Preparing for pregnancy is more important than many might think: the first few weeks of pregnancy are when the baby’s body undergoes the most accelerated growth, the success of which relies on how prepared the mother and the father (toxins also affect sperm) were in preparing.
These 10 tips will help you get ready:
- Avoid pesticides. Most of the pesticides normally consumed by people in their daily lives can be avoided simply by not consuming the most contaminated grown products, these include apples, peaches, nectarines, sweet bell peppers, strawberries, cherries, celery, lettuce, carrots, pears, and grapes. If you want any of these products, choose those grown organically – while more expensive, these are a lot safer for your planned baby. The products grown with the least amount of pesticides include pineapple, mango, kiwi, papaya, watermelon, onion, sweet corn, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, asparagus, eggplant, and broccoli.
- Quit smoking and lessen the amount of caffeine and alcohol you consume. This is especially important for women: those who smoke in time of pregnancy (or are constantly exposed to secondhand smoke) have a higher chance to birth low-weight babies. As for alcohol and caffeine, these two substances reduce health, and can have a wide variety of negative impacts on the fetus.
- Consume less animal fats. Instead of fatty meat, choose to consume fat-rich plants for your fat needs. The problem with animal fats is that they often contain, antibiotics, organochlorine chemicals, such as DDT and other pesticides, and dioxin. When we consume these, they pass on to us and can cause a lot of harm for the fetus.
- Eat folic acid before and during pregnancy. Studies have shown that an adequate amount of folic acid helps prevent neurological defects in the early stages of development. Don’t eat too much, however, as this may also prove detrimental. Sources are citrus fruit, spinach, broccoli, and beans.
- Choose to drink water. The problem with sodas, energy drinks, most juices, and other bottled drinks is that most of them are sweetened, colored, and contain artificial flavors, also, the fact that they are in a plastic bottle leads to an even bigger chance that they might be contaminated with dangerous chemicals, which leads us to the next point…
- Know you plastics and avoid canned foods and beverages. Some plastics are particularly dangerous to developing fetuses. Avoid using plastics with resin codes 1, 3, 6, or 7 – you can typically find the code on the bottom of an item in a triangle of arrows. You should also avoid exposing plastic to heat, since this promotes leaching. As for canned products, they are lined with a plastic resin containing bisphenol-A, which is an especially harmful hormone disruptor.
- Choose seafood wisely. While fish are an important part of the diet, eating it can expose us to PCBs – a carcinogen – and methylmercury, which is a dangerous neurotoxin. Safe seafoods include: anchovies, clams, shrimp, tilapia, mackerel, herring, etc.
- 8. Test for lead. Lead is neurotoxic, and can pass on to the fetus causing harm. Test the paint on your walls, especially if it has been there for a while (paint used to contain lead), test your tap water, and, above all, test your blood.
- Avoid anything toxic. Modern households typically contain a wide range of toxic chemicals, especially those used for cleaning – avoid using them, there are less dangerous, albeit more tedious ways to clean your house.
- 10. Fewer personal care products. These often contain hormone disruptors that can harm the fetus. Especially avoid products that contain Parabens, Phthalates (DEHP, BBP, DBP, DMP, DEP), DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance, Triclosan, Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate, DEA (diethanolamine) and TEA (triethanolamine), Formaldehyde, PEGs (polyethylene glycol), and anything with “glycol” or “methyl.”