I have morning sickness, and I can't decide what I should eat and what I shouldn't. Help??

Question

I have learned that I can't eat donuts or summer sausage, but I've been trying to decide what other foods I should stay away from.

Answer 1

What makes morning sickness worse or better is a very individual thing. The two most important factors in dealing with morning sickness are to try and keep something in your stomach most of the time (hunger makes it worse - low blood sugar) and get adequate vitamin B-6. I have a huge list of suggestions I give my patients. Don't be afraid to try different things to find out what works for you. I am pasting the list here.

Claudine Crews CPM, LM
www.midwiferyservices.org

SUGGESTIONS FOR DEALING WITH NAUSEA AND VOMITTING OF PREGNANCY
Try what sounds the most appealing, but don't dismiss the other suggestions. Sometimes it's the thing that sounds the worst (like rice water!) that is exactly what you really need.
Some of the theoretical causes of "morning" sickness you really can't do anything about, like rapidly rising hormone levels. However, one thing that may cause and contribute to nausea, fatigue, dizziness, etc., is low blood sugar and that is something you can work on. Here are the ideas: Ref: "Holistic Midwifery Vol. I Care During Pregnancy" by Anne Frye and personal experience:
1.Eat small amounts throughout the day BEFORE you feel hungry (this keeps the blood sugar from dropping too low before eating.) Keep a bowl or dish of something you can just grab quickly. One client found keeping a bowl fool of raw broccoli to munch on really helped. Another discovered popcorn was the 'cure'.
2.Do not take supplements on an empty stomach (don't try to take them at all when the nausea and vomiting are really severe, except maybe B6.)
3.Eat before arising from bed each morning
4.Eat something (shoot for healthy) every two to three hours (the worse the nausea, the more frequently you should eat, but smaller amounts if necessary.)
5.Eat foods you know will settle your stomach; yogurt, cottage cheese, cereal, toast, crackers are a few suggestions. Sharp cheddar cheese may be well tolerated by some women as the sharp smell and taste increases salivation and digestion, placing less burden on the stomach
6.Be sure to include many high protein foods
7.Beverages such as carbonated drinks may help initially to settle the stomach but should not be taken regularly or "lived on." Nutritious foods are really needed to turn the pattern around.
8.Eat a high protein with carbs snack (like yogurt) before going to bed and whenever you wake in the night (frequent waking signifies that your blood sugar is low, even if you don't feel hungry)
9.Drink to a healthy thirst, avoid dehydration. Women often find plain water more tolerable if they add lemon or if they drink it very cold (Don't try to eat and drink at the same time. Try to space your food with your drink by about 30 minutes. When fluids are hard going down try to get them down in frozen form, such as frozen juice bars, ice chips, etc. Try freezing some herbal teas, such as red raspberry, ginger, peach tree, and making ice chips from them. Alternatively, sometimes something very hot will go down, such as hot broth or tea.
10.Moderate exercise will assist the body in mobilizing toxins and high levels of hormones through the liver and out of the body.
11.Avoid spicy or greasy foods (I personally have had good luck getting red of nausea with a low-carb tortilla and lightly grilled or simmered onions!)
12.Eat a high complex-carbohydrate food, such as crackers followed by a high protein food 20 minutes later.
13.Eat an unrefined sweet food (such as fruit) followed by a high protein food shortly afterwards (the sweet will begin to bring the blood sugar up and the protein will help to stabilize it.)
14.Inadequate dietary intake quickly leads to burning stored fat for energy needs. This causes ketones to appear in the urine. This process can lead to more nausea.
15.Dizziness may accompany morning sickness. Lie down with a very cold cloth across your eyes and breathe evenly and deeply until the dizziness passes. Darkening the room may also help.
16.If gas, bloating, bowel irregularities, abdominal pain, etc., are present the symptoms may be related to a food allergy.
Some more specific measures:
1.If the vomitus looks like bile, drink a cup of water with 2 tsp. of salt added upon arising. Usually this will cause vomiting once, and then stabilize the stomach.
2.Drink a small amount (start with 2 oz., then try 4oz., increasing to a tolerable amount, if needed) 'Third Wind', 'Recharge' or another natural foods brand electrolyte balanced liquid before eating or when nauseous.
3.Eat a boiled egg. While this may sound awful, eggs are perfectly balanced protein and can calm the nausea quickly in some cases.
4.Take powered ginger in 00 size capsules throughout the day, up to 2 capsules every 2-3 hours if necessary.
5.Take Ginger root tea in tablespoon doses at the onset of nausea. This is especially good when combined with peach tree leaves. (Use leaves from trees that have not been sprayed with pesticides or fungicides!)
6.Drink Peach leaf tea (Use leaves from tree that have not been sprayed with pesticides or fungicides!)
7.Drink peppermint or spearmint leaf infusion first thing in the morning
8.Drink anise or fennel seed tea on rising or chew either of these seeds during the day
9.Take 1 tsp apple cider vinegar in 8 oz warm water first thing in the morning
10.Rub lobelia tincture on the feet, under the arms and on the abdomen to sooth tension and spasms with trigger vomiting.
11.Take B complex and try extra B1 and B6 for 2 weeks (long term use of isolated B vitamins can cause deficiencies of the others). *** Many women have dramatic improvements when they supplement with B6. As much as 50 mg of B6 can be taken every 4 hours, along with 400 mg of magnesium each morning. You might start with trying 50 mg twice daily, once 20 minutes before arising and once at night
12.Bee pollen in teaspoon doses has helped some women.
13.Raspberry leaf tea or infusion - drink 1 - 2 cups daily before rising or suck on ice cubes made from the infusion
14.Acupressure wrist bands can be purchased which put pressure on the anti-nausea point at the inner wrist. These work wonderfully for some women. (These may be sold as "seabands" or "motion sickness" bands and are available at some health food stores or pharmacies.)
15.Take small sips of the following tea throughout the day, but no more than 1 cup in a 24 hour period: 1 part cinnamon, 5 parts blackberry leaves, 5 parts yarrow, 10 parts red raspberry leaves; mix and steep in 1/2 cup boiling water for 1/2 hour.
Try to keep track of what works, what makes things worse, etc. If you begin to feel terrible, think back on how long it's been since you ate, what you ate or drank, etc. See if there is a pattern. The most likely culprit is low blood sugar. The real key to dealing with low blood sugar is to eat very, very frequently! Every hour or two, and whenever you wake up during the night. Hopefully, some of these suggestions will help.

Answer 2

Try anything with mint in it to help with the sickness. I was addicted to the Andes mints.

As far as what to eat, it's different for every woman. Me, I ate anything dairy. If it was milk, ice cream or cheese it was for me. I also loved tacos. But many women can't handle dairy or spice during this time. So, my advice, if thinking about it or smelling it makes you nausious, stay away. Likely what you can and can't eat will not change during the pregnancy.

Answer 3

I was very sick in the beginning. I found the best for me was to eat something small every hour or so. Toast with peanut butter, crackers, white rice, simple foods that aren't too spicy. If you have a little in your stomach every hour or so, you won't get too hungry and your stomach won't get acidy, and just a little won't upset your stomach as much as a full meal. good luck, it will get better.

Answer 4

stay away from raw, spicy, greasy food, deli food (ham, salami) soft cheeses, and certain fish that are high in mercuary. Next time you visit your doctor, they can give you phamplets on what is safe and what is not, or visit a pregnancy website and they will have everything you need to know about food and nutrtion. i personally found fruit and rice crackers a big help! p.s= Keep up your fibre to help reduce constipation!

Answer 5

Spicy foods, fried foods... If it doesn't smell good or look good, don't eat it. Eat lots of little meals and snacks, crackers, fruits, etc. Drink lots of water and juice.

Answer 6

You should see a nutritionist, they tell you everything that is good or not good and give you booklets. it helps a lot!