A Green Pregnancy: 6 Ways to Eat Safer During the Holidays!

Organic Baby University | November 29, 2011 | 0 Comments

Choose safer foods during the holidays while pregnant

By: Jennifer Hankey, President of Organic Baby University

Pregnancy is such a special time for the new mom-to-be and her growing family, especially during the holidays! But the holidays can bring up some new obstacles to staying healthy and protecting baby from toxic chemicals in your fun holiday products and foods! Huge holiday meals, decorations for Christmas and Hanukkah, and gifts are all items where you need to be educated about dangers and a few simple ways to protect yourself and your baby!

Holiday Foods-

Let’s start with one of the biggest obstacles during these festive season-Holiday meals! While meals for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Years may put on the pounds, one thing many pregnant women may not think about is that these meals can be loaded with toxic chemicals. So here are the foods to avoid!

Avoid

Canned foods-Canned foods contain BPA, which is linked to birth defects, cancer and other health issues. BPA crosses the placenta and has been found in the cord blood of newborns. Opt for fresh if you can and tetrapacks if needed. Learn more
Conventional meats and dairy-conventional meats and dairy contain hormones, antibiotics, and are almost always fed genetically modified foods or may be injected with genetically modified hormones. A new study shows that GMOs are not broken down by the gut as claimed by the companies who make them, and were found in 935 of pregnant women tested and 80% of cord blood samples. Learn more here
Conventional Potatoes-Potatoes are one of the highest rated foods for pesticides. Stick with organic when making mashed potatoes.
Non-Stick and Aluminum Cookware- These can leach aluminum or chemicals in non-sticks called PFOAs and PTFEs. These chemicals and metals have been found in the cord blood of newborns and are linked to nfertility, chidhood cancer, asthma, learning disabilities and more! They pass to the baby through the placenta and also through breastmilk. Aluminum is a neurotoxin that accumulates in the brain and bones. Learn more
Fancy Drinks- Most fun holiday drinks (even the ones that aren’t loaded with alcohol) will contain artificial colors and/ or sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are GMO and are often closer to formaldehyde in composition that sugar. Artificial colors are made from petrochemicals and are linked to ADHD.
Fried Foods-Almost all fried foods are fried in canola oil, over 90% is GMO. Corn oil is another GMO culprit so you are better to avoid all fried foods. Ask when eating sautéed food if they can use olive oil

But don’t despair! The holidays offer a lot of super nutritious and safe foods that you don’t see at other times of the year! Take advantage of the season and eat plenty of these healthy and safer choices!

Eat and Enjoy

Pumpkin Pie-Avoid canned pumpkin. Fresh is best but tetrapacks are better to avoid BPA. Go organic if you can, but if not, make sure the dairy is organic and enjoy a dessert that packed with potassium, pantothenic acid, magnesium, and vitamins C and E. Pumpkin contains one of the richest supplies of bioavailable carotenoids.
Sweet Potatoes- One of the best super foods out there and also one of the clean 15 veggies for the least amount of pesticides.
Cranberries-Studies are starting to show that chemicals in cranberries help with cholesterol, periodontal disease, UTIs, and potentially tumors and breast cancers.
Apple Cider and Pie-Go with organic apples as they are on the dirty dozen list for high levels of pesticides. But apples are superfoods and contain high levels of antioxidants, including polyphenols, flavonoids, and vitamin C, as well as good source of fiber, and potassium.
Turkey-Go organic with turkey to avoid turkeys that are fed GMOs, and are treated with antibiotics. Turkey is a superfood and contains niacin, selenium, vitamins B6 and B12, and zinc as well as tryptophan.
Turnip greens/ collards with Black Eyed Peas- (yes I am Southern!) Ring in the New Year with the classic beans and greens! Avoid canned beans unless it is Eden’s Organics BPA free can. This is a power-packed meal loaded with nutrients and vitamins for you and your baby!

Article provided by Jennifer Hankey, President of Organic Baby University. Organic Baby University provides additional resources for moms and videos on their site for moms who want to learn more!

To learn more about where these chemicals are found and how to avoid them visit http://www.organicbabyuniversity.com to watch fun, animated videos in their Organic Pregnancy Class and Organic Baby Class! They also have guides and checklists, safe product recommendations, exclusive coupons and more!

Resources

BPA Found in Cord Blood

(http://www.ewg.org/minoritycordblood/BPA-cordbloodpollution)

Dangers of BPA

http://www.naturalnews.com/028042_babies_BPA.html

Dangers of GMOs

http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/AboutGeneticallyModifiedFoods/index.cfm

GMOs in Cord Blood and Breastmilk

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1388888/GM-food-toxins-blood-93-unborn-babies.html

Dangers of Non-Stick Pans

http://www.ewg.org/healthyhometips/dangersofteflon

http://www.ewg.org/newsrelease/U.S.-Women-at-Greater-Risk-from-Teflon-Chemical

Dangers of Teflon

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1540964

Artificial Colors

http://www.naturalnews.com/032512_artificial_colors_food.html

Artificial Sweeteners

http://aspartame.mercola.com/

Aspartame Converts to Formaldehyde

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1862767

Food and Nutrition

http://www.superfoodsrx.com/superfoods/

Cranberries

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15814415/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/research-shows-health-benefits-cranberries/

Safety of Cinnamon During Pregnancy

http://www.pregnancyandchildren.com/pregnancy/pregnancy_dangerous_herbs.htm

Tags: baby, children, food dangers, go green baby, go green pregnancy, going green, green moms, moms, organic baby

Category: Go Green Moms, Go Green Pregnancy

About the Author (Author Profile)

Jennifer Hankey is the President of Organic Baby University. Organic Baby University is a site dedicated to teaching pregnant women and moms how and why to avoid the common, harmful chemicals in everyday products.