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To all the mums

7/18/2020

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To all the mums


Who don’t share their feeding journey with others and for the mums who aren’t quite yet mums may you connect, reflect and ponder my words and feel the miracle of life you are, no matter which way you fed/feed your baby- you are amazing. 


Breast and bottle feeding is brave
Breast and bottle feeding is beautiful
Breast and bottle feeding is bloody challenging 


Having a nutrition background when I became a mum made me determined to get it right, to start my child off with the most nutritious source of food I could provide. 


Knowing that breast milk contains antibodies and 1-5 million live white blood cells that help your baby fight against infection and when you are sick the amount of them in your breastmilk increases. Even at 1 million that is 100 times more than what your blood carries! By 6 months postpartum the white blood cell count drops to 100 000 cells er ml - 10 times your own concentration. Incredible right?!


Plus not to mention all of the hormones such as prolactin and oxytocin which help you to bond with your baby and ease feelings of stress and anxiety plus the many many many other benefits I wanted to be able to do it so badly. 


Unfortunately that’s not always how it plays out because of the stress of my labour my milk didn’t come in for 5 days so I had to bottle feed my baby straight from birth for the first little while until I could catch up. I certainly wasn’t prepared for that mentally or emotionally. 


And it was hard, it was so hard! I feel like once the baby comes its all about them but what about the mothers. They have just endured birth, they are already sleep deprived, stressing about every little red mark, rash or sound their baby makes and just focused on keeping their new little creation alive and then there’s all the things. It was about learning positions of feeding, do I feed off one breast at a time or both per feed? Do I hand express when I got too full? Do I use a pump? Trying to find clothes that were accessible to feed that didn’t look like I raided an old ladies wardrobe, it was leaking boobs, sore boobs (thank goodness for cold gel packs or frozen nappies), it was getting used to feeding around other people, it was continuously trying to limit foods and figure out what causes your babies upset tummy, it was always looking for a spew rag but regardless usually getting coated in milk anyway, it was the endless feeding positions and the tears of sleep deprivation while feeding and getting excited when you could see the sun rise because you made it through another night. 


But then there is the awe of it, the complete miracle of life you have just created gazing into your babies eyes still convincing yourself that this moment is real, this child is yours and you are now a mum. It is like time freezes. It is the satisfaction that you are all your baby needs, you are building a bond with this little person that no one can really put into words. 


For me my breastfeeding journey came to an end at 3 months, which to say I was devastated about was an understatement. As challenging as it was I didn’t want it to end so soon. For me my body was speaking to me and i had to listen, I was so fatigued, my body was deficient and I couldn’t eat enough to keep up with my supply and was losing way too much weight. To make things more difficult I developed Post Natal Hyper-Thyroidism which sped up my metabolism and make me lose weight as soon as i put something in my mouth. Probably sounds like a mothers dream come true wanting to lose that baby weight but it really was far from a dream! This meant that I had to be the best I could be too provide and care for my baby so I had to make the difficult decision to switch over to formula. 


I felt like I had failed, that I couldn’t give the very thing that my baby needed. Although I chose a high quality organic formula it wasn’t the same. I cried for a solid few days and felt all the things, I felt judged for being too thin and for bottle feeding whenever I was out in public but then I realised a few things. 


What other people thought of me wasn’t my problem
I am still a mum
I can still bond with my baby and you know what now his Dad, Aunty, Nan and Poppa can too
I can get some rest as other people can need feed him 
I can focus on getting my health back on track 
I can wear whatever I like- goodbye old lady wardrobe ;) 
I have more freedom which is so very important and healthy to have me time 
But most importantly my baby was fed
My baby was sleeping better
My baby was thriving 
I was happier and healthier which meant I could give him more love, more support and more fun. 


To all the mums who have felt these feelings, you are amazing. 
To all the mums who are still breastfeeding, you are amazing.
To all the mums who breastfed by choice until when they wanted to stop, you are amazing.
To all the mums who had to give up breastfeeding for daycare, jobs or illness, you are amazing.
To all the mums who were unable to breastfeed at all, you are amazing.
To all the mums who chose not to breastfeed, you are amazing.
To all the mums who prefer bottle feeding, you are amazing. 
To all the dads who are also the mum, you are amazing. 


To all the mums and mums to be that may be reading this, be kind to yourself. I wish I had been kinder, gentler and more realistic that both ways to feed your child is beautiful and this is your story no one else’s. 


We all have a story and until you have walked in the shoes of the mother you may have judged or cast your opinion on please choose again. Choose to lift each other up, raise your own vibration and raise incredible kids regardless of how they were fed. 


To all the mums, you are amazing!


Big Love. 


Meghan xx
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Why Gluten Free Diets are on the rise

7/7/2020

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​ ​Are you wondering why so many people are going gluten free?
Why there are special sections of the grocery store allocated to gluten free? or
 Why most new age restaurants offer a lot of GF items on their menu? and Why now?

Let’s go back a few steps and nut out what even is Wheat and Gluten and how they are different.

Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain which is a worldwide staple food.
Gluten refers to a group of proteins called Prolamins that are found inside those seeds or cereal grains (wheat, barley, rye). Gluten is the magic ingredients that gives bread that delicious stretchy ability and also why a lot of gluten free breads and wraps fall apart easily (fellow Gluten Free friends will know what I’m talking about). Gluten makes up about 75-85% of the total protein in wheat. Gluten free foods will always be free of wheat but wheat free foods won’t necessarily be free of gluten.
 
What happened?

I am led to believe that the wheat that is consumed in today’s western diet is far different from the wheat that that was consumed decades ago. A man by the name of Norman Borlaug won a Nobel Peace Prize for his creation of high-yielding short-strawed, disease-resistant Wheat also referred to as Dwarf Wheat. Norman had good intentions and his goal was to create new cereal strains in order to feed the hungry people of the world. This new breed of wheat was now extremely hardy, weather resistant, pest resistant and grows a starchy kernel. Dwarf Wheat is high in Amylopectin A (super starch) which is why bread in fact has a higher Glycemic Index than sugar!  As this particular starch has been bred (excuse the pun ;)), it has more genes, more proteins, more gluten which therefore makes it more inflammatory than typical wheat. To make matters worse they then preserve the wheat in Calcium Propionate which is a preservative that keeps the flour fresh and is strongly linked to Autism/ADD and behavioral issues as it is a neurotoxin. This has been proven through animal studies when they inject an animal with Calcium Propionate they show Autistic tendencies almost instantaneously.

Part of the problem however is in the way that it is harvested, the majority of wheat that is used for food production in the country is sprayed with Glyphosate (Round Up) to make the harvesting process easier. This very ingredient has been shown when consumed over a longer period of time to cause cancer and a whole host of health issues.

It is not only the type of wheat or the way it is sprayed that is the problem it is also the over use of wheat and gluten as a food additive which has increased three-fold in the last 15 years. For those that currently are on a gluten free/wheat free diet or shop for someone who is will realize pretty quickly when actually reviewing labels that it is in EVERYTHING used often to preserve or thicken.

Further to this Gluten has been linked to damage the gut through the protein Zonulin that modulates the permeability of tight junctions between cells of the wall of the digestive tract leading to intestinal permeability or you may have heard it referred to as ‘Leaky Gut’ (something I unfortunately know a lot about). Leaky Gut is where you no longer have tight junctions between the intestinal mucousal cells which now allow proteins such as gluten, undigested food, and pathogens and other nutrients and waste into your blood stream causing many auto immune conditions, bloating, gas, food sensitivities, aches and pains and much more.

The bigger picture is that our gut isn’t as strong as it used be, making us more susceptible to things like Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity because gluten followed closely by casein in dairy is a difficult protein to digest. However we are constantly living with so many health issues on a daily basis which we are becoming more susceptible too because of our weakened gut health and therefore weakened immunity. The increasing decline in gut health is due to many reasons but some common ones include;
- Eating far less plants than our ancestors
- Increased use of antibiotics which wipe out good bacteria and bad in the gut
- The rise in Caesarian deliveries, which bypass the mother’s usual transfer of bacteria to the baby
- The fact that we are too clean, which theorizes that our immune systems don’t develop properly anymore because our super-clean homes don’t give them enough early exercise
- The over consumption of processed foods
- Bugs and pathogens in our drinking water
- Daily stress
- Poor sleep hygiene and the list goes on

Research has shown that there has been an increase in Celiac Disease in the last 50 years by a massive 400%. Something to consider alongside this interesting statistic is to be properly diagnosed as a celiac you need to be eating a full gluten diet which a lot of people are choosing not to do because they know it makes them sick. This however is the key to having enough gluten in your system for an accurate diagnosis. It is also important to consider the fact that being a celiac doesn’t necessarily show in just digestive symptoms it can show up in your body in different way such as regular headaches, fatigue or brain fog. It is important to make a proactive decision to be tested if you do have any family history or suspect that something else may be at play.

The biggest take away I want you to grasp is that gut health is EVERYTHING. Ensuring you look after your gut really is the key to optimal health. I will be sharing much more about gut health so stay tuned to keep your pipes clean and healthy.

So there you have it, that’s my educated view point on why we are seeing so much more gluten sensitivity. Get in touch if you learnt something new or enjoyed this article till next time.

Big Love
Meghan  xx

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    Author

    I am passionate about sharing my health journey in the hope it will help others improve their health. Instead of taking 10 years like it did to me it is accessible now! I have a bachelor of Public Health with Majors of Nutrition and Health Promotion. I will soon be undertaking an Integrative Health Practitioner Certification. 

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