I’m often asked “What easy steps I can take to start on the path of wellness and joyful nutrition?” The answer is simple: the key to eating in a deeply nourishing and healthy way is to tune in to your body. Feel what your body desires at the deepest level, instead of what your mind craves or advertising dictates. Start noticing how you feel physically and emotionally before, during and after eating. Your body always wants what will nourish you the most and feed every cell of your body.
Pregnancy is the ultimate call to listen to your own body and the baby growing inside of you. Pregnancy is not an excuse to “junk out” with foods that address emotional cravings. Your body needs more nourishment and nutrients than ever for you AND for your baby. Nutrient dense food is what your body is craving. Yes! your pregnant body is truly craving nutrients, not junk as we have been acculturated to believe. The less you take in the nutrients you need to live and thrive, the more you body will call out to you – you will be more hungry, you will have intense cravings, you will never feel satisfied.
I recently visited a dear, old friend and her beautiful and healthy 4-month-old baby. We were discussing food, as can be a common topic when I am around. She shared a gem of wisdom with me, saying “when I was pregnant, my food choices were simple – when I wanted something sweet, I would say to myself ‘would I feed my baby a brownie or a piece of fruit?’ The choice was obvious.” Wow! That is the perfect way to consider what you eat when you are pregnant. You are not only feeding yourself, every single morsel of food you eat or beverage you drink enters your baby’s body as well. Would you feed a newborn baby a cheeseburger, a pint of double chocolate chip ice cream, or a latte? And further, would you want your child to only desire these foods as he or she grows older? Or would it be nice if he or she loved natural, nutritious fruits and vegetables?
Believe it or not, you have the choice:
Your Baby Loves What You Eat When Pregnant and Breastfeeding
Written by Sheryl Duruz
At the Monell Chemical Senses Centre in Philadelphia they were researching to see if what the mother ate affected the lifelong food and flavour preferences in their babies. Dr Mennella had a group made up of pregnant and nursing mothers carrot juice every day. Once eating food the children who were exposed to the taste of carrots through the amniotic fluid or breast milk were much keener on carrots than those whose mothers had not drunk carrot juice!
A similar study was then done on peaches and found the same result.
Then a third where breastfeeding mothers whose babies were starting to eat solids but hated green beans had a turn around once the mother started eating them too (and passed on the proof she was in her breast milk)!
Julie Mennella, who carried out the study, said: “Flavours from the mother’s diet are transmitted through amniotic fluid and mother’s milk. A baby learns to like a food’s taste when the mother eats that food on a regular basis.”
So if you want to help your children be healthy and enjoy healthy foods start early by taking excellent care of yourself!! Dr Mennella said: “If mothers want their babies to learn to like to eat vegetables, especially green vegetables, they need to provide them with opportunities to taste these foods.”
I will leave you with more beautiful words from my friend and new mama:
“Pregnancy was an incredibly sacred time and I felt very protective of my baby as he developed for his entrance into this world. I wish more woman would recognize their responsibility to their developing infants–it’s so much more than just not smoking and drinking. I truly believe that he is a content little guy because he developed in a calm, healthy, organic environment.”
