Women's health: Running And Magnesium Benefits During Pregnancy
WE ALL KNOW THAT PREGNANCY AND GIVING BIRTH IS HARDER THAN A MARATHON !
Whether you're an experienced marathoner or a newbie who only runs to catch the bus, running could be just the thing to keep you happy and healthy these nine months—if you do it right. Being active while pregnant helps you stay feeling great and benefits your baby, but you have to listen to your body, because it will begin to dictate how much you can and can't work out. Here's what you need to know to stay safe and healthy on the road:
Run, But Don't Race: Pushing yourself to achieve a quicker time may give you a thrill and extra motivation, but now may not be the best time, unless you're such an experienced runner that you can take a fast pace without getting out of breath. If your heart rate is spiking, so is your baby's. If you're struggling to breathe, so is your baby. So if you want to do a local 5K fun run, sure! Have fun, but don't put unnecessary stress on the baby.
Build stability: Pregnant or not, core strength is crucial to helping runners stay free of injury and pain—and when you're expecting, your changing center of gravity means you'll need all the stability you can get to avoid hurting yourself or tripping and falling.
Consider new gear. Women's feet tend to expand during pregnancy, especially during the third trimester, and their regular shoes may become too tight, which leaves them susceptible to foot injuries and imbalance. Many shoe brands offer "wide" sizes, so you may want to invest in a new pair to ease you through the final few months.
STUDY : Giving Birth is Harder Than Running a Marathon
ARTICLES : Woman's Health | Adidas Runtastics | Polar | Baby Center | VeryWellFamily | Active
Running, growing and nourishing a baby during pregnancy can be challenging. The human body needs lots of nutrients to maintain overall health and well-being. When you're expecting, your body may lack certain nutrients that help maintain a proper pregnancy and deliver a healthy baby. One of those essential nutrients is magnesium. Like many other nutrients, your body's need for magnesium increases when pregnant. This article will show you why taking magnesium and running during pregnancy is so important and how it can be beneficial for you and your baby.
Magnesium During Pregnancy
Active runners and athletes needs to consume magnesium on daily basis, and so does pregnant woman. Magnesium is an essential mineral that regulates various bodily functions. Since our bodies don't naturally produce magnesium, it's important to supplement. Pregnant women are often at risk of magnesium deficiency, because their bodies don’t receive the proper amount of the mineral due to inadequate food consumption -- which is caused by nausea, vomiting, and food aversions. Physical and emotional stress during pregnancy also increases magnesium requirements, which means that pregnant women who do not intake sufficient amount of magnesium are at a risk of becoming magnesium deficient. Magnesium deficiency during pregnancy can lead to many serious consequences for you and your baby. A severe deficiency of magnesium during pregnancy could lead to preeclampsia, birth defects, infant mortality and pre-mature labor. Common signs and symptoms of a magnesium deficiency can be found on our blog.
Magnesium is involved in many essential bodily functions. Magnesium helps build strong bones and teeth, regulates insulin and blood-sugar levels, and helps certain enzymes function properly. It also controls cholesterol and irregular heart beats. The healthy growth and development of the fetus depends on a steady supply of nutrients from the mother. During pregnancy your body has increased need for magnesium.
Miracles of Magnesium in Pregnancy
Magnesium can help prevent a variety of complications during pregnancy.
Reduces Leg Cramps and imporves muscles function: many women experience cramping and pain in various areas of their body due to the increased physical demands. Research shows that adequate magnesium helps to reduce cramping and reduce the intensity of acute pain. Magnesium has been shown to help reduce the frequency and intensity of leg cramps during pregnancy. These cramps are caused by muscle spasms in the leg, which are involuntary contractions of one or more muscles.
Prevents Osteoporosis: Magnesium plays a significant role in preventing damage to your teeth and bones. If you go through your pregnancy lacking magnesium, it could lead to osteoporosis later in life.
Helps with Nausea: Magnesium can reduce nausea, one of the most common symptoms of pregnancy. Increasing intake of magnesium significantly reduces the symptoms of morning sickness.
Aids with Delivery: Magnesium supplementation can help prevent preterm labor by reducing premature contractions. Magnesium lowers calcium levels in uterine muscle cells, which relaxes the uterine muscles, thus preventing these premature contractions.
Treats Headaches: Magnesium can treat migraine headaches that are caused by pregnancy. Magnesium helps relax blood vessels in the brain, which prevents the buildup of lactic acid that may cause tension and migraine pain.
Positively Impacts Your Baby: Magnesium has been shown to improve the growth and circulation of the fetus. It can also help promote better sleep and wake cycles for newborns. Furthermore, magnesium can decrease the risk of cerebral palsy in babies with mothers at risk of preterm labor.
Sleep: Adequate magnesium helps to support more restful sleep, which can be challenging in later stages of pregnancy when women are experiencing more physical discomfort.Magnesium can lower stress levels, promote better sleep and combat insomnia, which is a common symptom of pregnancy. According to a studies it has been found that almost 80% of pregnant women experience some sort of sleep disturbance. There are a variety of reasons pregnant women may have trouble sleeping at night, including hormone imbalances, physical discomfort, and nausea/vomiting. By maintaining healthy levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep, magnesium improves sleep quality by promoting a deeper, more restful sleep. Magnesium also interacts with your melatonin levels, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles, to ease the transition your body undergoes when preparing for sleep.
Mood: Pregnancy and postpartum are stressful periods. Magnesium plays a significant role in mood stabilization and is being recommended increasingly by psychiatrists prior to prescribing anti-depressants and other pharmaceutical prescriptions.
Constipation: Growing a baby crowds the intestinal tract creating any number of digestive issues including constipation. Adequate magnesium creates smoother bowel movements in the morning. This is also key in the initial days postpartum, when firm bowel movements can be especially painful.
Childbirth Complications: Research has shown that magnesium supplementation during pregnancy can decrease the probability of occurrence of some complications including chronic hypertension, preeclampsia, placental dysfunction, premature labor and low birth weight. However, studies are limited and further research is required in these areas.
If you’re looking for a safe way to get more magnesium during your pregnancy, you may try out ALKA12 Topical Magnesium which is designs for ultra runners and so beneficial to pregnant women ( Pure, natural, efffective and it does not pass the digestibe tracks) .
NCBI : Effect of Magnesium Supplement on Pregnancy Outcomes | Nutrition Review