The Better Baby Book (13 page)

The source of collagen and its processing method is very important. Most companies get their collagen from factory-farmed animals, which provide collagen that is of lower quality. Or they subject the collagen to intensive heating or acid washing, which destroys many of the building blocks for a baby's joints, eyes, and heart. That is not good news! We maintain a list of high-quality, safe hydrolyzed collagen brands at
www.betterbabybook.com/collagen
and suggest that you consult the list before buying supplemental collagen.

Since much of the protein in the human body is made of collagen, a mother's body will naturally need a lot of it to construct her baby's body properly. Here is what you can expect from adding collagen to your diet.

The structural materials and nutrients in hydrolyzed collagen go directly to making stronger cartilage, ligaments, tendons, bones, and disks. This means a more resilient, flexible body that is less prone to injury and that heals faster when it
is
injured. It also means giving your baby the ideal building blocks for growing in the womb. It means better bone growth for your baby and denser bones for you as an adult.

Individuals who are prone to repetitive joint injury, pain, and discomfort will see a marked decrease in joint inflammation and pain and will feel much better, because musculoskeletal injuries heal faster and the body becomes stronger.

After a person reaches age twenty-five, collagen production declines at a rate of 1 to 1.5 percent per year. As the collagen level falls, the connective tissues begin to deteriorate. Taking hydrolyzed collagen is especially helpful for older expecting mothers, because it helps them to stay fit during the process of building a baby.

Hydrolyzed collagen's high glycine content also assists the liver in handling toxins and keeping them away from your baby.

The mental benefits of collagen supplementation include greater alertness, better concentration, balanced mood, improved energy, and an increased sense of well-being. This helps control a mother's stress. When the mom is happy, the baby is happy!

The Only Good Soy Is Soy Lecithin

As you know, we do not regard soy or soy products as healthy foods, but soy lecithin is the exception to this rule. Luckily for pregnant women, lecithin thickens soybean oil too much, so soy manufacturers pull the lecithin out of the oil and sell it as a dietary supplement. Lecithin is just another name for “sticky fats.” You'll find different forms of it in eggs, meat, and (in small amounts) many other foods.

Supplementing with lecithin during pregnancy is valuable for you and your baby, because lecithin is high in choline: 13 percent of lecithin is pure choline. As we explained in our discussion of eggs, choline is critical to a child's brain development. In one group of studies, the choline in lecithin reduced the level of homocysteine, an amino acid that in excess has been associated with neural tube defects. Supplementing with lecithin (choline) is a great way to keep your homocysteine level under control.

Pregnant women should get at least 450 milligrams of choline per day and nursing mothers at least 550 milligrams per day. We recommend taking two tablespoons of granular lecithin daily, because that will provide about 500 milligrams of choline (eating eggs will also help you and your baby get the choline you need). Note that any soy lecithin you buy should be labeled as certified organic, or at least non-GMO, because soy is usually genetically modified. As of 2010, we could find only one manufacturer of organic soy lecithin in the United States.

Soy lecithin comes in small granules and has a mild nutty flavor. It should not be cooked, because the omega-6 will oxidize easily; you should also store it in the refrigerator. Lecithin has the amazing ability to transform just about any smoothie, salad dressing, or homemade coconut-based “ice cream” into a thick, creamy delight.

For those of you who are allergic to soy, unless you have an extreme anaphylactic reaction, you aren't likely to be allergic to soy lecithin. Most of the allergen proteins contained in soy are removed during the manufacturing process, making allergic reactions rare. Nonetheless, if you're allergic to soy, it's important to monitor yourself for allergic reactions when you first try soy lecithin. Sunflower lecithin is even better.

Cilantro

Cilantro has many health benefits, including strong antibacterial effects against
Salmonella
. A study published in the
Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry
found that cilantro was twice as effective at killing
Salmonella
as Gentamicin, the commercial drug that is commonly used to fight
Salmonella
infection. Cilantro is a natural chelator, which means that it may protect you and your baby from heavy metals like mercury and lead. This is particularly useful when you eat fish that might have mercury in it.

Cilantro also functions as a digestive agent, prevents nausea (good for dealing with morning sickness), is an anti-inflammatory, relieves intestinal gas, helps to control blood sugar, and optimizes the cholesterol level. Cilantro is a great source of dietary fiber, iron, manganese, and magnesium. Putting cilantro on salad or in guacamole or cooking with it is a great way to incorporate this powerful herb into your diet. Fresh organic cilantro is ideal.

Ginger

Ginger has been used medicinally and as a food for thousands of years, and research is bearing out its efficacy. In 2009, the
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
published a study showing that ginger decreases nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Sixty-seven pregnant women with nausea and vomiting symptoms each received either 250 milligrams of ginger or a placebo for four days. The participants who took ginger showed a marked improvement over those who received the placebo.

Eating ginger is a good way to aid the digestion of fats and proteins and to reduce gas. Ginger neutralizes the acids in the digestive system that cause nausea, cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea. Ginger also reduces inflammation, stimulates circulation, and acts as a natural antihistamine and antifungal.

Ginger's health benefits come from its oils, gingerol and shogaol. These oils give ginger its distinctive taste.

We sometimes grate ginger root into our salad dressing or use it to make Thai-style sauces, which call for coconut milk, too. We also make fresh ginger tea. To brew your own, buy a large ginger root (preferably organic) at your local grocery store. Peel the skin off with a vegetable peeler and cut the root into thin strips. Heat a quart or so of water in a saucepan until it comes to a rolling boil, add the ginger strips, reduce the heat, and let the ginger simmer for about twenty minutes. Adding a dash of fresh lemon juice at the end is a nice touch. Of course, you can just use ginger tea bags, but making your own tea is easy, fun, and delicious.

White Rice

If you're going to eat any grain, we recommend rice, because even though it isn't immune to molds, it's resistant and therefore less likely to be contaminated with mycotoxins than grains like corn and wheat. Organically grown white rice is about as healthy as a pure carbohydrate can get. We find that Japanese mochi made from pounded sweet rice is an amazing baked treat for Sunday mornings, when we consciously choose to “cheat” and eat carbs.

Whey Protein

Whey protein is a white powder supplement that contains a diverse blend of essential and nonessential amino acids. These amino acids give your body the building blocks it needs both to maintain itself and to grow a healthy baby. During pregnancy, your body demands a constant supply of protein to give your baby a good foundation, and supplementing with whey protein helps ensure that all of your protein bases are covered, since not every meal will deliver the protein you need. High-quality whey proteins also normalize weight, helping overweight people to lose weight and underweight people to gain it.

There are a number of things to watch out for when buying whey protein, because there's a lot of unhealthy, poor-quality protein products out there. Many are geared toward body builders and contain extra sugar, flavoring, and harmful chemicals. Many are processed in such a way that they cause the proteins to become unusable inside the body, or even harmful. Whey protein concentrates are a bad idea. They often contain casein and lactose, which we have already discussed under the topic of milk.

During pregnancy, you should look for whey protein isolate that is labeled “low-temperature processed” and “nonhydrolyzed.” Low-temperature processing preserves the natural forms of the proteins and prevents them from being damaged (denatured) from high heat. The natural forms are healthier for the body. For this reason, we never cook with whey protein or mix it into very hot liquid. Whey protein from grass-fed cows is ideal, but it's expensive. If you have allergies, goat whey protein may be better for you than the standard bovine product.

You can find a list of whey protein brands that meet our standards at our website,
www.betterbabybook.com/whey
.

Xylitol and Stevia

Xylitol is a type of sweetener found naturally in the fiber of a variety of fruits and vegetables. Since xylitol does not raise the blood sugar level and contains no fructose, it's our sweetener of choice. It also contributes to dental health and has been shown to be an effective treatment for osteoporosis. It's completely safe to use while you're pregnant, and it can even prevent the transfer of harmful bacteria from a mother to her baby.

Eating too much xylitol before your body gets used to making the enzymes you need to digest it can lead to bloating or diarrhea, so start on xylitol slowly and then build up, backing off if you get unpleasant symptoms. If xylitol doesn't work out so well for you the first time, don't get discouraged—your body will definitely adapt to it over time. And once you've adapted, you'll get all the benefits of a healthy, satisfying sweetener that replaces sugar very well in most recipes. Xylitol from hardwood, not corn, is best.

Stevia is another healthy sweetener that's low in carbohydrates and doesn't raise the blood sugar level. We prefer xylitol, because stevia tastes bitter to us, just as it does for many people. But some people love the taste of stevia, and from a health perspective, it's a great choice.

Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Butter

In recent years, chocolate has become known for its health benefits. Chocolate is high in antioxidants like flavonoids and catechins. Flavonoids optimize blood pressure and increase blood flow by helping the body to create nitric oxide—probably one reason that chocolate has a reputation for being an aphrodisiac! Chocolate also contains serotonin and stimulates the production of endorphins, both of which improve mood and make you feel better.

Chocolate is a source of some healthy fats. An August 2010 study confirmed that chocolate optimizes cholesterol levels without detrimental side effects. The study participants ate forty-five grams of 85 percent cacao chocolate every day for eight weeks. That's about half of a bar each day, quite a bit of chocolate! But note that what they were eating was nearly pure chocolate, very low in sugar, and free of milk.

Chocolate does contain caffeine, but not much. One ounce of dark chocolate has about 20 milligrams of caffeine. There are 60 to 120 milligrams of caffeine in a cup of brewed coffee and 45 milligrams in a cup of black tea. We know that it's important to limit caffeine intake during pregnancy, but if chocolate is consumed moderately, the small amount of caffeine it contains will not be enough to make a difference for most people. Lana ate a few squares of very dark chocolate two or three times per week while pregnant. We think that chocolate's healthy fat content and its ability to reduce Lana's stress benefited our children. We know it benefited Lana!