Conception and Pregnancy: The Importance of Folic Acid

I feel that there is a real lack of knowledge and understanding regarding the importance of folic acid in pregnancy. Therefore, I wanted to put together a small blog based on the facts, including some guidance. This is particularly useful for my clients whom are trying to conceive or those who have already conceived. 

The Facts  

• The Department of Health recommends that women take a daily 400mg supplement of Folic Acid while they are trying to conceive and for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. 
• A report has shown that 1 in 1,000 babies born (in the UK), suffer from some kind of neural tube defect, such as spina bifida. 
• You are at a higher risk of having a child with neural defects if: either you or your partner have a neural tube defect, you or your partner have a family history with neural tube defects or you have diabetes. 
• Folic acid cannot be stored in your body so you need to get some in everyday. 

What you need to do to prevent neural defects in your baby:

• As soon as you decide to start 'trying' for a baby, start taking a daily supplement of folic acid (400mg). Continue with this supplement for the first twelve weeks of your pregnancy.  
• Include dietary sources of folic acid into your diet. Dietary sources include: green leafy vegetables, brown rice, fortified breakfast cereals, chickpeas, asparagus, lentils...(you cannot consume enough folic acid through your diet so a supplement is required to make sure that you are getting enough. 

*Always consult your doctor before taking any supplement 

The Power of Greens

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This blog goes out not only to my fellow Multiple Sclerosis sufferers, Bell's Palsy suffers or people interested in losing weight, this goes out to everybody. I am a huge believer in drinking a green juice everyday. The health benefits are there for everybody to enjoy. 

I am going to share my favourite recipe with you and share some of it's benefits. 

This juice includes: Spinach, Kale, Celery, Cucumber and Apples. 

I'm not going to give too much information, I just want to quickly highlight some of the benefits of these beautiful vegetables and how they can help change your lives. 

Spinach 

• High in Vitamin A which is required for all growth in your body tissues. It helps to reduce fine lines. If you suffer with dry hair and dry itchy skin, it could be because your low on this vitamin. 
• high in Fibre which therefore helps to keep you regular!
• high in Potassium so it is recommended for people with high blood pressure. 
• reduces glucose levels, increases insulin sensitivity.
• contains Chlorophyll which has shown to be effective at blocking carcinogenic effects. 
• contains: Iron, Zinc, Magnese, Vitamin K. 

Kale

• Has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients.
• Contains Fibre and Omega 3. 
• Contains Vitamin K, A, C, B6 E, B2, B1 Protein, Folate, Niacin and Potassium. 

Celery

• Low in calories because it is made up of 95% water and therefore perfect for hydration.
• Approximately 2g of Fibre per cup.
• Contains 50% of your daily Vitamin K in one cup! vitamin K regulates blood clotting, assists the transport of calcium throughout the body and can decrease the risk of bone fractures. 

Cucumber

• Aids weight loss and digestion because it is made up of 95% water - again, good for a low calorie snack and to keep you hydrated.
• Contains B, C and D vitamins. 
• Promotes joint health and helps to release arthritic pain. 
• reduces 'puffiness' in skin and stimulates hair growth. 
• A great hangover cure - eat a few slices of cucumber before you go to bed. Cucumbers contain enough water, sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish many essential nutrients. Thus, reducing the hangover and the headache. 

Apples 

• Can help to regulate your blood sugar.
• They can lower fats in our blood. 
• Reduce your risk of developing Cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. 
• Reduce Cholesterol. 
• Prevent cataracts. 
• Help with diarrhoea and constipation. 

If you are struggling with the taste of this juice, try adding a small amount of ginger to it. Ginger, is also full of many health benefits. 

I believe that this juice has helped me so much with my various health conditions and also in keeping my weight down. 

When things become complicated: Is it Bells Palsy or is it an MS flare up?

I have to say that one of the most frustrating things about having a disease that not every doctor is competent with, is that there is always a question of is it your MS? or is it something else? It's always easy to blame the MS. 

To add to this confusion is the fact that about a year ago I was diagnosed with Bells Palsy after a nasty ear infection. At the time, I had no idea what it was, in fact my partner thought that I was having a stroke because my face started falling and when you have never heard of such a condition, straight away your going to suspect that you are having a stroke. 

Recently, I noticed that the bottom half of the right hand side of my face had a lot more movement than the left side. I had a very lop-sided smile and I remembered that this was how the Bells started in the first instance. 

I decided to call the doctor immediately to try and get a prescription before the problem escalated. The first time that I experienced Bells palsy, I remember that it escalated very quickly and the whole side of my face 'froze' and I couldn't close my eye. 

Following my visit to the doctor, I came away feeling 'undiagnosed' and very frustrated. The doctor didn't seem to have  a clue what to say to me. Eventually she managed to get through to a neurologist for some advice and he prescribed me a course of steroids. 

I still have no clarification of what the actual problem currently is and I know that I will have to wait until my next neurology appointment to speak to my specialist.

I know that MS can affect your face, I have never experienced this before so I have no idea what it feels like. Whatever is happening to my face at the moment is very similar to the Bells Palsy that I experienced the first time and also feels different at the same time. 

Currently, my face feels reactive to temperatures which I can't remember experiencing with the Bells Palsy. My eye feels very dry and swollen (even though it isn't swollen). My smile is definitely not as symmetrical as it was the first time I experienced Bells Palsy. However, it is no where near as bad as what it was the first time that I experienced Bells Palsy. 

If anybody else has had an experience with either Bells Palsy or MS affecting your face, I would really appreciate it if you could get in touch. 

Thank you,

Zoe 

The stupid things people say to those with MS

Ok, so I don't have many of these thankfully but I feel very compelled to write about this topic. People will always say the most ridiculous things to you when you have a disease, obviously my experience is with MS but I'm sure other disease sufferers go through the same sort of thing. 

What I have heard so far...

1. 'You will probably need an electric tooth brush one day.' (Implying that one day, I'm going to loose function of my hands!). 

2. 'Have you told them that you have MS.' (In response to myself saying that I can't make an appointment). 

3. 'My friend has MS and she/he/they're in a wheel chair.' (Great, really wanted to know that =s). 

4. 'You need to prepare yourself.' (Implying that I need to prepare myself for their assumption that I will be in a wheel chair one day, one of my favourites). 

5. 'Why aren't you on any drugs.' (Because, that's my decision and it's personal to me). 

6. 'Is it because of your MS?' (Yes, I blame everything on my disease!!)

7. 'I get really tired too.' (Yes, of course you do!Thanks for that!) 

8. 'Well, you look good.' (Yes that may be because when you have MS, it doesn't mean that you grow green spots on your face!)

Now, I know that I have more of these but they're all I could think of off the top of my head. Or maybe because of MS I can't remember! 

Moral of the story is that people need to think before they speak and people need not comment on something they know absolutely nothing about!! 

About Me

Hi, my name is Zoe Lavenia and I am a fully qualified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Expert.

At the age of 19 whilst attending my first year of university, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. This came as a complete shock to my family and I. At the time, I had no real understanding of what Multiple Sclerosis was (apart from associating it with wheel chairs and older people).

After suffering from a number of terrifying relapses in such a short space of time, I started taking 'disease modifying drugs' namely, Rebif.

After injecting Rebif for a short period of time and not only still relapsing but also experiencing the side effects that are associated with 'disease modifying drugs,' I decided that there had to be another way and I subsequently investigated healing my body through this disease myself. This led to many hours of researching as much information I possibly could about the disease and the different foods and vitamins that could help alleviate my symptoms.

All of my research has led to huge changes in my life. Just before my diagnosis I was leading a very unhealthy lifestyle and I was not doing any form of exercise.

After dramatically changing my lifestyle through diet, exercise and stress management, I noticed my symptoms disappearing and I started receiving incredibly positive results from my doctors. I decided to further incorporate nutrition into my lifestyle by becoming a personal trainer and nutrition consultant.

My life so far has been an incredible journey. I have gone from being given what I thought was a death sentence, to being free from MS symptoms for years instead of days, swapping the wheel chair for weights, becoming stronger and fitter every single day, entering the health and fitness industry as a profession and most importantly, helping others reach their health/fitness related goals.

Whether you are an MS sufferer yourself or you are interested in changing your lifestyle, figure, diet or you simply want to educate yourself further on these topics; please do look through my website, I will always be updating the content. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

I wish good health upon you all.

Zoe X