Those lucky women getting or going to get pregnant normally start thinking about their surrounding and try to make it clean and healthy. Unfortunately, there exist some things, which are usually by error believed to be such or are taken for granted as the ones to stimulate sound fertility. The reality is but quite different, because even the meals deemed healthy are not always like that, when it goes about conception. Let`s look closer at your kitchen and try to sort out the things into friends and foes of your pregnancy.
Say ‘no’ to poor nutrients, plastic wrappings and microwaves
Certain high-acid and poor-nutrient products should be fully removed from your daily ration prior to or during pregnancy: meals high in transfats (usually fast food), sweeties and sugar-rich products in excess, any processed and heavily fried food. All those ingredients in your everyday dishes adversely affect your reproductive performance.
Strictly avoid your food being wrapped in plastic films and foiled, as the chemicals evaporated from out of them while cooking are deadly dangerous for conceiving a baby.
Make sure you don`t use any aluminium, nonstick and SS utensils, because your food, whatever healthy, contacts the metals and nasty coating and absorbs the unwanted chemicals to be further taken in by your intestines.
It`s hardly a secret that a microwave is a mean friend of yours, rather being your hidden enemy. Your fertility is not an exception. You are not required to give up your favorite, but try to use it as seldom as possible and don`t cook at high temperatures to hamper free radicals. Yet, of course, better opt for boiled or baked meals, which typically have no contra-indications.
Healthy meals are not always useful
Strange as it is, but it`s true. However, you should understand that some of the ingredients are to be removed completely from your diet, while others are required by your future baby but in smaller quantities.
• Healthy meals to be removed: grains like wheat, rye and oats (gluten-rich and insulin-resistant, which is extremely bad for pregnancy in case of any conception difficulties); red meat (too many hazardous sat fats); also shellfish and such fish as tuna, swordfish and shark have been proved to constitute a threat for sound fertility.
• Healthy meals to be reduced: eggs (acid-rich, which can be messy with fertility, so eat them very moderately); dairy products (rich in sat fats, so consume them very carefully).
Conception experts recommend for both partners to strictly follow the above for approximately four months before impregnation. This period has been researched to be sufficient for the mom`s body to get well-prepared.
About the author: Liz Taylor, a fertility research centre intern, writes about reproductive potential for males and females at http://writessay4me.co.uk/. Her down-to-earth articles are very popular with a wider public. Liz is continuously self-developing and attending many industry-specific meetings and round-tables within the partner centres. In her free time, Liz is a keen skier.
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Hello LizTaylor,
In regard to avoiding food wrapped in plastic film, as of 2006, almost all plastic wraps made in the United States are phthalate-free. Unfortunately, most are now made with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) or polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC).
LDPE may contain diethylhexyl adipate (DEHA), another potential endocrine disruptor that has been linked to breast cancer in women and low sperm counts in men.
The issue of greatest concern, however, is whether plastic wrap will leach chemicals into foods when it is used to cover dishes being heated in microwave ovens. It is possible for DEHA to get into foods, particularly fatty foods such as meats and cheeses. For this reason, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises against using in the microwave any plastic wrap that is not labeled "microwave safe." To earn this designation, a wrap must pass tests that satisfy the agency. (The same goes for plastic containers that come into contact with food.)
If you do use plastic wrap on foods heated in the microwave, be sure that the wrap is placed loosely over the container but doesn't touch the food. Some product labels specify that there should be one inch or more between the wrap and the food in order to prevent the plastic from melting should it come into contact with hot food. Instead of plastic wrap, Dr. Andrew Weil advises using wax paper or white paper towels. Microwave food only in glass or ceramic containers.
It is cookware that can present a health risk.
A chemical, C-8, used to make non-stick coated pans has been linked to birth defects in humans to cancer in laboratory animals. The chemical is also present in the blood for up to 4 years and can show up in breast milk.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the most widely used chemicals in the world and can be found in a variety of plastics manufacturing.
As far as your kitchen goes, spatulas, tupperware, water bottles, soup spoons, baby bottles and other drink containers are common kitchen items that are often made with plastics containing BPA.
Stoneware cookware is a great option. Try stoneware bakeware instead of using aluminum cookie sheets or muffin pans.
Stainless steel utensils are a great kitchen option. Clad stainless-steel cookware is made from layers of different metals like aluminum and copper but surrounded with stainless steel, which is non-toxic.
A well season cast iron pan is just as effective as a non-stick surface while it reduces the amount of oil necessary for cooking—saving on caloric intake, toxic burden, and cost.
On the issue of diet, the National Infertility Association recommendation is
"Stop eating white flour, white bread, white rice. Start eating foods made from a variety of whole grains such as whole wheat, brown rice, oats and whole grain corn/ Whole grain foods such as wheat, brown rice, oats, breakfast cereals, oranges, spinach, beans and peas contain folic acid. Folic acid is essential for healthy fetal development. The key to folic acid is to begin taking it when you are thinking about getting pregnancy."
Regards,
February 17, 2016 - 9:30amMaryann
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