Dealing with Pregnancy Nausea
QUESTION:
Dear Livitician,
I have just found out I am about 5 weeks pregnant. I'm suffering from nausea (no big surprise there) and food aversion. Nothing seems desirable to me. I'm concerned about eating enough and giving my baby the right nutrition.
I work full time in retail so it's hard to find the time and energy to cook or to eat full meals. Add to that I can't seem to find room in my stomach for half a can of soup and I'm at a bit of a loss.
Are there any nutritional snacks that would be easily prepared and quickly eaten on the go that I may actually be able to choke down?
Thanks for your time,
Elizabeth
ANSWER:
Congratulations on your pregnancy. May your nausea symptoms subside soon!
When you feel nauseated, the best solution is to eat small snacks every 3 hours and keep yourself hydrated, drink water throughout the day. Include saltine crackers, try Barbara's whole-wheat saltines, or whole wheat toast on your night stand, so you can have something in your stomach before you get up. This helps prevent nausea.
Eating small snacks including carbohydrate foods with protein at each eating time helps:
• Crackers with some almond butter or low fat cheese
• Toast with low fat ricotta cheese and cinnamon
• A smoothie with some frozen berries, Greek nonfat yogurt, banana, and unsweetened soy milk.
• To get protein in your vegetable soup stir in some ricotta cheese or silken tofu.
• Have some barley or rice or green peas in the soup as your carbs.
Enjoy!
--Deborah A. Klein, MS, RD
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Deborah Klein
Deborah A. Klein is the world's first Livitician®, a term she coined as an alternative to Dietician. Her mission is to educate others on achieving optimal wellness through balanced eating, intrinsic coaching and exercise.
She completed her Master's of Science degree in Foods and Nutrition with an emphasis in sports nutrition. Past career experiences include hosting a TV show, teaching "5 A Day -- For Better Health" and working for CNN, Food & Health News. Recently, she was named "Young Dietitian of the Year," by the American Dietetics Association and served as President of the Los Angeles Dietetics Association.
Currently, Deborah has a private practice where she specializes in weight loss, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, disease prevention, and long-term wellness. She has her first book coming out in January, "200 Superfoods That Will Save Your Life", published by McGraw-Hill that details her "Livit" philosophy to achieve one's wellness goals. Through education and discovering each individual's full potential, Deborah offers her clients "A Plan to LIVE for!"
