Are you suffering the affects of morning sickness. It seems so unfair that at a time of great joy and excitement women are plagued with nausea, vomiting and food aversions. Don't lose hope though, there are lots of practical things you can do with you diet that have a track record of helping women who are suffering from morning sickness



?Your sense of smell is heightened during pregnancy and has a strong role to play in morning. Cold food have less odour and therefore is less likely to set off nausea and vomiting

?Blood sugar plays a huge role in morning sickness. Peaks and troughs in your blood sugar can lead to nausea and vomiting. To keep your blood sugar as stable as possible make sure you have a portion of protein (about the size of your fist) at each meal. It is essential to have a protein snack before bed and if you wake in the night eat a further snack of protein. Researchers believe sickness that is worse in the morning can be attributed to the fall in blood sugar overnight

?Blood sugar rises quickly when you consume sugary food and then falls. The rise and fall can trigger nausea and vomiting. To prevent this avoid fruit juice, sugary snacks, cereals and white flour.

?Consume small frequent meals with a good amount of protein.

?The most important thing is that you keep the food in your system. If the only food that seem to stay down leads to an unbalanced diet don't worry. As soon as you feel better you can get back on track.

?Keep a snack next to the bed and have it 20 minutes before getting out (not always feasible, when you are bursting for the loo!) Avoid foods that are fatty as they are harder to digest. Best to avoid rich, spicy, acidic and fried foods.

?Fatty foods, rich food, spicy food, acidic and fried food make morning sickness worse and are best avoided.

?Stay hydrated. This is so important. Try and have regular small drinks (tea, soup, cool drinks) as gulping down large volumes of water can also increase the feelings of nausea. If you have been vomiting consider sipping an isotonic sports drink as it will help to restore balance to your blood sugars, glucose and electrolytes. It is much better to have some fluid in your stomach if you are going to vomit.

?If you are taking prenatal vitamin, your system will handle it much better later in the day and even at bed time than it will in the earlier part of the day. It is also worth using one, just for a few weeks with less iron, which can be particularly harsh on your digestive system. Please do not reduce your iron supplementation if you suspect or have been confirmed to be anaemic.

?Ginger tea can be helpful as well as chewing raw ginger. It is worth trying any ginger based product such as ginger candy, ginger beer and stem ginger biscuits.

?As obvious at it might seem avoid any food (or situation) that you find triggers your nausea

?Some ladies find Brewer's yeast capsules help to relieve morning sickness

?Vitamin B6 has been demonstrated to reduce morning sickness and can be found in cereal grains, legumes, eggs, fish, chicken, nuts and avocados.

?Suck or sniff a lemon when you hit a wave of nausea

?Mint based products have a calming effect on the digestive system. Try sipping some mint tea. If you have excess saliva then you will find chewing mint gum very helpful.

Finally listen to your instincts. They are there to serve you. Morning sickness is not fully understood but it probably as a protective function. If a certain food or smell makes you feel sick then avoid it. If you are driven to eat a particular food then go for it. Try to be as balanced as possible but do not get hung up about it. You will soon feel better and then you can restore the balance in your diet. If you vomit everything you consume you need to speak to your healthcare provider.