Nutrition can help balance hormones

Many pregnant women find it hard to recognise the person they become when they are pregnant.

When you are pregnant, your hormones cause all kinds of changes, including changes to your emotions and outlook on life! When I’m pregnant, I notice that my emotions tend to be extreme (in either direction).

There are days when I’m more worried than usual, more sad than usual, or even more happy than usual.

The extremes in emotions can make some women uncomfortable and their unpredictable nature can make the people around them feel uneasy.

The changes in emotions also seem to take a different shape with each stage of pregnancy. Most women feel more weepy in the first trimester and more anxious and worried in the later trimesters.

Some women feel an exceptional sense of ‘peace’; and others have magnified ‘nesting’ instincts that make them want to clean everything!

So, you’re not going crazy, it’s just your hormones manifesting in various ways. As usual, good nutrition can help balance hormones, stabilise brain chemicals and help you have a smoother journey.

In order to minimise the effect of the hormones on your mind and emotions, check your nutrient status. Sometimes, when we are lacking certain nutrients, our brain becomes starved and we are more likely to fall for emotional turmoil.

The main nutrients that you should look out for are iron, zinc, essential fats, and B vitamins.

– Excerpts from the writer’s latest book
Get more great pregnancy tips from my latest book I Want A Healthy Pregnancy, sold in bookstores around Bahrain or online at Amazon, iTunes or Kindle store. The Arabic ebook version is also out now! Get it through the ‘3eeshoLibrary’ App on your iPad. For more info, visit www.IWantAHealthyPregnancy.com