I absolutely love what the photo above says wake up and workout and ever since the pandemic started for some of us working out at home has become a part of our new normal routine. Last year I wrote part 1 to this blog post and it received some pretty good traction and so today since that blog post did so well I want to follow up with part 2 which is an at home workout video! Now I’m not saying I’m an expert when it comes to working out but I wanted to visually show you all some of the exercises I enjoy doing at home.
This blog post is for all my mama’s out there and mama’s to be. Let’s get real and let us talk about postpartum depression but only not postpartum but prepartum depression which is something I experienced the first few months of my pregnancy.
It is said that the cause for postpartum depression is unknown but can be linked to rise and drop in hormone levels after giving birth. After a woman gives birth they given six weeks before coming back for their first postpartum checkup. In my opinion that first visit just goes by really fast and because postpartum depression is such a big topic of discussion in motherhood and pregnancy one screening for postpartum depression is not enough. Thats exactly how it went for me and several mama’s out there. During your six week check up you are given a questionnaire to fill basically asking you questions in relation to how you are feeling at that time. If you score above a certain number on that questionnaire it may mean you might have postpartum depression.
After my six week visit everything was good and my doctor said to come back in a year. I was thinking to myself a year? Thats it? That is all? This is where I feel things go wrong screening for postpartum depression should not just be after the first six weeks but should continue throughout that first year of being postpartum.
As for my experience with prepartum depression which I am not sure is really a term but that’s what I would call it, I experienced this between my 2nd to 4th month pregnancy. I just remember feeling really down and like I didn’t feel like myself, I didn’t want to get out of bed. Throughout most of my pregnancy I did feel very sick and was nauseated and dry heaving almost everyday so some of those things could have played a factor to making me feel more depressed but it just a different feeling that I never felt before.
It is very important that we know the signs and symptoms of postpartum depression which are:
Depressed mood or severe mood swings
Excessive crying
Difficulty bonding with your baby
Withdrawing from family and friends
Loss of appetite or eating much more than usual
Inability to sleep (insomnia) or sleeping too much
Overwhelming fatigue or loss of energy
Reduced interest and pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
Intense irritability and anger
Fear that you’re not a good mother
Hopelessness
If you feel that you may be exhibiting any signs of postpartum depression please reach out to your primary care provider
Written By: Vanessa J
Check Out My Youtube Video on Postpartum Depression
This blog post is to simply announce that I have officially turned my blogpost into podcast! You can now listen to my blog post if you don’t feel like reading it. (Only if you don’t lol)
My Podcast is currently available on six platforms:
In today’s blog we are closing out our final topics that were specific to women, for the month of March and this post is going to be about Endometriosis. Now , I’m pretty sure many of you out there may already know what Endometriosis is and there are many that don’t.
If you have not heard about it before, endometriosis is a disorder that affects the female reproductive system. This disorder specifically affects the uterus. The uterus is the area in which when pregnancy occurs the baby grows while inside the embryo sac. The uterus also sheds every month during to release an egg and that is why we have bleeding and have our menstrual cycle.
The tissue that lines the uterus is called “endometrium”. What happens in endometriosis is that the endometrium tissue starts to grow outside of the uterus. The ovaries, fallopian tubes, and tissue in the pelvis can all be involved because the tissue growth can spread.
This is a condition that can be very painful for the women that do have it especially during the time of their monthly menstrual cycle that tissue becomes inflamed due to all the hormones that are being released.
The reason why I wanted to talk about nutrition for endometriosis is because Tia Mowry ( Twin from Sister Sister) has advocated for endometriosis because she has had it for many years and faced struggles with getting pregnant due to endometriosis. She also had to have multiple surgeries to removed the tissue that was growing outside of her uterus even though it would come back. She has advocated that changing her nutrition and diet is what helped her to not only get pregnant but manage her symptoms.
What she focused on was removing foods from her diet that triggered inflammation because it would cause the pain to be worse. She removed processed foods from her diet and a lot of dairy from her diet because dairy causes inflammation in the body. Eating more fruits, and vegetables, and fresh foods was a key to managing her symptoms.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this blog post and if any have questions about endometriosis or changing your diet please talk to your Primary Care Provider or a Registered Dietitian.
So for the month of February and March on this blog and on Youtube my focus was on Heart Health and Women’s Health. The month of February in the US is Heart Health Month and the month of March is Women’s History Month . I will leave the links below to the Youtube videos I did for February and March.
Now that we are in April, I just wanted to give a recap of some of the diseases and disorders that I discussed and nutrition recommendations for those diseases and disorders. ( Disclaimer I work in the field of Nursing and Nutrition but I am not a Medical Doctor. When making any major changes to your diet or health please consult with your primary care doctor or a Registered Dietitian).
Multiple Sclerosis
Disease of the central nervous system
Central nervous system includes the brain and spinal or cord
Attacks the nerves or nerve cells
Myelin sheath deteriorates
Myelin sheath helps nerve signals travel and covers the nerve cell
Sensory Motor and Cognitive Problems
Cause is unknown
Linked to genetic and environmental factors
Genetic being a female and Certain Genes
Environmental factors infections and Vitamin D deficiency
Four types of MS
vision problems
tingling and numbness
pains and spasms
weakness or fatigue
balance problems or dizziness
bladder issues
sexual dysfunction
cognitive problems
Nutrition for MS – There is some evidence that a diet low in saturated fats and supplemented by Omega-3 (from fatty fishes, cod-liver oil, or flaxseed oil) and Omega-6 (fatty acids from sunflower or safflower seed oil and possibly evening primrose oil) may have some benefit for people with MS.
Vitamin D is a hormone and has many functions in the body:
promotes the absorption of calcium, necessary for bone health
supports immune response to infections
helps to limit inflammation and regulate the immune system
Food sources of Vitamin D include oily fish (such as salmon or tuna), beef liver, egg yolks, pork, fortified foods such as milk and juices
Biotin is considered a form of vitamin B, and is a component of enzymes in the body that help break down certain substances. It also activates certain enzymes that help the body produce myelin – the substance wrapped around many nerves in the central nervous system. Biotin, also known as vitamin H, is usually obtained from food.
2. Cardiovascular Disease
Can include any condition that affects the heart , blood vessels, hypertension , atherosclerosis, arteriolosclerosis , high blood pressure, blood clots
Heart diseases that affect women more than men include
Coronary microvascular disease (MVD) – a problem that affects the heart’s tiny arteries
Broken heart syndrome – extreme emotional stress leading to severe but often short-term heart muscle failure
Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness
Nutrition for Cardiovascular Disease – Avoid junk foods, processed foods, fast foods. Stay away from saturated and trans fats. Eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean meats, fish such as salmon. Low Sodium Diet, Low Fat Diet/ Protein plus Fiber
3. Lupus
Autoimmune Disease
Inflammation and swelling takes place anywhere in the body and can attack any organ or organ system
Lupus affects everyone different some people might have mild symptoms and some people might have severe symptom
People will have flare ups and then go into remission
Symptoms:
fatigue
fever frequent fevers
hair loss and hair thinning
rash butterfly shaped rash on cheek bones
pulmonary problems lungs can become inflamed and swollen
kidney problems Inflammation of kidneys
swollen joints
gastrointestinal problems
thyroid problems
dry mouth and eyes
Nutrition for Lupus- Eat a well balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables and omega 3s Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel, and Sardine, Citrus fruits Vitamin C.
Avoid processed foods, junk foods, any foods that cause Inflammation in the body dairy is known to cause Inflammation in the body
NutriFoody Wholly Holism 