Prenatal Supplements for a Healthy Pregnancy?

Are all prenatal supplements absolutely necessary?

They are if the mother carries more than one baby. They are if the mother is experiencing difficulty in eating, such as loss of appetite or frequent vomiting. They may fill gaps for important nutrients, such as folic acid. But you may have intolerance of prenatal supplements due to its size or high level of iron that may cause stomach upset. No matter what, remember that supplements are just supplements; they are not substitutes for a healthy diet at any time of life, especially during pregnancy. 

The bottom line: go and get all essential nutrients from your daily diet throughout your pregnancy: 

Complex Carbohydrates (30 - 40 percent of the diet)

Complex carbohydrates include breads, cereals, pasta, potato, and rice. It is a misconception that complex carbohydrates are high in calories (why: they are often served with high-fat and high-calorie toppings).

Don’t get their refined counterparts, such as white bread and white rice (why not: their bran and germ with their vitamins, essential fatty acids, fiber, and protein are removed). Do choose brown rice, whole wheat breads and pastas.

    

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (25 – 35 percent of the diet)

Fresh fruits include citrus fruits, kiwi fruit, strawberries, which are rich in vitamin C to help the absorption of iron.

Yellow fruits include apricots, mangoes, and peaches, which are good sources of betacarotene, the plant-based form of vitamin A.

Bananas, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries contain folic acid beneficial to pregnancy, in particular, the first trimester.

Dried fruits are a good source of iron and trace elements.

Dark green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and spinach, contain betacarotene, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, and other trace elements.

Root vegetables include beets, carrots, and turnips are good sources of B vitamins.

Dried peas and beans contain protein, fiber, B vitamins, and minerals.

    

Do eat a variety of fruits and vegetables to maximize the intake of essential nutrients.

  

Do get dried and frozen produce (why: sometimes they may be better than their so-called fresh counterparts when they have been sitting in the supermarket for a while).

    

Dairy Products (20 – 30 percent of the diet)

Milk, cheese, and yogurt are rich in calcium for strong bones and teeth of the baby as well as for better protection of your own teeth during pregnancy.

  

Do not take unpasteurized soft cheeses (why not: bacteria in unpasteurized cheeses may result in miscarriage or  stillbirth).

  

If you don’t like dairy products, you can still get calcium from the following: almonds, sesame seeds, white beans, soy products,  salmons, sardines, seaweed, kale and turnip green.

    

Protein Foods (15 – 25 percent of the diet)

    

Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese, cereals, pulses (beans, peas, lentils), and nuts contain protein needed for building the baby’s cells, tissues, and organs.

  

The amino acids that make up protein cannot be made by the body, and have to come from foods rich in protein.

     

Oils, Fats, Sugars (10 – 20 percent of the diet)

Omega-3 essential fatty acids are important for the baby (why: they make up 60 percent of the baby’s brain; they prevent development of high blood pressure during pregnancy).

  

Do eat oily fish (herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines). The smaller the fish, the less mercury contamination is present.

  

Do get healthy unsaturated fats from plants, fish, and seeds.

  

Don’t get too much saturated fats from animal sources (why not: to avoid heart disease).

The above is taken from the book: The Dos and Dont's During Pregnancy.

Healthy Eating for Healthy Pregnancy

There is much wisdom in eating because food is medicine and medicine is food. We live to eat, and not eat to live.

According to the wisdom in Chinese medicine, the human body can be classified into two types based on its thermal nature: the cooling body type and the warming body type. The thermal nature is a result of eating certain types of food. The Chinese believe that there is internal energy, known as qi, which is produced when food is consumed, and this energy circulates the entire body through meridians, which are energy channels. The energy changes the temperature of the body, and thus resulting in a cooling or a warming body, In addition, the cooling effects move downwards and inwards, while the warming effects move upwards and outwards. A person with a cooling body slows down internally and externally; a person with a warming body speeds up internally and externally. 

It must be pointed out that no individual has an entirely cooling or warming body; rather, all individuals have a combination of both a cooling and a warming body. However, an individual may have a body with characteristics that are either predominantly cooling or warming. Hence, it is important to balance a cooling body with warming foods, and a warming body with cooling foods in order to create the internal harmony, which holds the key to health and wellness. Essentially, this explains the "yin" and "yang" concept in Chinese health and healing.

Some of the common characteristics of a cooling body are: feeling cold most of the time; walking and talking slowly; having a slow heart rate; feeling tired and sleepy most of the time; having cold hands and feet to the touch; having a pale complexion and moist skin; thinking intuitively.

A warming body, on the other hand, has some of these common characteristics: being aggressive and impatient; having a rapid heart rate; feeling energetic; having warm hands and feet. 

If you have a cooling body, eat more warming foods, such as: carrot, leek, onion, watercress; apricot, berries, cherries, mango, peach; pumpkin seed, sesame, sunflower seed, and walnut.

If you have a warming body, eat more cooling foods, such as: asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumber, lettuce, spinach, tomato, zucchini; apple, banana, citrus fruits, pear, pineapple, watermelon; barley, mung bean, soybean, and wheat.

There are foods that do not affect the thermal nature of the body. They are neutral: they are neither cooling nor warming, and they include the following common foods: beet, Brussels sprout, parsnip, squash, sweet potato, yam; date, fig, grape, papaya, plum; almond, peanut, pine nut, raisin; brown rice, corn, kidney bean, and snow pea.

Wisdom in eating requires a balance in the diet to maintain the harmony between the cooling and warming characteristics within the body. This profound wisdom in eating is also manifested in the balance and harmony concept in the Five Elements  (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water).

For thousands of years, the Chinese have believed that these Five Elements are not only fundamental to the cycles of nature, but also represent the five important organs in the body. These Five Elements also correspond to five different colors in foods. 

Wood corresponds to green color, such as dark green vegetables and fruits (e.g. lime), green beans (e.g. lentils) and seeds (e.g. pumpkin). 

Fire corresponds to red color, such as red vegetables (e.g. red pepper) and fruits (e.g. cherries), red nuts (e.g. pecans) and beans (e.g. red beans). 

Earth corresponds to orange and yellow, such as red and yellow vegetables (e.g. squash and yam) and red and yellow fruits (e.g. papaya), orange and yellow nuts (e.g. almond and cashew) and beans (e.g. chickpea).

Metal corresponds to white color, such as white vegetables (e.g. cauliflower) and fruits (e.g. banana), white nuts (e.g. pine nuts) and beans (e.g. soybean).

Water corresponds to black, blue, and purple, such as dark-colored vegetables (e.g. eggplant) and fruits (e.g. blackberries), dark-colored nuts (e.g. walnut) and beans (e.g. navy bean).

The wisdom in eating requires a daily diet in which the five different colors of foods are consumed. 

Indeed, there is so much wisdom in eating according to Chinese medicine because food is medicine and medicine is food. 

Real and Healthy Chinese Cooking: Get 500+ recipes for wisdom in cooking the Chinese way for healthy eating.

Get the wisdom in healthy eating for healthy pregnancy.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

The Paradox of Pain

If you're a mother, you must have experienced pain in your delivery or during your pregnancy. We all experience pain--which is an inevitable reality in life.

Many people may choose to believe that God has inflicted pain--physical, emotional, and spiritual pain--on them to punish them because of their sins and disobedience. The paradox is: who is really responsible for the pain that comes with aging, separation, physical loss, and dying, among others. The truth of the matter is that humans have no control over their pain. This human limitation is a common human dilemma. Who is really responsible for human pain?

The paradox further perplexes when humans deny the pain, while striving for healing--just like an alcoholic or a drug addict denying, rationalizing, and blaming. That doesn't work. Pain, much like an addiction, can never be overcome simply by denial, rationalization, and unaccountability. 

Pain, despite its darker and unpleasant side, enables us to look at and reflect on the pain we are experiencing. Pain may even show us the brighter side of life--being thankful for what we have, and grateful for not getting what we rightly deserve. Just think about that!

To effectively cope with pain, we must accept it in the first place without denying its existence, then we must embrace it, that is, experiencing it fully and completely, whether we like it or not, and then, surprisingly, we will be on the road to healing and recovery. This is the reality of life. Whether you believe in God or not, this is the miracle of living.

Read my book: Your Golden Years and Santa Claus.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Asking Questions and Seeking Answers to Live Longer

ASKING QUESTIONS AND SEEKING ANSWERS TO LIVE LONGER

If you wish to live longer or to a ripe old age, you must ask yourself many questions about life; after all, living is about asking questions and seeking answers to the questions asked. Living for life in this contemporary world may never be easy because it requires wisdom, which is essentially finding answers to the questions asked about life and living, and then applying those answers to everyday living in the material world.

Have you ever wondered: there has to be much more to life than this—the kind of life that you are living right now?

If you have, then maybe you should, first and foremost, ask yourself questions about why you want to live longer. Your reasons could be some of the following:

You desire to live a better life than the one that you are currently living.

You want to see your children or grandchildren grow up and mature into adults.

You have your life passions, some of which are already accomplished, while others are being pursued but remaining unfulfilled.

You are experiencing some core values, which are not just your life goals but rather your beliefs in humanity that have to be lived in order to fully experience the meaning of existence as well as the innate happiness in humanity.

You still like to enjoy some of the mundane pleasures of life and living that have satisfied your five senses.

You love to maintain good relationships and true friendships with those who are close and dear to you.

You may be fighting some life challenges or health issues—just like Alex Trebek, the 77-year-old TV celebrity famous for hosting NBC's “Jeopardy”, who openly declared in 2019 that he had to live longer in order to fight his pancreatic cancer because of his still-standing three-year contract with NBC. 

Asking the question “Why you want to live longer?” may initiate many other why questions specifically related to you, to others close to you, and to the world around you. Living is all about asking the many why and how questions in your everyday life and living.

In the Bible, Jesus said: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find . . .” (Matthew 7:7) In real life, we must always ask ourselves many thought-provoking questions at all times. Asking questions is self-introspection, which is a process of self-intuition and self-reflection, without which there is no self-awareness and therefore no personal growth and development. A static life is never a life well lived and worth living. Therefore, asking questions is self-empowering wisdom—a tool necessary for living longer.

The truth is that the kind of questions you ask determines the kind of life you are going to live. Your questions often trigger a set of mental answers, which may lead to actions or inactions, based on the choices you make from the answers you have obtained. Remember, your life is always the sum of all the choices you have made in the process. No matter what, life is a journey of self-discovery, a continuous process of asking questions and seeking self-enlightening answers from them. It should be noted that the answer to every question you ask may change over time, because life is forever changing, and changes are often transformative. The more questions you ask, the clearer your mind will become, and the more ready you will be to receive the answers.

Although asking questions is a self-learning process, do not seek absolute answers from the questions asked; more importantly, do not seek answers that might not be given to you. The most important thing in questions-and-answers is to experience everything, not just to pursue the knowledge. As a matter of fact, knowledge can help, but it can also hinder. When you only follow what you know, and forget what you feel, you can easily be led down the wrong path. Extensive knowledge and logical reasoning may not necessarily compound true wisdom.

The bottom line: live every question you are going to ask yourself, and live in its presence. Be patient toward all those questions that you cannot find answers immediately. True enlightenment may dawn on you one day when you find yourself asking no more questions because you already have all the answers; that is the ultimate awakening.

Enjoy the process of self-reflecting all the questions you are going to ask yourself; without this self-reflection, you may exist for other people, and not for yourself. Now is the time to start asking questions, and putting yourself on the right path to intuiting the TAO of living longer.      

THE TAO OF LIVING LONGER

YOU JUST DON’T DIE!

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Healthy Sleep for Healthy Pregnancy

Sleep is natural to man. It relaxes and rejuvenates both the body and the mind. Good sleep is an essential component of holistic health and wellness, especially during pregnancy.

Good sleep is just as important to your health as exercise and a balanced diet. Good natural sleep is important to a healthy pregnancy.

Unfortunately, many pregnant mothers have developed sleep problems during their pregnancy. Sleep problems have little to do with how much sleep you can get. As a matter of fact, experts cannot agree on how many hours an individual should sleep: some experts say if you sleep 1 to 2 hours less than what you should, you will suffer sleep deprivation; others maintain that you should sleep at least 8 to 9 hours for optimum health during pregnancy. But both sleep deprivation and oversleeping may cause health problems. The bottom line is not the quantity but rather the quality of sleep you are getting that defines your sleep health during pregnancy. Hence, sleep problems have to do with how well you sleep, and, of course, whether you can sleep at all.

Sleep problems derive from stressful emotional and mental problems during pregnancy. Natural sleep is about relaxation of the body and the mind. Stress is the No. 1 enemy of emotional and mental health. When you are under stress, your body naturally responds to the increased tension by producing hormone epinephrine. Excess production of this hormone may wear out your hormonal glands, leading to elevation of blood sugar, acceleration of breathing rate, increase of muscle tension, and excessive sweating—all contributing to insomnia.

Do get my book NO EGO NO STRESS. The book has an unconventional approach to stress relieve: it is based on the ancient wisdom from China. Learn how to let go of your ego in order to live a stress-free life.

In addition, during pregnancy, physical discomforts, such as constipation, cramps, heartburn, indigestion, and frequent urination, among others, may also result in difficulty sleeping.

The Dos and Don’ts of Healthy Sleep Throughout Pregnancy

Do keep a regular sleep pattern throughout the pregnancy.

Do sleep and lie on your left-hand side (why: preventing the baby from pressing on the inferior vena cava, the blood vessels responsible for bringing blood to your heart).

Do sleep on several pillows, tucking under your belly, as well as under and between your legs to provide extra comfort for a better sleep position.

Do exercise regularly.

Do drink a glass of warm milk before going to bed.

Don’t sleep less on weekends; regularity is important.

Don’t sleep flat on your back, especially in the last few weeks of your pregnancy (why not: this may result in palpitations and other problems).

Don’t eat a heavy meal before going to bed.

Don’t take long daytime naps.

Don’t go to bed unless you are tired.

   

Stephen Lau

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Start Teaching Your Child to Read

Start Teaching Your Child to Read

It is important as a parent to teach your kid to read as early as possible. Don’t rely on the teacher. Start as early as possible, even during the first few months.

The ability to read holds the key to intelligence as it unlocks the door to a vast realm of human knowledge. There is, in fact, a very close connection between reading ability and intelligence, since children learn mostly by reading. In addition, the skill of reading, once acquired, will be used and enjoyed all their lives, just like swimming or cycling.

Therefore, reading is a human skill fundamental to academic and intellectual progress, and the failure of schools to teach all children to read efficiently has become an acute problem in education, especially in the United States. Illiteracy in America is still growing at an alarming rate. In fact, according to the National Adult Literacy Survey, about 42 million adult Americans cannot read, and another 50 million people whose reading skill is so poor that they can hardly be qualified as literates.

Unfortunately, the grim statistics have not changed much over the years despite the commendable efforts of schools. Illiteracy continues to be a critical problem, demanding enormous resources from local, state, and federal taxes, while arguments about how to teach children to read continue to rage within the education research community, on Capitol Hill, in business, and in the classroom.

Teaching children to read, however, should begin at home, and parents should be their first teachers.

29 Smart Steps to Teach Your Smart Kid to Read

This is a 117-page book on teaching children to read. It is the responsibility of parents, not the teachers, to teach children to read. There are 29 steps that begin as early as babies are only one-month old. These steps span over the infant stage, the pre-reading stage, the reading-readiness stage, the reading stage, the reading reinforcement stage, and the writing stage.

STEP 1:   Developing Motor Abilities & Sensory Perception

STEP 2:   Initiating Imitation

STEP 3:   Developing Thinking

STEP 4:   Pointing at Things

STEP 5:   Developing Active Speech

STEP 6:   Familiarizing with the Orientation of Print

STEP 7:   Teaching Perception and Discrimination

STEP 8:   Teaching Visual/Perceptual Consistency

STEP 9:   Auditory, Visual Sequencing, and Memory Skills

STEP 10: Introducing Finger Painting

STEP 11: Beginning Writing Skill

STEP 12: Introducing Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies

STEP 13: Introducing Picture Story Books

STEP 14: Teaching Prediction

STEP 15: Teaching Word Recognition

STEP 16: Teaching the Alphabet

STEP 17: Teaching Pronunciation

STEP 18: Developing Independent Reading

STEP 19: Learning Sounds and Their Letters

STEP 20: Encouraging Printing

STEP 21: Lap Reading

STEP 22: Shared Reading

STEP 23: Paired Reading

STEP 24: Teaching Language Irregularities

STEP 25: Extending Sight Vocabulary

STEP 26: Encouraging the Use of Symbols

STEP 27: Exploring Different Modes of Discourse

STEP 28: Creating a Proper Writing Environment

STEP 29: Teaching the Sentence

These steps with games and activities, as well as interactions with parents, will develop and enhance the basic reading skills necessary for ultimate reading proficiency.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Healthy Holistic Skincare

To have beautiful anti-aging skin to look forever young, you must have healthy holistic skincare.

Healthy holistic skincare is based on the principles of self-repairing and self-maintaining. Your skin is your body’s biggest organ. Its built-in functions are as follows:

1. Regulating your body temperature

2. Eliminating toxins from your body

3. Preventing dehydration

4. Protecting your body from sun-damage through its pigment melanin

Nature has given your body its innate capability to repair itself. Good maintenance holds the key to rejuvenation, and hence absolute facial beauty.

According to holistic skincare, a super skin is the result of a super diet: you need to feed your skin healthily from the inside. Always eat Super Foods. In addition, you need to cleanse and nourish it from the outside. Absolute facial beauty derives from the inside as well as the outside.

Remember, all skincare products can do only so much, no matter how natural and organic they are.

Protect your skin from the sun. A tanned look may make you glow with youthfulness for now, but it damages your skin permanently, including skin cancer. Skin cancer may be deadly, in addition to scarring facial beauty.

There are three basic types of skin cancer:

(1) Basal cell cancers occur mainly around the nose; other common areas of occurrence include the cheeks, the ears, the neck, and the upper back. Basal cell cancers are a result of too much sun exposure.

(2) Squamous cell cancers are often deadly because they tend to spread. Again, chronic sun exposure is the cause.

(3) Melanomas are the deadliest type of skin cancer.

Skin cancer is due to accumulated DNA damage in a skin cell, resulting in uncontrollable growth that multiplies repeatedly.

If you have fair skin, or family history of skin cancer, you should have your skin examined by a dermatologist. Also, you can perform self-exam. The warning signs to look for include the following:

(1) Moles that are irregular in shape, with scalloped or notched edges

(2) Moles that are typically brown or black, and sometimes with patches of blue, red, and white

(3) Moles that are larger than a quarter of an inch

(4) Moles that are asymmetrical (the sides are uneven and do not match)

Early detection of skin cancer is critical to recovery and survival. In addition, early detection can prevent the skin cancer from penetrating deeply through the layers of skin, resulting in more skin damage and even fatality. Nowadays, with the advancement of technology, skin caner can be removed without removing too much skin tissue, and therefore scars are minimal.

Swelling of lymph nodes in armpits or the neck may indicate that the skin cancer has spread. Beware!

Diet may prevent skin cancer. Eat whole foods, rich in folic acid, and the B vitamins.

Protect your skin from the sun, especially between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A tanned look may not give you ultimate facial beauty. Remember, skin cancer lags behind about 10 to 20 years later. More than 80 percent of skin damage from the sun occurs in the first two decades of one's life. It is, therefore, important to protect children, so that they may have facial beauty and healthy skin when they grow up.

The holistic wisdom in skincare is to use little lotions and potions even for cleansing and moisturizing your skin.

Leon's Anti-Aging Beauty Secrets: Make your own natural skin care recipes to remove wrinkles, crow's feet, age-spots for absolute facial beauty.

Skincare is not about applying lotions on your skin to make it beautiful, it is about keeping your whole body healthy so that the skin reflects the inner beauty and internal health of an individual.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau