume simple carbohydrates and live a sedentary life.
If you decide to adopt these two changes, at the end of the week I want you to take note of how you’re feeling. This is a very valuable challenge, especially at this time of year, as Canadian and Northern U.S. winters can be long and dark.
This concludes Part 2. I hope you've found these tips helpful and you are able to apply them to your day-to-day life.
Remember, if you've found this information useful, I would SO appreciate a share on social media. Please see the Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest links at the top of each article.
Thanks so much again for reading!
Yours in Health,
Kristin
Did you know that in 2013, an estimated 3 million Canadians (that is a whopping 11.6%) aged 18 years and older reported having an anxiety or mood disorder?
Did you also know that you can help combat anxiety and depression using changes to your diet and lifestyle?
In order to make this topic a little more manageable, I have broken it up into "part 1" and "part 2". Today in Part 1 we will go through some of the most important nutrients needed to fight anxiety and depression then in Part 2 we will discuss foods that can contribute to feelings of depression and anxiety and how we can help reduce these feelings using diet and lifestyle.
This amino acid became famous for it’s presence in turkey and has gotten all of the blame for the "post-turkey coma" experienced after most major holiday dinners.
Tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that helps us feel calm.
There are many foods high in tryptophan, including:
However, there is some debate as to whether or not tryptophan is able to cross the blood-brain barrier (tryptophan must compete with other amino acids in the body for absorption into the brain). Luckily, we can help to increase the amount of tryptophan absorbed by eating foods rich in tryptophan with foods containing complex carbohydrates.
What would this look like? This could be turkey or salmon served with a side of roasted sweet potato (complex carbohydrate) or nuts and seeds served as a snack with a side of fruit (complex carbohydrate). When we consume carbohydrates our pancreas produces insulin. Insulin is our storage hormone and it allows amino acids to be absorbed into the muscles and other areas of the body. This leaves tryptophan (another amino acid) behind in the “amino acid pool”, making it more likely that it will be absorbed across the blood-brain barrier.
In Summary: Pair foods rich in tryptophan with foods containing complex carbohydrates in order to get the maximum calming benefit.
Studies have demonstrated a relationship between B vitamins and mood. B vitamin deficiencies can trigger symptoms of depression in some individuals. I always recommend a food first approach, so see my post here for a list of foods rich in B vitamins.
We touched briefly on omega-3 fatty acids when we talked about inflammation in the body last week but did you know that these fatty acids also enhance our mood? Some studies have shown that patients who took omega-3 fatty acid supplements in addition to their antidepressants improved more than those patients who did not take omega-3 supplements. We can find omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA – the useable form of this fat) in fatty fish such as salmon, trout, herring, mackerel, sardines, tuna and anchovies. Don’t get this confused with the omega-3 fats found in plant sources such as ground flaxseed, chia seeds and flaxseed oil (this type of omega-3 fat is called ALA). In order to get the same health benefits we receive when we eat fatty fish we must convert the ALA into the useable form DHA and EPA. Don’t be fooled though, the conversion rate in a healthy individual is less than 5%. In conclusion, I don’t recommend relying on plant sources of omega-3 as the only source of omega-3 fats in your diet. If you are vegan and refuse to consume a fish-based supplement, I recommend NutraVege, an omega-3 supplement derived from the echium plant and algae.
Norepinephrine and dopamine are neurotransmitters that carry impulses between nerve cells. Higher levels of these neurotransmitters have been shown to improve mental energy and alterness. Protein in our diet helps to stimulate the production of norepinephrine and dopamine. See this post on hormones and brain chemicals and their affect on our weight.
As we've discussed earlier, serotonin is our calming "feel good" chemical. Did you know that most of the serotonin we have in our body is actually produced in the gut? In order to get the maximum serotonin production within the gut, it must be healthy. Hippocrates said "All disease begins in the gut" and is that ever true. Not only our physical health but our mental health is impacted by the state of our gut.
We will discuss probiotic benefits in detail in a future post, however we must touch on them today when discussing using food as medicine for treating depression and anxiety. Research in the area of the gut microbiome (the good gut bugs in our large intestine) is exploding and we are learning more and more about the incredible benefits of hosting a robust population of good gut bacteria.
Researchers working with mice have determined that by disrupting the normal bacterial content of the gut by introducing antibiotics, changes in the mice behaviour occurs with the mice becoming anxious. Along with this change in behaviour, there was also an increase in Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which has been linked to anxiety and drepression (1).
Some of my favourite ways to incorporate probiotics into my diet is through food. My absolute favourite way is through drinking a fermented coconut water called Kevita. This retails for $3.99-5.99 and we can now get it at our major supermarket (hello mainstream). I recommend drinking 1/2 of a bottle at one time and ensuring it is always refrigerated. To get a variety of strains of probiotics, kefir, raw sauerkraut and fermented pickles are all great sources as well!
This is the obvious one. Antibiotics are used to kill harmful bacteria in the body but they often wipe out some of our good bacteria as well. After a course of antibiotics it is critical that you adopt a probiotic regimen for at least 2 weeks following the last dose of antibiotic.
Stress levels can negatively impact the population of our good gut bacteria as well. This stress does not have to be mental stress alone. Stress could also stem from lack of sleep, poor nutrition or too much exercise. The gut/brain connection is a two-way street: the gut can impact the brain and the brain can impact the gut. This connection has been demonstrated time and time again in our rodent friends (2).
This one may come as a shocker since most women are or have been on birth control pills at some point in their lives. Taking these "innocent" little pills can also alter the population of good gut bacteria in our digestive tract.
Believe it or not, foods containing processed sugars can lead to imbalances between the good and bad gut bacteria we have. These processed sugars feed the “bad” bacteria and starve the good (vegetables rich in prebiotics – think: garlic, onion, asparagus) feed our good bacteria. When we include these processed sugar-containg foods in our diet more frequently we put ourselves at risk of developing an imbalance in bad versus good bacteria (called gut dysbiosis).
That concludes Part 1 of this topic. Please tune in for Part 2 coming later this week where we will talk about foods to eliminate or reduce to help decrease anxiety/depression and diet and lifestyle changes we can make to help us feel better.
If you find this information useful please share this site with your family and friends. It is through organic means that I hope to grow my followers and you, my readers, are my biggest helpers in this!
Thanks so much for tuning in guys!
Yours in Health,
Kristin
Stress affects our physical and mental health in many different ways. It impacts our ability to sleep, properly digest our food, reduces immune function and affects our mood. You may think to yourself, “I’m not stressed” – however, we are now exposed to low-grade stressors all of the time – think: working a full-time job, taking care of children and trying our best to be a great friend, wife, girlfriend, daughter, sister, etc. When we are subjected to constant low-grade stressors our body responds the same way it would if we had something traumatic occur.
Research has repeatedly shown that dietary deficiencies in several micronutrients have been associated with increased levels of stress and psychiatric symptoms in otherwise healthy individuals.
Supplementation with micronutrients to overcome these dietary deficiencies has been observed to improve perceived stress, mild psychiatric symptoms, and some aspects of everyday mood in a recent meta-analysis of studies examining short-term multivitamin supplementation. (Lewis et al, 2013)
So which came first – the stress or the nutrient deficiency?
That we don’t really entirely know. However research has shown that supplementation with a multivitamin once a person is already stressed decreases markers of anxiety and stress including blood pressure and cortisol (stress hormone) levels.
Schlebusch and colleagues used a well-designed protocol, and screened for a highly stressed sample. After 30 days of supplementation, significant treatment effects were evident, with the multivitamin reducing the level of anxiety and stress and improving psychological well-being. (Lewis et al, 2013)
Now, before we all rush out to pick up any multivitamin on the drug store shelves, let’s look a little closer at the nutrients that appear to have the biggest impact on markers of mood, anxiety and stress – B vitamins and vitamin C.
Studies show that when people are asked to perform psychological challenges, individuals who have high levels of vitamin C do not show the physical and mental signs of stress that are displayed by people with low levels of vitamin C. Additionally, people with higher levels of vitamin C in their blood bounce back from stress more quickly than people with low levels of vitamin C.
In one particular study, researchers subjected 120 people to a stressful task that included public speaking while solving math problems. Half of the study participants were given 1,000 mg of vitamin C. The signs of stress that were measured included levels of the stress hormone cortisol, blood pressure and self-reported stress. These markers were significantly higher in the study participants who were not given the vitamin supplement.
Additional studies have shown that treatment of 1,000 mg of vitamin C three times per day for 14 days decreased cortisol levels, blood pressure and perceived levels of psychological stress
This consistent link between vitamin C levels and stress has led to researchers suggesting that vitamin C be used as an integral component of stress management.
Because I like the “food first” approach, let’s look at where we can get vitamin C from our food.
| Age in Years | Aim for an intake of
mg/day |
Stay below
mg/day |
| Males 19 and older | 90 | 2000 |
| Females 19 and older | 75 | 2000 |
| Pregnant women 19 and older | 85 | 2000 |
| Breastfeeding women 19 and older | 120 | 2000 |
It’s important to note that some research suggests that the above number of milligrams suggested daily is simply enough to prevent the development of scurvy (a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency, characterized by swollen bleeding gums and the opening of previously healed wounds) rather than an amount to aim for.
Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin C (in descending order) include:
*Keep in mind – vitamin C is destroyed by heat. So it is best to consume vitamin C-rich foods raw if possible
If you’re choosing a supplemental form of vitamin C, it’s best to go with a time-released supplement since vitamin C is rapid and short acting. Alternatively, you can break up the dose throughout the day (for example, 500 mg in the morning and 500 mg in the afternoon or evening) to provide a similar effect.
Next up is B vitamins
The superstar B vitamins we will talk about here are: vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 and folate.
The importance of vitamin B6, B12 and folate is linked to their ability to lower blood levels of homocystine. Homocysteine is an amino acid and is released into the blood when protein is broken down. When homocystiene is present in high concentrations (normal range is 5 to 15µmol/L) it has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke. High levels of homocysteine are also linked to Alzheimer’s, dementia, declining memory, poor concentration and lowered mood.
One double blind, randomized placebo-controlled study (the gold standard for all scientific studies) showed improvements in anxiety, depression and overall mental health in subjects after 60 day treatment with a vitamin B complex supplement containing whole-food nutrients.
Now that we know how useful these B vitamins can be, let’s take a look at where we can get them in our diet.
| Age in Years | Aim for an intake of mg/day | Stay below |
| Men 19 and older | 1.2 | A safe upper limit has not be established |
| Women 19 and older | 1.1 | |
| Pregnant women 19 and older | 1.4 | |
| Breastfeeding women 19 and older | 1.4 |
Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin B1 (in descending order) include:
| Age in Years | Aim for an intake of mg/day | Stay below |
| Men 19 and older | 1.1 | A safe upper limit has not be established |
| Women 19 and older | 1.3 | |
| Pregnant women 19 and older | 1.4 | |
| Breastfeeding women 19 and older | 1.6 |
Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin B2 (in descending order) include:
| Age in Years | Aim for an intake of Niacin Equivalents (NE/day) | Stay below |
| Men 19 and older | 16 | 35 |
| Women 19 and older | 14 | 35 |
| Pregnant women 19 and older | 18 | 35 |
| Breastfeeding women 19 and older | 17 | 35 |
Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin B3 (in descending order) include:
As a dietary supplement, 5-10 mg pantothenic acid has been used.
| Age | Recommended Daily Intake (mg/day) | Stay below |
| Infants 0-6 months | 1.7 | Amounts up to 10 grams have been ingested without significant adverse effects |
| Infants 7-12 months | 1.8 | |
| Children 1-3 years | 2 mg | |
| Children 4-8 years | 3 mg | |
| Children 9-13 years | 4 mg | |
| Men and women 14 and older | 5 mg | |
| Pregnant women | 6 mg | |
| Lactating women | 7 mg |
Limited data is available on the pantothenic acid content of foods, but chicken, beef, potatoes, tomato products, liver, kidney, egg yolk, and broccoli are reported to be among the major nutrient dense sources.
Various processing methods, including freezing and canning of vegetables, fish, meat and dairy products, as well as refining of grains, have been reported to reduce the pantothenic acid content of foods.
| Age in Years | Aim for an intake of mg/day | Stay below (mg/day) |
| 19-50 | 1.3 | 100 |
| Women 51 and older | 1.5 | 100 |
| Men 51 and older | 1.7 | 100 |
| Pregnant women 19 and older | 1.9 | 100 |
| Breastfeeding women 19 and older | 2.0 | 100 |
Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin B6 (in descending order) include:
| Age in Years | Aim for an intake of micrograms (mcg/day) | Stay below (mcg/day) |
| Men and women 19 and older | 2.4 | An upper limit has not been established |
| Pregnant women 19 and older | 2.6 | |
| Breastfeeding women 19 and older | 2.8 |
Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of vitamin B12 (in descending order) include:
| Age in Years | Aim for an intake of (mcg/day) | Stay below (mcg/day) |
| Men and women 19 and older | 400 | 1000 |
| Pregnant women 19 and older | 600 | 1000 |
| Breastfeeding women 19 and older | 500 | 1000 |
Some of the most nutrient dense food sources of folate (in descending order) include:
So how exactly can we apply what we’ve learned to our daily lives? The next time we are feeling stressed or anticipate a stressful week or month, instead of reaching for that cliché pint of Ben & Jerry’s or a Xanax, whip up a delicious anti-stress meal full of these powerful vitamins.
Ingredients
5 ounces cooked wild Pacific Sockeye Salmon, chopped into small pieces
1 cup of sliced peppers, diced
¼ cup of shelled sunflower seeds
3 cups of fresh spinach
Dressing
½ cup of balsamic vinegar
¼ cup of maple syrup
2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Blend all ingredients for dressing in a blender or with a whisk.
Combine peppers and spinach in a large bowl and top with salmon and sunflower seeds.
Add 2 tablespoons of prepared dressing and toss the salad.
Eat and be merry
Yours in health,
Kristin
Sources
Food Sources of Folate. (2015) Available at: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Folate.aspx
Food Sources of Niacin. Available at: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Niacin.aspx
Food Sources of Thiamin. Available at: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Thiamin-(Vitamin-B1).aspx
Food Sources of Vitamin B6. Available at: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Vitamin-B6-(Pyridoxine).aspx
Food Sources of Vitamin B12. (2015) Available at: http://www.dietitians.ca/Your-Health/Nutrition-A-Z/Vitamins/Food-Sources-of-Vitamin-B12.aspx
Lewis et al. (2013). The Effect of Methylated Vitamin B Complex on Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms and Quality of Life in Adults with Depression. ISRN Psychiatry.
Oliveira et al. (2015). Effects of oral vitamin C supplementation on anxiety in students: a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences. 18(1) 11-18.
Pantothenic acid and biotic. Available at: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002410.htm
Weil, Andrew (2015). Elevated Homocysteine. Available at: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART03423/Elevated-Homocysteine.html
Welcome back for part 2 of Choosing a Prenatal Supplement (you can read part one here)! In this post we will finish our discussion on prenatal supplement components and what to look for when selecting this important multivitamin from store shelves!
Omega 3
When looking for an omega 3 supplement, you want to make sure it contains two different omega 3 fatty acids: DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosopentaenoic acid). DHA is critical for fetal brain development. A pregnant woman’s body will transfer all of the DHA possible across the placenta to the fetus even if this means depleting the mother’s stores entirely. EPA is important in helping to prevent postpartum depression. Finally, omega 3 supplements have been shown to extend gestation and increase birth weight.
In randomized trials using a DHA supplement versus a placebo, the supplement improved infants’ visual acuity and growth as well as helped prevent maternal depression (Maizes, 2013)
When looking at the label, check to see that the fish oil is molecularly distilled, which means that heavy metal and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminants that are present in many fish are removed. Look for a supplement with DHA and EPA adding up to 1000 mg and take with the largest meal of the day.
Nutrient dense food sources of DHA and EPA: mackerel, herring, salmon (wild pacific sockeye salmon is best), sardines, trout.
Don’t be fooled by foods such as ground flaxseed, walnuts, chia seeds, and flaxseed oil as being a good source of omega 3. These foods contain the form of omega 3 known as ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), which must be converted in the body into DHA and EPA to have the benefits listed above. Unfortunately, the conversion rate from ALA to DHA/EPA is believed by researchers to be less than 1% in healthy individuals.
A Canadian survey of 176 pregnant women revealed that while 90 percent were taking multivitamins, none were taking the vitamins with omega 3, and only 11 percent were taking separate omega 3 supplements (Maizes, 2013)
Vitamin D
A large percentage of women living in northern latitudes have low vitamin D status, this is a nutrient of significant importance. See my post on vitamin D here for food sources and additional information on the importance of the sunshine vitamin.
There is evidence in animal studies and some from human trials that fertility is impaired if the mother has a low vitamin D level. She will have a harder time getting pregnant and once pregnant, she will have an increased risk of preeclampsia and gestational diabetes (Maizes, 2013)
The Institute of Medicine considers vitamin D doses of up to 4,000 IU/day to be safe. My recommendation to clients is to get his/her vitamin D levels checked based on a supplement dosage of 1000-2000 IU/day and then have levels checked once every 6-12 months after until consistently in the normal range.
It is worth noting that many multivitamins, including prenatal multivitamins, only contain 200 IU of vitamin D. If you already have an inadequate vitamin D status (anything less than 50 ng/L according to the vitamin D council) than 200 IU/day is unlikely to correct this inadequacy.
Nutrient dense food sources of vitamin D: milk, yogurt, egg yolk, salmon, mackerel, herring, trout.
Calcium
Calcium is needed during pregnancy to help with baby’s bone development (particularly in the third trimester) and to keep mother’s bones strong during this time as well. Women need 1,000-1,300 mg of calcium during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I suggest focusing on food first for calcium however, many women struggle to get in enough calcium to meet pregnancy and post-partum needs. If choosing to supplement, it is recommended to split up calcium supplements because we cannot absorb more than approximately 500 mg of calcium at one time.
Nutrient dense food sources of calcium: green vegetables, milk products, salmon, sardines.
Vitamin E
Pregnant women use vitamin E for preventing complications in late in pregnancy due to high blood pressure.
Check the label on your prenatal multivitamin for dl alpha tocopherol. Dl alpha tocopherol is the synthetic form of vitamin E and indicates that the product is poor. What you should see is d-alpha tocopherol or even better, 200-400 IU of mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols. Synthetic forms of vitamin E are generally derived from petroleum products and are not as bioavailable as natural vitamin E.
Vitamin B12
Women at particular risk of low vitamin B12 levels include: vegan or strict vegetarians, women taking proton pump inhibitors or other acid blockers (think TUMS, Rolaids, etc.) or have been on the birth control pill for several years. Women with type 2 diabetes mellitus or polycystic ovarian syndrome who are prescribed metformin are also at risk of low vitamin B12 levels, due to the depletion that this drug causes.
Vitamin B12 is essential during pregnancy for DNA synthesis and low levels of this vitamin increases risks of repeated miscarriage and birth defects.
The recommended daily intake of vitamin B12 is 2.4 mcg during perception and 2.6 mcg during pregnancy. You may notice that many vitamin B12 supplements on store shelves are quite high in comparison to the recommended dietary allowance. This is due to the fact that absorption of 100% of what is in the supplement does not occur. For example, a supplement with 1,000 mcg of oral vitamin B12 leads to absorption of about 20 mcg.
Nutrient dense food sources of vitamin B12: animal meat (particularly organ meat), fish, milk products and fortified almond milk, nutritional yeast.
Additional vitamins and trace minerals
Trace minerals in a multivitamin should include copper, zinc, magnesium, potassium, and calcium.
Just remember: taking a supplement never takes the place of consuming nutrient dense foods. Think of a supplement as what it is - a supplement to your currently awesome, nutrient dense diet.
Until next time nutrient seekers..
Yours in health,
Kristin
Sources
https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/alphalinolenic-acid
https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/testing-for-vitamin-d/
http://healthybabycode.com/why-you-cant-get-vitamin-a-from-eating-vegetables
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02809/vitamin-b9-folate.html
Maizes V (2013). Be fruitful: the essential guide to maximizing fertility and giving birth to a healthy child.
Okay so it's only November, but getting into the spirit of the holiday season I decided to try out a new stuffing recipe modified slightly from the amazing Juli Bauer's recipe (you can read the original recipe here). This stuffing is a meal all in itself, so you don't have to wait until the holidays to whip up this delicious blend of warm flavours!
This recipe is egg-, nightshade-, gluten-, dairy-free but it does contain nuts (which could be omitted for AIP followers).
Side note: Please forgive the photo - this stuffing was too good [and my husband was too hungry] to take the time to plate it nicely 🙂
[yumprint-recipe id='1']
This past May I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend the Nutrition and Health Conference put on by the Arizona Centre for Integrative Medicine where I was first introduced to the work of medical doctor Victoria Maizes. Dr. Maizes focuses much of her work on fertility, environmental toxins and their impact on the body and women’s ability to conceive.
After returning home and diving into research on environmental toxins and infertility I has the opportunity to share this information with my first client who had been struggling to conceive for the past 3 years. We worked together on reducing her exposure to environmental toxins through skincare products, food storage containers and bottles, as well as avoiding inorganic foods that fall into the “dirty dozen” category (more about that later). My client informs me a few months later that she is pregnant. Coincidence? You might think. However, the research is extremely strong in this area and I hope to share it all with you over the coming months.
Okay, let’s start at the beginning. Taking a prenatal multivitamin is important for many different reasons and I would like to share not only the importance of taking a prenatal vitamin if you are a woman of childbearing age but what exactly to look for and why each nutrient is important. As a big believer in food first, this is definitely one area where I feel a safety net associated with taking a prenatal multivitamin is important.
Below are some of the top reasons why taking a prenatal multivitamin is important:
•Taking a multivitamin may assist with conception
-According to the Nurses Health Study, the longest running study on women’s health, taking a multivitamin helps women conceive. In addition, women in the study who took a multivitamin had a third lower risk of developing ovulatory infertility, compared with women who did not take a multivitamin. Researchers in the study estimated that 20% of all ovulatory infertility cases would be avoided if women took a multivitamin (Maizes, 2013)
•Taking a multivitamin reduces the risk of birth defects in your baby
-It is estimated that protection against birth defects ranges from 25-50% for neural tube defects, cardiovascular defects, limb defects, cleft palate, and urinary tract anomalies (Maizes, 2013)
•Taking a multivitamin lowers the risk of miscarriage
-Research done in 2007 showed that multivitamin supplementation in the first trimester of pregnancy was linked to a 50% decreased risk of miscarriage (Maizes, 2013)
The Child Autism Risks from Genetics and Environment (CHARGE) study, a Northern California case-controlled study, examined the impact of maternal prenatal vitamin consumption in 276 children with autism and 269 children with typical development. According to the study, the women who began taking prenatal vitamins 3 months prior to conception and up to 1 month into pregnancy had a 38% reduced risk of autism in their children, compared to mothers who did not begin taking a multivitamin until later in their pregnancy.
What should I be looking for?
My first recommendations are to look for a food-based supplement and one that is free from unnecessary additives. Some of the unnecessary additives I am referring to are:
•FD&C Yellow #5 (Tartrazine) Lake
•FD&C Yellow # 6 Lake
•FD&C Blue #2 Lake
•Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose
(I’ll talk more about these additives in a future post – for now, I suggest avoiding them if possible)
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is needed for developing vision and immune function of the fetus.
Animal forms of vitamin A are called preformed vitamin A – they are more easily absorbed and used within the body in comparison to vitamin A coming from fruits and vegetables. The type of vitamin A coming from plant sources is known as the pro-vitamin A carotenoids.
Be cautious – It is possible to get too much vitamin A (particularly when taking supplements), which can increase the risk of birth defects.
Maximum dosage of 2500 IU/day. However, if the form of vitamin A on the label says beta-carotene, the maximum dosage increases to 15,000 IU/day (pre-pregnancy) and 5,000 IU/day during pregnancy since less then 10% of carotenoids are converted to the active form of vitamin A within the body.
“Vitamin A is found in significant amounts only in animal products like liver and grass-fed dairy. You’d have to eat a huge amount of beta-carotene from plants to meet vitamin A requirements during pregnancy. For example, 3 ounces of beef liver contains 27,000 IU of vitamin A. To get the same amount of vitamin A from plants (assuming a 3% conversion of beta-carotene to vitamin A), you’d have to eat 4.4 pounds of cooked carrots, 40 pounds of raw carrots, and 50 cups of cooked kale” (Chris Kresser, Healthy Baby Code)
Iron
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey study showed that 9-16% of women between the ages of 12 and 49 are iron deficient. In addition, only 20% of fertile women have adequate iron reserve of 500 mg. Iron is stored in our body but as women, we lose a significant amount of iron during menstruation and childbirth.
Having inadequate iron status prior to and during pregnancy can have a significant impact on fetal development by reducing infant growth rate. If iron deficiency is present prior to conception, this can impact the development of the placenta during early pregnancy.
"According to the Nurses’ Health Study, women who took iron supplements had a 40% lower risk of ovulatory infertility than those who did not take iron supplements” (Maizes, 2013)
Recommended daily iron intake per day is 18 grams for women during the preconception stages, and 27 mg per day for pregnant women.
Nutrient dense food sources of iron: Most bioavailable form of iron is red meat.
One of the side effects of many iron supplements is constipation. Trying to avoid this unpleasant side effect is one of the reasons why many women avoid iron supplementation. Using food-based iron supplements of iron bisglycinate can reduce the constipating effect of iron. See here (https://www.thorne.com/products/dp/iron-bisglycinate) for an iron supplement from a supplement company I trust.
Iodine
Iodine is essential within the body in the production of thyroid hormone and helping to prevent brain damage. Iodine deficiency is linked to miscarriage and stillbirths.
The recommended daily allowance for iodine is 150 mcg prenatally and 200 mcg while pregnant and breastfeeding.
Food sources of iodine:
Milk, egg yolks, saltwater fish, sesame seeds, asparagus, garlic, spinach, mushrooms, seaweed, dulse, kelp, lima beans.
Folate
Folate is a critical nutrient during preconception and pregnancy. Folate is required for the synthesis of DNA and cell division. Unfortunately, 90% of women do not get sufficient folate from their diets alone. Due to the importance of folate in the development of a healthy baby and prevention of neural tube defects, it is recommended by multiple professional organizations that women of childbearing age take 400 mcg of folic acid per day. However, there is some controversy around this folic acid recommendation, as supplemental folic acid can mask symptoms of pernicious anemia (anemia linked to vitamin B12 deficiency). The emphasis on folic acid for women of childbearing age regardless of whether or not you plan to become pregnant is related to the fact that beginning to supplement with folic acid at 8-12 weeks into pregnancy is too late.
Although we discuss folic acid (the common synthetic form of folate) more than the food source of folate, there is a difference between the two. Folate in its natural form is better utilized within the body compared to folic acid. Look for folate on the label not as folic acid, rather “folate”, “5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate”, “L-methylfolate” or “Metfolin”.
Nutrient dense food sources of folate: leafy green vegetables, liver, legumes.
Although this is not the end of my list, I will end today’s long-winded blog post here. Be sure to check out “Part 2” for a continuation on prenatal supplements and discussions of omega 3, vitamin D, calcium, vitamin E, vitamin B12 and trace minerals.
Yours in health,
Kristin