Pregnant and postpartum meal delivery for food allergies and food intolerances: Nourish Meal Delivery helps a new postpartum mother thrive.
About Organic Nourish Meal Delivery
I came from a generation where the U.S. medical system’s advice to my mother was to give me pink bubblegum-tasting syrup whenever my throat or stomach hurt. With much good intention, she thought she was creating a healthy diet for us, and when she actually could splurge, we were treated with “sugar-free” frozen popsicles and snacks laden with artificial chemical sweeteners (destroying the brain and gut) along with food dyes which are banned in other countries. Meals were cooked with “low fat” canola-based margarine, (trans-fats and hydrogenated oils – also bad for the brain, heart, and gut) and unbeknownst to anyone, pesticides, GMOs, and genetically modified wheat, processed foods with preservatives. My mom certainly did the best she could with the information she had.
When I was in my early 20s, I had a huge inflammatory response where I literally gained 10 jean sizes, had never-ending stomach issues, my skin became clogged with cystic acne, and my throat repeatedly infected. After multiple types of allergy testing, I had developed over 14 different food intolerances. My menstrual cycle was only coming 3 times a year and I was “diagnosed” with PCOS. My body was screaming for help – it was horrible! Sure, the massive weight gain and pimples hurt my self-esteem, but I was also in pain from the inflammation in my now bigger body, along with my tonsils being constantly infected, and I was convinced the only cure was to surgically remove them. My body was obviously trying – but was no longer able – to purge whatever my leaky gut was going through.
After speaking with a friend who told me about how she healed her children and herself from various food intolerances through a Natural Allergy Elimination Treatment program, I sought treatment from this “woo woo” doctor as well as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, taking Chinese herbs and committing to regular acupuncture. I did detox kit after detox kit on my liver, kidneys, heavy metals, and gut with probiotics (which back then, people laughed in criticism), and started on a soy-free, vegan, and gluten-free diet for a couple years. I then became pescatarian, then slowly introduced meats again becoming Paleo. Eventually I fully resolved all my food intolerances going back down to my normal weight/jean size and my menstrual cycle became regular monthly again (the PCOS “vanished”).
I also took classes at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, and studied Ayurveda as well. My thesis in school was creating an online platform about living a toxic-free life, educating others about Monsanto, GMOs, probiotics, enzymes, and how to detox while curating my paleo, vegan, gluten-free, etc. recipes, hoping to give others hope with real solutions if they were going through what I experienced.
I became a Newborn Care Specialist, Ayurvedic Postpartum Doula, Birth Doula, Hypnobabies Childbirth Educator, and Lactation Consultant through UCSD. Through my experience helping new mothers in their very vulnerable postpartum state, I saw many women having issues with food intolerances, sugar issues, and especially issues with their thyroid. 1 in 6 postpartum mothers actually develop an autoimmune disorder after giving birth. In the United States alone, women represent 80 percent of all cases of autoimmune disease.
In fact, up to 9 percent of all pregnant women develop Hashimoto’s after pregnancy, which can present as either hyper- or hypothyroidism. The most common auto immune disorders in postpartum are Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Grave’s disease, followed by rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and IBS (inflammatory bowel disease, like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis). According to the American Thyroid Association, up to 20% of all pregnant women in the first trimester of pregnancy are positive for Hashimoto’s antibodies. When these issues show up in postpartum, it becomes irrelevant if the resultant health problem was a mix of circulating cells from the baby residing in the new mother, or a combination of mineral deficiencies before/after/or during pregnancy, or hidden autoimmune disorders suppressed in pregnancy. What matters now is what these postpartum women currently face all while not only healing from birth and the trauma associated with it, but also when learning how to take care of a tiny human being and being sleep-deprived at the same time: postpartum persons with autoimmune disease have a 33% increased risk of postpartum VTE (deep vein thrombosis, serious blood clots) and also the heightened risk for postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis associated with postpartum autoimmune disorders.
44.3% of women who develop an autoimmune disease have onset after the first year of pregnancy.
– University of Cincinnati
Cooking for new mothers to help them avoid inflammatory foods, GMOs, tailored for their food intolerances, and to balance sugar levels – which directly relate to the thyroid and therefore postpartum anxiety – became my passion. I had already gone through years of my own elimination diets and conversions for food allergies while reversing PCOS. Plus now I could formulate my recipes for increasing their breast milk supply, while helping their gut and therefore their immune system, speeding their healing after birth.
Several of my doula clients started messaging me requests late at night before I was scheduled for our postpartum shift the next day. They were asking, “Can you bring the Golden Nettle Stew tomorrow?” and “Can you bring the Spiced ‘Milk’ Tonic tomorrow when you come?” My heart was happy they felt so very nourished by my food! But after staying up til 3am cooking before my daytime visits with these moms, I realized this wasn’t sustainable for my own energy. I decided to branch off of my doula business, convert my meal requests into a Postpartum Meal Delivery service, and started taking orders online through nourishmealdelivery.com. Organic, gluten-free offerings tailored for food allergies and your Ayurvedic dosha! Today, Organic Nourish Meal Delivery is joyfully supporting pregnant women and new mothers nationwide.
