In this blog series, I have been covering the different all-natural sweeteners that are excellent pregnancy foods. As a pregnancy nutritionist, I advocate eliminating sugar and artificial sweeteners from your eating plan, and replacing them with xylitol, stevia, agave syrup, and raw honey. All of these sweeteners have health benefits that out them, nutritionally speaking, miles ahead of sugar and artificial sugar substitutes. In this article, let's look more closely at raw honey and why you should consider it during pregnancy.

What Is Raw Honey?

Everyone knows that honey comes from bees, and is a wonderfully sweet, viscous food that tastes as delightful in tea as it does on a slice of sprouted grain toast. But what's the difference between raw honey, and the honey in a plastic bear on your grocery store shelf? Well, raw honey is just that—raw. It's unprocessed, uncooked, and unfiltered, and as such it provides powerful nutritional and health-giving properties to pregnant women.

Benefits of Raw Honey

Raw honey is antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial food. It contains resins and phytonutrients to help boost your immunity and ward off illness and disease. In addition it contains healthy bacteria, such as 6 species of lactobacillus  and 4 of  bifidobacteria. These friendly bacteria proliferate in your gut, improving your immunity and your digestion. Raw honey is also more slowly absorbed into your bloodstream than regular sugar, which keeps your blood sugar at a more even level. This keeps you from feeling the blood sugar spikes and lows that can cause headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and binge eating.

Negative Effects of Raw Honey

For pregnant women, the most prominent negative effect of raw honey is that it is relatively high in calories. So you will want to limit your intake to make sure you don't gain too much weight too quickly. Enjoying raw honey in moderation will give you all the healing properties it offers, without gaining too much weight.

One of the common complaints that can really throw off your healthy eating during pregnancy is morning sickness. The nausea, vomiting, and general malaise caused by this common pregnancy symptom can cause you to become dehydrated, malnourished, and can keep you and your baby from getting the proper nutrition that is needed. There are ways that you can ease your morning sickness with the proper diet, so let's take a closer look.

What Causes Morning Sickness?

Morning sickness is caused by hormonal changes in your body as your body adjusts to your pregnancy. Morning sickness can occur primarily upon waking, but it can manifest itself at any time of day or night. Most women stop having morning sickness after the first trimester, though some may experience it for much longer, even into the third trimester.

3 Ways to Ease Your Symptoms

If your morning sickness is so intense that it becomes incapacitating, you should consult with your OB/GYN, as there are prescription medications that are safe for pregnancy that can ease the nausea. But pregnancy & nutrition can also work hand in hand to ease milder symptoms:

1.    Boil slices of ginger root to make a tea and sweeten with stevia;
2.    Make your own chicken broth with all-natural, organic chicken, pepper, Celtic sea salt, and ginger;
3.    Eat protein with every meal, as protein can help stabilize your blood sugar and ease nausea symptoms.
 
What Not to Do

Don't ignore the symptoms of morning sickness, and don't take them lightly. It's important to stay nourished and hydrated for a healthy pregnancy. If you are concerned that your morning sickness is becoming too severe, consult with your health care provider to see what options are open to you.

You should also stay away from refined carbs and sugary drinks like ginger ale and juice, as these will cause your blood sugar to spike and dip, making the symptoms of nausea worse.

If you have read up in my What to Eat While Pregnant guide, you know that I am a huge advocate of eliminating sugar from your diet. I mention several all-natural sweeteners that I highly recommend making the switch to: raw honey, agave syrup, stevia, and xylitol. In this blog, I am going to talk more about xylitol, since many people haven't heard about it. It can be a great sweetener to include in your pregnancy diet.

What Is Xylitol?

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is derived from many fruits and vegetables, such as berries, corn husks, mushrooms, and oats. Nowadays it is usually derived from hardwood or maize. It is manufactured by a Danish company as well by other companies in China. Xylitol has about nine calories per teaspoon, as compared to regular sugar, which has fifteen calories per teaspoon. So while you can enjoy xylitol during pregnancy, you will want to keep a close eye on your caloric intake to keep from gaining too much weight.

Benefits of Xylitol

Xylitol is perfectly safe for pregnant women and nursing mothers to ingest. In fact, studies have shown that regular use by pregnant women can cut back the possibility of transmitting Streptococcus mutans bacteria from mother to child by 80%. This is the bacterium that causes tooth decay. This benefit lasts into the second year of life for your child. It is classified as a "tooth friendly" sweetener and is already commonly used in dental care products like toothpaste, mouthwashes, and fluoride tablets.

Negative Effects of Xylitol

As with most sugar alcohols, xylitol can cause gastrointestinal distress (gas, bloating, and even diarrhea). Regular use can increase your tolerance and reduce these symptoms. Even though xylitol can cause those symptoms, it is actually easier on your digestion than other sugar alcohols such as mannitol and sorbitol.