Green Coconut Water
By Colette Crawford, RN, BSN

Labor is a vigorous and demanding function of the body like running a marathon or engaging in other intense sports. Athletes know that hydration and replacement of the body's essential electrolytes are paramount to healthy functioning of muscles and organs. The same is true for a laboring woman, yet in the hospital we deny her energizing food and fluids other than ice chips, water and clear juice. [read more]

Hormones of Labor
There are three major hormones that a woman's body releases during labor:

* Oxytocin
* Beta-Endorphins
* Catecholamines

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Heartburn in Pregnancy

Many women experience an acidic burning or heat in the throat or esophagus especially during the last half of pregnancy. This is due to the hormones, progesterone and relaxin. Progesterone is responsible for slowing down digestion; this allows the body to extract as many nutrients from the food as possible. [read more]

The Amazing Banana

Bananas, containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and
glucose combined with fiber, a banana   gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.   Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes. But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit.  It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and   conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

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