Healthy eating begins with learning how to “eat smart”. It's not just what you eat, but how you eat. Paying attention to what you eat and choosing foods that are both nourishing and enjoyable helps support an overall healthy diet.
Take time to chew your food: Chew your food slowly, savoring every bite. We tend to rush though our meals, forgetting to actually taste the flavors and feel the textures of what is in our mouths. Reconnect with the joy of eating.
Avoid stress while eating: When we are stressed, our digestion can be compromised, causing problems like colitis and heartburn. Avoid eating while working, driving, arguing, or watching TV (especially disturbing programs or the news). Try taking some deep breaths prior to beginning your meal, or light candles and play soothing music to create a relaxing atmosphere.
Listen to your body: Ask yourself if you are really hungry, and stop eating when you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat slowly. Eating just enough to satisfy your hunger will help you remain alert, relaxed and feeling your best, rather than stuffing yourself into a “food coma”!
Eat early, eat often: Starting your day with a healthy breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism, and eating the majority of your daily caloric allotment early in the day gives your body time to work those calories off. Also, eating small, healthy meals throughout the day, rather than the standard three large meals, can help keep your metabolism going and ward off snack attacks.
14 September 2008
Big Picture Strategies for Healthy Eating
1-Eat enough calories but not too many. Maintain a balance between your calorie intake and calorie expenditure—that is, don't eat more food than your body uses. The average recommended daily allowance is 2,000 calories, but this depends on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity.
2-Eat a wide variety of foods. Healthy eating is an opportunity to expand your range of choices by trying foods—especially vegetables, whole grains, or fruits—that you don't normally eat.
3-Keep portions moderate, especially high-calorie foods. In recent years serving sizes have ballooned, particularly in restaurants. Choose a starter instead of an entrée, split a dish with a friend, and don’t order supersized anything.
4-Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes—foods high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, low in fat, and free of cholesterol. Try to get fresh, local produce
5-Limit sugary foods, salt, and refined-grain products. Sugar is added to a vast array of foods. In a year, just one daily 12-ounce can of soda (160 calories) can increase your weight by 16 pounds. See suggestions below for limiting salt and substituting whole grains for refined grains.
6-Don’t be the food police. You can enjoy your favorite sweets and fried foods in moderation, as long as they are an occasional part of your overall healthy diet. Food is a great source of pleasure, and pleasure is good for the heart – even if those French fries aren’t!
7-Get moving. A healthy diet improves your energy and feelings of well-being while reducing your risk of many diseases. Adding regular physical activity and exercise will make any healthy eating plan work even better.
8-One step at a time. Establishing new food habits is much easier if you focus on and take action on one food group or food fact at a time
2-Eat a wide variety of foods. Healthy eating is an opportunity to expand your range of choices by trying foods—especially vegetables, whole grains, or fruits—that you don't normally eat.
3-Keep portions moderate, especially high-calorie foods. In recent years serving sizes have ballooned, particularly in restaurants. Choose a starter instead of an entrée, split a dish with a friend, and don’t order supersized anything.
4-Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes—foods high in complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, low in fat, and free of cholesterol. Try to get fresh, local produce
5-Limit sugary foods, salt, and refined-grain products. Sugar is added to a vast array of foods. In a year, just one daily 12-ounce can of soda (160 calories) can increase your weight by 16 pounds. See suggestions below for limiting salt and substituting whole grains for refined grains.
6-Don’t be the food police. You can enjoy your favorite sweets and fried foods in moderation, as long as they are an occasional part of your overall healthy diet. Food is a great source of pleasure, and pleasure is good for the heart – even if those French fries aren’t!
7-Get moving. A healthy diet improves your energy and feelings of well-being while reducing your risk of many diseases. Adding regular physical activity and exercise will make any healthy eating plan work even better.
8-One step at a time. Establishing new food habits is much easier if you focus on and take action on one food group or food fact at a time
21 August 2008
Vaginal Birth after Cesarean (VBAC)
Reviewed by George Mussalli, M.D. and Ann Linden, CNMMarch 2005
By the BabyCenter editorial staff
What are my chances of giving birth vaginally after having a c-section?
As long as you're an appropriate candidate for a vaginal birth after a cesarean, also known as a VBAC, there's a good chance you'll succeed. Of course, your chances of success are higher if the reason for your c-section isn't likely to be an issue this time around. For example, if you had a c-section after being fully dilated and pushing for three hours with a small baby who was properly positioned, you're much less likely to have a successful VBAC than a woman who has already had an easy vaginal delivery and then had a c-section when her next baby was breech. (Having given birth vaginally before boosts your odds dramatically.) Overall, about 60 to 80 percent of women who attempt a VBAC succeed.If you decide to try it, you'll need a caregiver who supports the idea and has admitting privileges at a hospital where appropriate coverage is available around-the-clock and whose policies allow VBACs. An increasing number of hospitals are refusing to allow VBACs because of controversy about their safety, specifically the potential for uterine rupture (a rare injury, but one that can be catastrophic for mother and baby).
What would make me a good candidate for a VBAC?
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, you're a good candidate for a vaginal birth after a c-section if you meet all of the following criteria:
• You've had only one previous cesarean delivery and it was done with a low-transverse (horizontal) incision. Having had more than one c-section or an incision in your upper uterus that was vertical (also known as "classical") or T-shaped puts you at an increased risk for uterine rupture. Note that the type of scar you have on your belly may not match the one on your uterus, so your practitioner will need to review a copy of your c-section report.
• Your pelvis seems large enough to allow your baby to safely pass through. (While there's no way to know this for sure, your practitioner can examine your pelvis and make an educated guess.)
• You've never had any other uterine surgery, such as a myomectomy to remove fibroids.
• You've never had a uterine rupture.
• You have no medical condition or obstetric problem that would make a vaginal delivery risky.
• There's a physician on site who can monitor your labor and perform an emergency c-section if necessary.
• There's an anesthesiologist, other medical personnel, and equipment available around-the-clock to handle an emergency situation for you or your baby.VBACs are very controversial, and you may find it difficult to decide whether to attempt one.
The best approach is to talk to your practitioner about your individual chance of success. Start the discussion early in pregnancy so you'll have time to carefully weigh the benefits and risks.
What are the benefits of having a VBAC?
A successful VBAC allows you to avoid major abdominal surgery and the risks associated with it — including a higher risk of excessive bleeding, which can lead to a blood transfusion or even a hysterectomy in rare cases, as well as a higher risk of developing certain infections. A c-section requires a longer hospital stay than a vaginal birth, and your recovery is generally slower and much more uncomfortable. And if you plan to have more children, you should know that every c-section you have increases your risk in future pregnancies of placenta previa and placenta accreta, in which the placenta implants too deeply and doesn't separate properly at delivery. These conditions can result in life-threatening bleeding and hysterectomy. Finally, if you were disappointed about having a previous c-section, you may feel a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment at being able to deliver vaginally this time around.
What are the risks of attempting a VBAC?
Even if you're a good candidate for a VBAC, there's a small (less than 1 percent) risk that your uterus will rupture at the site of your c-section incision, resulting in severe blood loss for you and oxygen deprivation for your baby. This risk is somewhat higher if your labor needs to be induced or augmented. So some experts think it's reasonable to abandon the attempt at a VBAC if it looks like you're going to need oxytocin (Pitocin) to get your contractions going or keep them moving.
Also, if you end up being unable to deliver vaginally, you could endure hours of labor only to have an unplanned c-section. And while a successful VBAC is less risky than a scheduled repeat c-section, an unsuccessful VBAC requiring a c-section after the onset of labor carries more risk than a scheduled c-section. With an unplanned c-section after laboring, you have a higher chance of surgical complications, such as excessive bleeding that can lead to a blood transfusion or even a hysterectomy in rare cases, and infections of the uterus and the wound. And the risk of complications is even higher if you end up needing an emergency cesarean.
Finally, the risk of the baby having a serious complication (which can lead to long-term neurological damage or even death), while very small overall, is higher in women who undergo labor before a c-section. What kind of interventions will I need if I attempt a VBAC?If you decide to try a VBAC, you'll need continuous electronic fetal monitoring because a change in your baby's heartbeat is usually the earliest sign that there might be a problem. You'll also need an IV and have to refrain from eating anything during labor in case you later require an emergency c-section.
By the BabyCenter editorial staff
What are my chances of giving birth vaginally after having a c-section?
As long as you're an appropriate candidate for a vaginal birth after a cesarean, also known as a VBAC, there's a good chance you'll succeed. Of course, your chances of success are higher if the reason for your c-section isn't likely to be an issue this time around. For example, if you had a c-section after being fully dilated and pushing for three hours with a small baby who was properly positioned, you're much less likely to have a successful VBAC than a woman who has already had an easy vaginal delivery and then had a c-section when her next baby was breech. (Having given birth vaginally before boosts your odds dramatically.) Overall, about 60 to 80 percent of women who attempt a VBAC succeed.If you decide to try it, you'll need a caregiver who supports the idea and has admitting privileges at a hospital where appropriate coverage is available around-the-clock and whose policies allow VBACs. An increasing number of hospitals are refusing to allow VBACs because of controversy about their safety, specifically the potential for uterine rupture (a rare injury, but one that can be catastrophic for mother and baby).
What would make me a good candidate for a VBAC?
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, you're a good candidate for a vaginal birth after a c-section if you meet all of the following criteria:
• You've had only one previous cesarean delivery and it was done with a low-transverse (horizontal) incision. Having had more than one c-section or an incision in your upper uterus that was vertical (also known as "classical") or T-shaped puts you at an increased risk for uterine rupture. Note that the type of scar you have on your belly may not match the one on your uterus, so your practitioner will need to review a copy of your c-section report.
• Your pelvis seems large enough to allow your baby to safely pass through. (While there's no way to know this for sure, your practitioner can examine your pelvis and make an educated guess.)
• You've never had any other uterine surgery, such as a myomectomy to remove fibroids.
• You've never had a uterine rupture.
• You have no medical condition or obstetric problem that would make a vaginal delivery risky.
• There's a physician on site who can monitor your labor and perform an emergency c-section if necessary.
• There's an anesthesiologist, other medical personnel, and equipment available around-the-clock to handle an emergency situation for you or your baby.VBACs are very controversial, and you may find it difficult to decide whether to attempt one.
The best approach is to talk to your practitioner about your individual chance of success. Start the discussion early in pregnancy so you'll have time to carefully weigh the benefits and risks.
What are the benefits of having a VBAC?
A successful VBAC allows you to avoid major abdominal surgery and the risks associated with it — including a higher risk of excessive bleeding, which can lead to a blood transfusion or even a hysterectomy in rare cases, as well as a higher risk of developing certain infections. A c-section requires a longer hospital stay than a vaginal birth, and your recovery is generally slower and much more uncomfortable. And if you plan to have more children, you should know that every c-section you have increases your risk in future pregnancies of placenta previa and placenta accreta, in which the placenta implants too deeply and doesn't separate properly at delivery. These conditions can result in life-threatening bleeding and hysterectomy. Finally, if you were disappointed about having a previous c-section, you may feel a tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment at being able to deliver vaginally this time around.
What are the risks of attempting a VBAC?
Even if you're a good candidate for a VBAC, there's a small (less than 1 percent) risk that your uterus will rupture at the site of your c-section incision, resulting in severe blood loss for you and oxygen deprivation for your baby. This risk is somewhat higher if your labor needs to be induced or augmented. So some experts think it's reasonable to abandon the attempt at a VBAC if it looks like you're going to need oxytocin (Pitocin) to get your contractions going or keep them moving.
Also, if you end up being unable to deliver vaginally, you could endure hours of labor only to have an unplanned c-section. And while a successful VBAC is less risky than a scheduled repeat c-section, an unsuccessful VBAC requiring a c-section after the onset of labor carries more risk than a scheduled c-section. With an unplanned c-section after laboring, you have a higher chance of surgical complications, such as excessive bleeding that can lead to a blood transfusion or even a hysterectomy in rare cases, and infections of the uterus and the wound. And the risk of complications is even higher if you end up needing an emergency cesarean.
Finally, the risk of the baby having a serious complication (which can lead to long-term neurological damage or even death), while very small overall, is higher in women who undergo labor before a c-section. What kind of interventions will I need if I attempt a VBAC?If you decide to try a VBAC, you'll need continuous electronic fetal monitoring because a change in your baby's heartbeat is usually the earliest sign that there might be a problem. You'll also need an IV and have to refrain from eating anything during labor in case you later require an emergency c-section.
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