Zazen Pregnancy Blog Series #2: The Importance Of Staying Hydrated During Pregnancy And How To Reduce Toxin Exposure

By Kate Waterson, Expectant Mum, Nutritionist and zazen Water Hydration Specialist.

Congratulations, you’re Pregnant! What a wonderful, exciting and scary time.

When I found out that I was pregnant I think I went through every emotion all at once! Can I do this? What kind of mother will I be? Will my baby be healthy? Will I ever sleep again?! And also the feeling of wanting to be as healthy as possible.

As a nutritionist, I set a goal for myself to exercise as much as I could and eat as healthy as possible. Well that didn’t go exactly to plan! I completely went off salad and the thought of eating salad made me want to throw up. All I wanted was carbs! But I learnt to trust that my body was telling me what it needed at that time and I surrendered to it.

So I focused on what I could change and implement to ensure that I maintained my health and wellbeing as much as possible!

Now that you’re pregnant and after speaking with your Midwife or GP, now comes the long list of what not to eat and drink. There is a high probability that Hydration is not specifically talked about, however this is a critical component during pregnancy.

As a nutritionist and hydration specialist, I have a deep appreciation for the importance of staying well hydrated at any time and now especially so during pregnancy. It is an important part of my personal pregnancy routine right now.

Why is staying hydrated during pregnancy so important?

Apart from all the essential bodily functions that water plays a role in, it is also needed for the following vital functions during pregnancy:

• Forms the amniotic fluid that surrounds the baby.
• Supports the increase in blood plasma volume.
• Produces breast milk and is essential for good lactation.
• Ensures the vitamins and minerals you are consuming (through food and possibly supplements) are transported into your cells so your body (and baby’s) can effectively utilise them.
• Helps to keep your body temperature regulated.

How much water should you drink while pregnant?

Your recommended daily water intake is higher during pregnancy, so aiming for approximately 3 litres per day is ideal however this will depend on your weight, and where you live (if you are in a hot climate, you may need to drink more) or if you spend time outdoors etc. If you are not drinking a hydrating water such as zazen Alkaline Water, then maybe the thought of drinking that amount of water may be daunting... or maybe you feel bloated drinking water ordinarily – let me assure you our customers tell us and we know that you will not get that bloated feeling when drinking zazen Water. Why? Simply it is absorbed at a cellular level and hydrating you – it will not just sit in your stomach (giving you that bloated feeling). Read more about this later in the article.

Helping prevent constipation is important

To ensure that your kidneys, bowels and liver are working efficiently, it is important to stay hydrated so that your body can eliminate the toxins from your body and stay regular with bowel motions. Remember that your baby will be excreting toxins also, and ensuring that these toxins are being sufficiently eliminated from your system is very important so as not to add increased strain on your baby’s liver and kidneys.

Staying hydrated may help to reduce brain fog and morning sickness

The normal signs of dehydration can be more pronounced when pregnant. Morning sickness and fatigue, dizziness, brain fog and constipation are the most common symptoms.

Dehydration in the later stages of pregnancy (third trimester) can also cause contractions that can trigger pre-term labour.

To ensure that you are adequately hydrated you need to be drinking the RIGHT type of water that actually hydrates you (most water does not do this effectively!).

So how can I stay hydrated during pregnancy?

As mentioned above, you need to be drinking the RIGHT type of water that actually hydrates you. So what is the right water for you to hydrate with?

Did you know that water is far more than H2O and not all water is the same!

The way mother nature creates a great tasting, hydrating water that is the foundation for all life is through the following process…

As water falls from the sky and is absorbed into the earth; as it travels through the earth, filtering through natural sand, soil and mineral deposits, water sheds toxins (it may have picked up from the pollution layer in the sky or from the land it has fallen on). Water in nature balances itself with minerals, magnetic energy (from mother earth) and far infra-red energy (both energies are essential to life on our planet as we know it), and its structure changes and adapts. By the time it bubbles from a spring and flows down a stream, water is in the ideal state, with all the properties to hydrate and nourish all living things. 

This is water that is ideal to drink and hydrate with.

Water that contains the right properties, including a balanced range of alkaline (electrolyte) minerals, is readily received and absorbed into your body for Cellular Hydration.

School students conducted experiments in one of our zazen Water Ambassador School Program classrooms, and the results are shown in the picture below – look at the real difference and effect of bottled water, tap water and zazen Water on the growth rate of plants and their roots. The only difference is the “Quality” of the water used!

Read more on the health effects of drinking tap water, bottled water and zazen Water.

Removing harmful toxins from your environment

When you first go to your GP, Obstetrician or Midwife there is so much emphasis on pre-natal vitamins, not to drink and smoke, avoid caffeine and soft cheeses etc. but there is little (or no) emphasis placed on removing other harmful toxins from your life which can be just as damaging to your health as the obvious ones.

In the last decade, studies by EWG (Environmental Working Group) and other researchers have firmly established that toxic chemicals can pass from pregnant women to foetuses through the umbilical cord, affecting children’s future health and development. Now a growing body of research shows that some chemicals may alter gene function in ways that can be passed not only to the immediate offspring, but also to grandchildren and perhaps even great-grandchildren.

Ensuring that you are looking at all of the other aspects of your overall health and wellbeing and eliminating toxins where possible, will help greatly in ensuring that you and your baby are in the best possible health throughout the duration of the pregnancy.

What can you do to eliminate toxins during pregnancy?

As mentioned in part 1 of this pregnancy blog series on eliminating toxins from your diet & lifestyle (click here to read the full blog post), here are 6 easy steps you can follow to help you eliminate some of those nasty toxins from your lifestyle:

1. Go natural – Using organic and natural makeup, toothpastes and body creams. Synthetic fragrances are in everything from cleaning products to your belly butter! Thankfully there are plenty of fragrance free products available or those that have fragrances are using essential oils. You could also make your own using Himalayan salt, coconut oil and an essential oil that you love to make a homemade body scrub.
2. Reduce your salon days – if you regularly get your nails and hair done, try thinking about salons that offer organic products and less toxic nail polishes. Want a massage? Try taking your own oil or asking them to use a non scented organic oil instead. There are also natural non-toxic nail polishes & removers that you could use.
3. Focus on whole / real unprocessed foods – Try to eat as unprocessed (fresh green and the colour of the rainbow vegetables) and grass fed organic meat where possible to avoid the potential of toxin exposure in the foods you eat (pesticides and herbicides in fruit and veggies and hormones and antibiotics in meat) and try to do a lot of cooking yourself so that you know EXACTLY what you are eating!
4. Avoid unknown quality plastics where possible – try to store food in glass or stainless steel and try to heat food on the stove (ideally do not use a microwave as it actually destroys much of the nutritional value of the food you are heating and changes the molecular structure as well).
5. Drink Alkaline Mineral Water – Drink only micro-filtered and re-mineralised alkaline water. This will hydrate you at a cellular level, help increase your energy, assist to stave off brain fog, constipation, possibly morning sickness and more.

Read The Facts about zazen Alkaline Mineral Water... the water I drink every day.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment that can be provided by your physician, therapist, licensed dietician or nutritionist, or any other health care professional. It is for educational and informational purposes only.