YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health (Autumn 2015) | Page 15
HEIDI SZE, APD
Heidi is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited
Nutritionist with a passion for helping people have fun with their
food, enjoy eating good food and learn how to make the most
nourishing meals for their body. She believes that every meal
should be enjoyed, including homemade ice-cream and pie and
she shares these types of tips via her website (www.
gatherandgrownutrition.com.au). You can also read more about
Heidi at n4foodandhealth.com
NUTRITION TIPS
FOR FIRST
TRIMESTER NAUSEA
Nutrition expert Heidi Sze shares
these handy hints.
recently announced on my
blog that I am pregnant with my
first child. So naturally that
makes me an expert on all things
pregnancy and babies. I’m kidding! This
is a very new experience for me, but
nevertheless the nausea, food aversions
and tiredness are things I am
experiencing in full force, so I’ve done
my resarch and want to share a few tips.
I
Nausea
Nausea can really impact your appetite,
not to mention make you feel generally
awful all day long. I’ve found the
following strategies useful:
• Keep your blood sugar levels
steady by eating every two hours
(give or take).
• Eat something as soon as you wake.
Some mornings I’d have a piece of
toast (or even half a piece) in bed
before getting up. A piece of fruit
might work well too, often I would
have a banana or some dried
figs before a morning walk. Gone were
the days when I could exercise or
function on an empty stomach. Being
prepared and having dry crackers or
something plain by your bedside is a
good idea, to grab when you wake up
(or even if you wake during the night
hungry! I’ve been there).
• Have plain, gentle foods like toast,
potato, rice and pasta, then add
some protein where you can (based
on preference at the time), to help
balance your blood sugar levels. I
found cheese, tuna and eggs (well
cooked) to be wonderful, but I took a
•
•
•
•
•
while to enjoy nut butters. Having a
bit of protein alongside my
carbohydrates helped keep nausea
at bay. Side note: wherever you can
get vegetables in is great. I was quite
amenable to potatoes, peas, carrots
and corn.
Eat smaller portions (you may find
this is all you can really manage
anyway).
Avoid foods that are too rich or fatty.
Those hot chips might seem really
great (because they are), but watch
your portion size as they might
cause a bit of stomach upset.
Ginger has long been used to help
manage nausea. Sip on ginger ale or
a homemade ginger syrup, along
with water or soda water.
Go for a gentle walk and get
some fresh air.
Lastly, keep busy and distract
yourself! Watch a movie, read a
magazine or a book and tune out.
Seeing friends also really helps.
Sitting around wallowing in your
nausea will indeed make things
worse.
Note: if you are vomiting frequently and
cannot keep food or fluids down, you
should see your obstetrician or head to
the hospital. There are medications that
can help you with extreme sickness and
really extreme sickness will require
treatment. The above tips relate to
mild-moderate nausea.
Food aversions
When you’re pregnant, you may find that
you go off certain foods that you once
loved (for me it has been vegetables,
particularly zucchini and beetroot).
There’s not a lot of understanding as to
why this occurs, but many experience
it and it can really narrow your choice of
food (and at a time when eat