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There's no doubt that pregnancy is one of the most amazing experiences that a woman can live. Just thinking about the miracle of life itself, the blessing of feeling your baby growing inside of you, the unique bonding you already can have with your little one from the very beginning is so magnificent that there're no words to describe it. However, there are some small downsides that during pregnancy can be quite common, some of theme are well known, others are not, and they can definitely surprise you! Let's see in more details what expects from those 9 incredible months. Something is happening... During the first month you probably already know that you are pregnant, perhaps you are not totally aware of it, but at least you begin to suspect that something different is going on. Early symptoms can guide you to understand more about your body and if you are actually pregnant or not. Breast Changing First of all your breast changes, a lot! It is sore, heavy and swollen, and if you are a stomach sleeper you definitely need to find different positions or otherwise planning a sleepless night. Moreover, make exercise and sex can be very uncomfortable, your partner needs to be very gentle and extra careful. Even a normal hug, sometimes, can make you jump for the pain, and even though you don't need to change bra size yet, you might avoid wired bras and looking for gentler support. When will your breast start to change? It can occur as early as few days, or one to two weeks after conception — technically, weeks three and four of pregnancy. Quite early indeed! The high sensitivity of the nipples too is correlating to the whole new "breast situation". Your entire body is flooding with hormones that will allow your little one to develop and grow, you breast reacts increasing its volume and preparing the milk ducts for breastfeeding. After two or three months your breast will be less sore, but will keep growing until birth when your body will be ready for breastfeeding. Perhaps you'll need to buy new bras two or three times during the all pregnancy period, bear in mind that later on you'll need comfortable and practical breastfeeding bras, think to invest your money even during pregnancy in buying some of those. Gas, lots of gas... and constipation! It is not commonly known (maybe because pregnancy is a magical time and all about the miracle of life?), but especially during the first three months you most probably will experience constipation and a significant increase of gas. The higher amount of hormones, in particular progesterone, are going to relax all your muscles in order to let your baby growing comfortably inside your uterus. As a consequence, the bowels will also relax and slow down their movements (peristalsis) causing evacuation difficulties and... lots of gas! Probably, at the beginning you'll feel quite bloated and it seems like you already have got a little bump, I'm sorry to tell you it's not your baby showing, it's just your intestines crying for help! What to do? Try to eat slower and to drink as much as possible still water and no gas drinks. Also, introduce in your diet lots of fibres, you can find them in vegetables, different kind of seeds, fresh and dried fruits, and whole-grain food (such as whole-grain pasta, bread, oats, rye and barley, but also in buckwheat, corn, brown rice, etc.). Very useful are kiwis, rich in vitamin C and with 3gr of dietary fibre per 100gr, they act effectively accelerating the intestinal peristalsis. You can start eating one kiwi before breakfast and see how it goes. If still nothing changes, you can try to eat more kiwis (two, three or four always before breakfast or distributed during the day before principal meals and snacks). If you don't like kiwis (or they are not just for you), you can try dried fruits during breakfast or as a snack. Prunes and apricot are the most effective ones, both are very rich in Vitamin A and have got 7gr of dietary fibre per 100gr. Their action is related to the high amount of fibres that can significantly help in moving your bowels. Moreover, it is vital to stay hydrated also for your intestines sake! You'll need to drink plenty of water everyday, at least 2 litres, because your hormones and metabolism will change how your entire body works, your little one will need more and more fluid to develop, and if you go through the annoying morning sickness and vomit, you'll definitely need to stay hydrated! Simple water doesn't sound appealing? You can drink fruit and herbal infusions, infused water (cut some slices of cucumber - or lemon, lime, orange and pineapple - put them in a jar full of water and refrigerate. Wait at least four hour before drink it) or just add some fresh lemon or orange juice to your water. Fatigue and Tiredness You won't believe the amount of hours you're capable sleeping! Yes, fatigue and tiredness are true stuffs especially during the first three months. You'll find yourself already exhausted earlier in the evening and even though you're watching your favorite serie or film, even though you're eager to finish that amazing book you're reading, you'll fall asleep soon and quite easily! It's like a strange force just switch you off and you cannot do anything else but surrender. Even during the day you can find yourself looking with loving eyes that comfortable sofa or bed, especially if you are. wisely reducing you caffeine intake, there's nothing that can strongly wake you up! Well, it's a perfect moment to relax, get rest and regenerate your energy. Your little one needs lots of energy in order to develop and already with the implantation (around day 8-9 after ovulation) he or she will start to suck your blood as nutriment (yes, like a little hungry vampire!). Also, your body is going through a hormonal hurricane and your metabolism is adapting to the new situation, it is just normal to feel tired and sleepy. Elevated Basal Temperature Suddenly you start to feel warmer, you sweat more without doing any physical exercise and perhaps you're looking at summer clothes even though is still freezing outside! Don't worry, you're perfectly fine! It's just a normal effect of the increased blood flow in your body. While usually the uterine artery receives 100ml of blood per minute, during early stages of pregnancy it receives 120ml and at the end of pregnancy almost triplicates reaching 350ml. Studies revealed that the total amount of blood in a pregnant woman rises by 40-50%, as a result the metabolism is boosted of about 20% and the core temperature grows from 37°C to 37.8°C. Not only the placenta (and the baby) needs more and more blood throughout the months, but also every mother's organs do, since they are significantly working more. The famous pregnancy glow also depends on the increased blood flow, which is responsible for the considerable activity of the oil glands of the skin. The combination of more oil secretion and hormones can lead some women to develop pimples and acne, but don't worry, everything will go back to normal once the baby arrives! What to do? Wearing natural fabric clothes, especially underwear, is extremely helpful. Not only natural fibres will allow your body to stay fresh all day, but also they are more gentle against your skin, which now is also more sensitive than ever. Drink lots of water! Yes, water again! But it's crucial to stay hydrated and it helps you cooling down a little bit your temperature. Choose your clothes wisely. Instead of wearing just a heavy jumper - because it's winter and it's cold, you should layer lighter clothes, so that it's easier to get rid of something if you feel too hot and start sweating. Think about your bedding. During night the body slows down, the metabolism is at its minimum activity and being relaxed and almost still while sleeping it also contributes to reduce the energy consumption. In pregnancy not every bodily activity is shut down, your baby is growing and your heart is pumping lots of blood toward any department. Lots of women cannot sleep properly and some of them develop insomnia. One of the main causes could be the elevated core temperature which can negatively influence the quality of the sleep. Check if your duvet it too much for you now, if your pyjamas is too warm or if the heating in your bedroom is too high, you'll find out that little adjustments can significantly change your life (or at least your night!). Headaches... Merciless Headaches Yes, unfortunately it's common to experience headaches during pregnancy, the increased amount of blood and hormones are the main responsible for them. Moreover, the latter has significant effect on the function of the liver, that now has lots of work to do! What to do? It isn't easy to deal with headaches during pregnancy, especially because you should avoid drugs as much as possible and take some lighter medication only if you're in a great pain (for instance a small amount of paracetamol). You should try, instead, some natural remedies that could ease the pain and sometimes get rid of it completely. Lemon juice! Lemons are your friends for life, in particular during your nine months journey. The stimulation of the Citric Acid can enormously benefit the gallbladder and the liver during the digestion and their multiple detoxicating activities. Because the liver has a strict connection to the circulatory system, lots of vascular headaches and migraines can be caused by its overloaded work. As a consequence, helping liver and gallbladder it also means ameliorating the blood circulation and the symptoms related to i such as headaches and migraines. Moreover, the Citric Acid (a weak organic acid) has the capacity of reacting with the Gastric Acid (one of the most strong acid existing) generating in the stomach an alkaline solution. This means that if you suffer for heartburn and/or acid reflux, lemon juice is the perfect natural remedy. Change your eating habits. Anything can change during this time, in particular your appetite! Perhaps you're indulging your desire of chocolate or chips too much and the gastrointestinal and hepatic system are not happy with your cravings. Be aware of what your body does't like, anytime that after a particular meal or snack an headache appears, write down what you've eaten. Confront the list of food you've intake before an episode and look for similarities (it can be just a particular food - always chocolate - or a group of food - dairy). Stretching, oil massage and heat bags. Your whole body will considerably change, your vertebral column curves will be more accentuated because of the baby's growth and weight, and you'll assume a different posture every month too. Sometimes, the body struggles to promptly adapt to this constant modification and some tension can develop along the spine and in general along your back and neck. Tension headaches can be very annoying, you can try to ease the pain doing a gentle stretching of your whole vertebral column and gentle circular movements of your neck. You can also ask someone to do a very soft and gentle massage with an oil you like (almond and coconut oils are very good for your skin) or oil 31which is a blend of essential oils extracted from medicinal herbs (deeply helpful with muscle strain). Think about buy a heat pack, but do not exaggerate with the heating! Remember that your core temperature is higher, your blood pressure is lower and you don't want to over heat your body (which is definitely NOT good for the baby). If you feel at any point that your temperature is increasing, just take the pack off and drink a glass of water. Cherry stones heat pack is a good option, you can apply it on your neck or where you feel your muscles stressed. Sleep. Being able to sleep well is vital! Some women develop sleeping problems while pregnant, it may depend on the new hormonal and metabolic situation, but also on new thoughts and worries that is very normal to have during this life changing period. Moreover, think about if there's something that bothers you and change it. Perhaps your mattress is not comfortable enough? Or your pillow is too low or too soft? Or your duvet is too warm? Or your pyjama is too tight? In order to induce sleep, set up a relaxing atmosphere in your room so that is more welcoming the sleep. For example you can open your bedroom window for at least 20 minutes one hour before going to bed in order to fill the room with oxygen and fresh air. you can buy Himalayan salt lamps, they are known not only because diffuse a nice pinky light, but also for being "natural ionizers". Releasing ions in the air, they can contribute in cleaning the air in your home, soothing allergies, boosting your mood and helping you sleep. Even though there are some small "side effects" that could make your dream pregnancy a little less "dreamy", you'll totally fall in love with be expecting. Those nine months will definitely change your life, enjoy them as much as you can, fast your seat belt and start your incredible journey. #pregnancy #earlysymptompsinpregnancy #osteopathy #ostreopathyduringpregnancy #healthypregnancy

Do you know that everything you eat and drink will be transformed by your body and will become indeed part of you? Take a moment and think about what you eat. Are you sure that you have got a healthy nutrition? Even though people who regularly practice sport have usually more knowledge in this field, knowing how to combine food and what is actually good for you can be tricky. Let's go into further details about what is really beneficial (and what is not) for people who do sport. First of all, there are many different kinds of sports, but they all have got in common one thing: the muscle-skeletal strain of the body. As a consequence of the physical activity, the Musculoskeletal System will determinate different metabolic reactions that will require a perfect cooperation between the organs in order to supply the energy needed and to regulate the body homeostasis. The strong connection existing between the function of the heart and the kidneys, for instance, is clearly evident in sportsmen and sportswomen who are more predisposed to have an increment of the levels of creatine (fundamental parameter of the renal function) as well as the presence of blood cells in urine. Moreover, the tendency to intake large amount of proteins can easily stress the kidney that will need to overwork in order to dispose of those big molecules. A good nutrition, therefore, is fundamental not only to obtain good results in sport, but especially to take care of our body. So, what do you need to eat if you are a sportsman or sportswoman? Every physical activity requires energy that is primarily furnished by carbohydrates. In order to avoid glycaemic imbalance, which can lead to diabetes in people with a genetic predisposition to this disorder, it is vital to properly combine carbs with other food. Before looking into it, we must understand the quality of different carbohydrates. There are two main groups of carbs: "simple carbs", that are broken down quickly producing high levels of glycaemia, and "complex carbs", that are broken down slowly guaranteeing in this way long-lasting energy levels, crucial for sport. Before particularly demanding trainings or high resistance physical activities (such as marathons, cycling, tennis, etc.), it is necessary to plan meals rich in complex carbohydrates associated with some proteins and minerals, in particular potassium and calcium. The will to develop or constantly maintain high muscles mass is what led some amateur athletes to do serious nutritional mistakes regarding the amount of protein eaten, even when they avoid artificial protein supplements and shakers. So how we can eat properly in order to sustain our muscles during sport without falling into common mistakes that can stress more our bodily functions? Let's have a look at some simple bio nutritional principles that we need to be aware off in order to maintain a perfect balance and heath. 1 - Different sources of protein. We can find good proteins not only in meat, but also in eggs, cheese, fish and beans. People who need to lose body fat should prefer eggs, fish and lean meat, and limit cheese especially if there are risks of high levels of cholesterol, gallstones and kidney stones. 2 - Avoid to exceed with proteins during a single meal. It is better to eat protein during the whole day in every meal, during breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner. Proteins, that must always be associated to a right percentage of carbs, should be combined also with vegetables or fruits rich in water: the former will give energetic support to the hepatocytes (the cells of the liver), while the latter will supply the necessary fluids for the biological activities of the liver and to facilitate the kidney during the expulsion of the catabolites. 3 - The quality of proteins is extremely important. The bioavailability of amino acids (the capacity of the body to absorb a certain substance, such as amino acids) and the organic tolerance are maximum with raw proteins and minimum with prolonged cooked proteins. Examples of raw proteins are cured ham, bresaola (air-cured beef), carpaccio, speck (smoked cured ham), smoked salmon, etc. Quicker ways of cooking proteins (such as grilled, wok-fried, stir-fried, etc.) also are valid alternatives and should be preferred to slow cooking modalities. Moreover, eggs must be fresh and organic, while cheeses must have a guaranteed denomination of origin and fish should never come from intensive breedings. 4 - Keep hydrated! During the physical activity is extremely essential to maintain a good hydration in order to keep right levels of bodily fluids for the correct function of the organs and to supply muscles with essential minerals. Instead of drinking plain water or super artificial energy drinks (that often have a counterproductive effect on the body) you may try to do your own "energy drink". Mix some water with lemon or grapefruit juice, a pinch of sugar or a tea spoon of honey and a dash of marine salt. This is a very thirsty-quenching and highly mineralising solution, you will love it! Finally, before a training or a competition you can also eat small pieces of dark chocolate or Parmesan cheese or nuts, they will provide you with essential minerals and good fats for a proper boost of energy! Try this recipe! The day before an intense training or a competition you can treat yourself with a tasty and balanced dinner. Here there is an example for you to try! Fresh pasta with ragù, scramble eggs and courgettes Ingredients for 1 person: First dish: - 150 g of fresh pasta - 125 g of minced beef meat - 60 g of minced pork meat - 1/2 onion - 180 g of tomato sauce - 10 g of concentrated tomato paste - 1/2 glass of white wine - Meat or vegetable broth - Fresh basil leaves - Salt and black pepper to taste - Extra virgin olive oil Second dish: - 2 or 3 courgettes - Parsley - One table spoons of pine nuts or 3 walnuts or 10 almonds - 2 eggs - Butter and/or extra virgin olive oil to q.s. Directions: Pasta Finely chop up the onion and stir-fried it with some olive oil. When it reaches a nice gold color, add the minced meats and keep stirring for about 10 minutes or until the liquids are totally absorbed. Add the white wine and let the alcohol to evaporate completely, then add the tomato sauce, the concentrated tomato paste, a ladleful of broth (or water if you prefer), some basil leaves, a dash of salt and pepper. Let it simmers on low flame with the lid on, when the sauce becomes thick, the ragù is ready! Cook the fresh pasta in boiling salted water for few minutes. Remember: when the pasta is "al dente" is easier to digest (and tastier!). Drain and add the ragù. Enjoy the pasta with all your senses! Eggs and courgettes In order to have a more balanced meal, it is good to eat during the same meal some vegetables combined with good fats (from the nuts) and more proteins (from the eggs). Direction: Wash and chop up the courgettes (rich in potassium, perfect for your muscles) and stir-fried them in some olive oil. Add some parsley, a dash of salt and pepper. When almost ready, add finely chopped nuts (pine nuts or walnuts or almonds, they will guarantee a good amount of calcium, magnesium and fat acids) and keep stirring until cooked. Add to the courgettes the scrambled eggs previously cooked with a bit of butter or olive oil. Enjoy your perfectly balanced dinner, the day after you will feel full of energy and ready for your training! #nutrition #sport #sportmen #sportwomen #athletes #nutritionforathletes #health #goodfood #balance #knowhowtoeat