Tips to help with morning sickness

As the world rejoices at the news of a new addition to the Royal Family, we are probably all sharing a thought for Kate Middleton right now, who not only is suffering from morning sickness, but is doing so under the watchful gaze of the world.

The hormones' fault
If you are pregnant or thinking of starting or expanding your family, you may be interested to know that it is thought that 50% of pregnant women suffer with morning sickness. There are different views of the cause of morning sickness, but it usually starts in weeks 4-6 and lasts until weeks 14-16. During this time hormones are produced by the corpus luteum (a yellowish tissue which surrounds the egg after it is released from the ovary) until the placenta matures around weeks 14-16 and takes over hormone production.

Pointers for the first few weeks 
Many therapists and practitioners do not treat pregnant women until after week 12. So here are some safe tips we suggest for those early weeks:

• Keep hydrated with plenty of fluids – even sipping water when you can will help.
• Keep blood sugar levels balanced – not easy with morning sickness and weird cravings! Try to keep away from large amounts of sugary foods; helped by eating good quality protein and fats. Small amounts of dark chocolate may help.
• REST! Your body is going through huge changes in the first 12 weeks. If you feel tired listen to your body. Is Mother Nature telling you to slow down?
• Chew your food as poor digestion is thought to be another cause. One very simple tip is to chew your food really well as this will stimulate a sluggish digestion, calm mum down and can really help. 

There are a whole range of wonderful natural remedies such as herbal teas, homeopathic remedies, acupuncture and nutritional supplements, but it is always best to contact an experienced practitioner who can look at you as an individual. If your morning sickness continues after 14-16 weeks you should seek further professional help.

Harvest Moon

Ever noticed an unusually low and golden-coloured moon in the autumn? Here in the northern hemisphere we saw one last night, and with any luck we should be able to do so again tonight. It's commonly referred to as a Harvest Moon, though it comes by other names in different cultures. It's quite a sight and leaves you wondrous at the beauty of nature.

Why the name?
The name Harvest Moon refers to the full moon which appears nearest the autumnal equinox. Although every full moon has its own name (the full moon due on 8 October 2014 is the Hunter's Moon), the Harvest Moon is probably the most well-known. It is thought to have been named after the abundance of bright moonlight available on these few nights in early autumn, which has traditionally assisted farmers by providing more light by which to harvest their crops.

Why does it look so big?
The Harvest Moon rises earlier than usual – shortly after sunset – because of its northerly trajectory, which means it is lower down on the horizon. This has two effects – firstly, that the moon appears much larger and secondly, that the moon appears orange in colour. Its beautiful colour is in fact down to the way in which the spectrum of light is filtered by the earth's atmosphere. Sunset takes on the same attribute – when looking at the horizon the atmosphere is much thicker there and more of the blue light is scattered, making the red light more visible. This gives both sunset and a Harvest Moon its strong warm colours.

A time to think
So take time to appreciate the full moon in all its glory tonight. For many cultures it's a time of great celebration and some people look upon a full moon as a new start. At Harvest we think it's important simply to take the time to pause for a few moments, to appreciate nature and the world around us in all its splendour.

Asian boom for organic products

The end of August saw the first ever Natural & Organic Products Asia event, showcasing over 1000 natural products and services under one roof in Hong Kong. While Natural & Organic Products Europe has been running for 18 years, this was the inaugural Asian show, reflecting the growing demand for safe and sustainable food and beauty products across the world.
    
A worldwide issue
The drive towards natural solutions and alternatives is a global concern - one that Harvest magazine will do its best each issue to address.

Hospital food to get health kick

We've all been unwell at some point in our lives. The last thing you want when you're feeling under the weather with no appetite is to have a plate of mushy, anaemic-looking food pushed under your nose - food that hospitals have something of a reputation for providing. Based on this, the government has announced rules to ensure hospitals provide better quality food to patients, staff and visitors.

Good health for all
According to the new rules, the dietary health needs of each individual patient should be met and a nutritional menu offered - whether this means fresh fruit and salads for obese patients or high-calorie food for frail and malnutritioned patients (who can comprise up to a third of hospital admissions).

Staff and visitors are to be given healthier, more balanced food too, with hospital canteens keeping within salt, fat and sugar recommendations. Canteen food must also be sustainably sourced, with consideration given to seasonality, animal welfare, product traceability and waste management.

Enjoyable food
The accompanying report states that hospital food should be 'a vehicle for improvement and a role model for food in the local community. Crucially, it should also be a source of pleasure and enjoyment.'

Is it enough?
The Campaign for Better Hospital Food have said the new rules don't go far enough and 'only reflect basic catering and care standards which are already commonly implemented in the NHS.'

Perhaps there is still work to be done before hospital food becomes both nutritious and palatable, but we think that any move towards a healthier, more sustainable menu is a step in the right direction.

 

Edible walls

A teacher in a deprived district of New York has created edible walls - made out of vertical planters - in the classroom with the help of his students.

Growing goals
Stephen Ritz says he is 'determined to put a plant in every classroom in New York City… When we teach children about nature, they learn to nurture.'

Measurable results
It seems his hard work is already paying off. With the students taking responsibility for the plants and gaining a sense of achievement through successfully growing them, attendance at the school has shot up from 43% to 93%.

Perhaps we should all be taking a leaf out of Stephen's book, finding new and inventive ways to teach our kids about where their food comes from, encouraging them to want to choose the healthy option rather than forcing it upon them.

Gardener on the Roof

An 'Allotment Roof' shed has won Shed of the Year. The shed, built by sustainability-enthusiast Joel Bird, is made from recycled materials, with solar lighting inside and fruit and vegetables growing on the roof.

Not enough space
"I was tight for space, so rather than put a shed on an allotment, I put an allotment on my shed," said Joel.

Next time you tell yourself you don't have enough space to grow your own food, try taking a look outside the box. Or on top of it, as the case may be.

The Great British Gadget Off

A new survey by Barclaycard has found that we are more in to our kitchen gadgets than ever before, with each kitchen owning an average of seven gadgets. The poll suggested that popular cooking shows including The Great British Bake Off and MasterChef have inspired many of us to pull on our chef's hats, open our recipe books and get creative in the kitchen. And with each TV cooking competition involving increasingly elaborate cooking methods, it seems the only way for us humble home cooks to keep up is by buying a few gadgets to help us along the way.

Healthy gadgets
The Great British Bake Off may be better known for its chocolate-smothered profiterole Eiffel towers than for its promotion of healthy eating but that doesn't mean that as a nation we don't try our best to make nutritious food - the survey indicated that just under a quarter of us own a juicer while just over a quarter own a steamer. However, we still like to treat ourselves now and again, with 1.6 million of us owning an ice cream maker.

Do we ever use them?
Whether our more gimmicky kitchen gadgets ever see daylight is a different matter; a question for a separate survey entirely. But here at Harvest we're glass half-full kinds of people and we reckon it's the intention that matters - owning a juicer in the first place surely counts towards your five a day by virtue of how hard you've tried.