Microbiota and Weight: What you can do in pregnancy for your baby
Today I was chatting live all about microbiota (gut bacteria) and how our gut microorganisms influence how many calories we absorb.
Did you know we can actually absorb 10% more calories if we have unhealthy gut bacteria, fermicutes, which are also knows as the obesity microbes.
In this video I chat about what you can do to have a healthy gut for healthy weight and also for a healthy baby!
For more tips on healthy weight gain in pregnancy grab the Top 10 Evidenced-based Strategies for Healthy Weight Gain in Pregnancy audio gift and worksheet
Some research shows that an unhealthy gut microbiota may be linked to increased risk of allergies, autoimmune diseases and obesity for your child later in life.
When the placenta breaks (the mother's water breaks) the baby is exposed to the mother's microbiota or in a c-section to the operating room air.
Some things that you can do to have a healthy gut microbiota and provide your baby with the best start is:
1. Include lots of insoluble fibre in your diet (found in vegetables and fruit)
2. Limit processed and packaged foods
3. Use antibiotics only as necessary and if needed take a probiotic supplement along with your treatment
4. Plan for a vaginal birth, if possible
5. Skin to skin contact
6. Breast feed or pump breast milk, if possible
7. prior to and post pregnancy, include a variety of fermented foods, such as kimchi, sour kraut, kombucha and kefir
Check out the video where I talk about how to choose a probiotic and how I benefited from BioK.
