high blood pressure
Mamas on Bedrest: Reverse the Effects of Bedrest Now!
September 12th, 2011I just love validation. Scientists have found that in otherwise healthy and exercising individuals, just 9 days of bed rest resulted in insulin resistance and altered more than 4,500 genes within skeletal muscle. And while the study was done on healthy young men, the results are easily extrapolated onto women, especially women placed on prescribed bed rest during their pregnancies. Ladies, let’s get moving and reverse the effects of bed rest-now!
So just what is insulin resistance? Insulin resistance occurs when the insulin our bodies produces is no long able to effectively bring insulin into our cells or energy. As a result, our blood sugar levels go up and we become what some people call “pre-diabetic”. This insulin resistance is also a precursor to Metabolic Syndrome, a syndrome in which we develop central obesity and any two of the following symptoms:
- Elevated Triglycerides >150 mg/dL
- Low HDL (Good Cholesterol) <40 mg/dL in men, <50mg/dL in women
- Elevated Blood Pressure: SBP (top number) >130 or DBP (lower number) >85 mmHg
- Elevated Fasting Blood Sugar >100mg/dL
- Body Mass Index (BMI) >30kg/m2
Now many may argue that this is not the case with pregnant women. They may be “fat” around their waists but have a human growing inside of them! I agree. However, a woman who develops insulin resistance during her pregnancy may well maintain insulin resistance after the pregnancy. According to researchers, even after the young men began exercising again, 4 weeks after their sedentary stint, the changes to their insulin sensitivity and gene expression were only partially normalized. The authors of the study concluded,
“The Lack of complete normalization of changes after four weeks of exercise retraining underscores the importance of maintaining a minimum of daily physical exercise.”
Now many Mamas on Bedrest may be saying to yourself, “That’s all well and good, but I can’t increase my daily exercise. I can’t park further from the store and walk or take the stairs. “
Don’t fret, we have a solution, at least a partial solution for you. We have taken our best selling Bedrest Fitness DVD and made it a live class! You can see a few samples of Bedrest Fitness on our Youtube Channel. However, we are offering a free demo Bedrest Fitness class on September 28, 2011 at 9:15 am CT. This class will broadcast live from your computer. I’ll see you and you’ll see me! All you’ll need is an internet connection, a webcam and the login information. If you are interested, send an e-mail to info@mamasonbedrest.com and I’ll send you the login information. Join in and try it out. You’ll be doing your body a HUGE service!
I’m so looking forward to seeing you all! Let’s get started reversing the effects of bed rest now!
I want to hear from you! What do you think about being on bed rest and the changes your body is going through? What are your specific concerns and how can I help you? Tell me here in the comment sections.
Want to know what Mamas on Bedrest is up to? Follow us on Twitter, @mamasonbedrest. You can also “like us” on our Facebook page.
Reference:
“Insulin Resistance-Not Just for People with Diabetes?” By Stella L. Volpe, Ph.D, RD, LDN, FACSM. ACSM Certified News. October-December 2010. Volume 20 Pages 5-6.
Mamas on Bedrest: It’s Time to Consider Your Birth Control Options
July 20th, 2011I had a tubal ligation at the same time I delivered my son. I had a c-section and my OB and I both decided to get it done while she was there. Worked for me.
As I have openly said, my reproductive history was fraught with complications and I am forever thankful that I have the two beautiful children that I have. And when it became evident that my son (my second child and 4th pregnancy) was a healthy boy, I didn’t want to tempt fate. I had a girl and now would have a boy. At 40 and with my history, I was done. Nip/Tuck away!!
Mamas on Bedrest, although you may be on bed rest now, it’s time to consider your birth control options and to choose a birth control method.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in conjunction with the World Health Organization, have updated their recommendations for post partum contraception.
“The revised guidelines affirm the importance of starting contraception during the postpartum period to prevent unintended pregnancy and short birth intervals, which are associated with adverse health outcomes for the mother as well as for the infant. These include greater risks for low birth weight and preterm birth”.
The World Health Organization and CDC both emphasize the importance of women NOT using combination hormonal contraception for the first 21-42 days post partum due to the increased risk of blood clots forming and migrating to the heart, lungs and brain. (VTE).
“Compared with control participants, women in the first 42 days of the postpartum period have a 22-fold to 84-fold increased risk for VTE.”
The CDC and WHO recommend that women who choose to use hormonal contraception use progestin only injections, implants, mini pills or IUD’s. All can be started immediately post partum and all are safe for use with breastfeeding. (Combination hormonal contraception can hinder successful breastfeeding.)
Condoms can be safely used at any time, but use of the diaphragm and cervical cap should be delayed until 6 weeks postpartum. And of course, for women who have all they children they desire, they can consider permanent sterilization.
It my seem strange to even ponder contraception while working so hard to grow this baby. But in the interest of your own health and the health of subsequent children, adequate time should be allowed for you to recover so that (if you choose) you can enter your next pregnancy healthy, strong and doing all that you can to avoid another high risk pregnancy and potentially, bed rest.
Sources:
Mamas on Bedrest: L-Arginine and Antioxidants May Lower the Incidence of Pre-Eclampsia
May 30th, 2011Researchers in Mexico found that giving high risk pregnant women at risk for developing pre-eclampsia L-arginine and antioxidant vitamins helps prevent preeclampsia.
L-arginine is an amino acid needed in order for the body to make nitric oxide, a vasodilator, which helps relax smooth muscle and in turn lower blood pressure. People with low levels of L-arginine are at increased risk of developing high blood pressure and in pregnant women, the high blood pressure progressing to pre-eclampsia.
Felipe Vadillo-Ortega, from the Department of Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional, Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico, and colleagues found women at high risk for pre-eclampsia given supplement bars containing the amino acid L-arginine as well as antioxidant vitamins had a reduced risk of developing pre-eclampsia compared to women who took antioxidant supplements alone or no supplements whatsoever.
Of the 672 women studied, 228 received with food bars containing L-arginine plus antioxidant vitamins, 222 received antioxidant vitamins alone and 222 received placebo. Preeclampsia developed in 30.2% of the placebo group (Those who got no supplements) , 22.5% of the vitamin-only group, and 12.7% in the L-arginine plus vitamin group. There was also a non-statistically significant benefit for antioxidant vitamins alone vs placebo. It must be noted that L-arginine and antioxidants do not prevent pre-eclampsia from occuring. In simple terms, L-arginine and antioxidant vitamins can’t stop pre-eclampsia from developing, but in women at risk for this complicated and potentially deadly disorder, taking the supplement bars and vitamins seems to reduce their risk of developing pre-eclampsia.
This is potentially exciting news. Pre-eclampsia affects an estimated 2% to 6% in healthy, nulliparous (first time pregnant) American women. Among all cases of the preeclampsia, 10% occur in pregnancies of less than 34 weeks’ gestation. The global incidence of pre-eclampsia has been estimated at 5-14% of all pregnancies. While much more information is needed to be able to draw definitive conclusions and to then make recommendations for implementation, the very idea that there may be a way to reduce the incidence of pre-eclampsia amongst women at risk is exciting. What’s more, the treatment is simply eating supplement bars and taking vitamins. No invasive procedures, no hard core medications.
But it’s not all rosy. To date, there is no data that tells the effectiveness of L-arginine alone on pre-eclampsia. We know that antioxidant vitamins alone offer some benefit, but the benefit was not shown to be statistically significant. There is no data on the potential side effects of L-argninine. There hasn’t been a dosage established that produced optimum effect and no dosages that are ineffective or potentially harmful. Since this is the first (or one of few) studies to look at the effect of dietary supplements on pre-eclampsia, much more research needs to be done to determine if this was a “fluke”, if the data can be reproduced and if the study can be successfully carried out in other areas of the world.
So much to evaluate and determine, but for this moment, I am giddy at the fact that nutritional bars may hold a key to helping lower the incidence of pre-eclampsia.
This study abstract was published in the May 19, 2011 on line British Medical Journal. BMJ. 2011;342:d2777, d2901
A summary was presented on MedScape.
