Waterfall Diet FAQ: Pregnancy

Posted by Linda Lazarides on March 13, 2009 under Waterfall Diet FAQs | Be the First to Comment

Water retention is common in pregnancy and can have many causes, including anaemia (anemia) which is not always an iron-deficiency anaemia. The Waterfall Diet is safe to follow in pregnancy, with the exception of any recommended herbs. Many herbal medicines are contra-indicated in pregnancy. To be on the safe side, even parsley should be used only in the normal way as a food flavouring, and not consumed as a tea or taken as a medicine.

Raspberry Leaf Tea
One herb which has definitely stood the test of time and is universally recommended by natural health practitioners for use during the last three months of pregnancy is raspberry leaf tea. You can drink raspberry leaf tea up to three times daily. It helps to tone the muscles of the uterus and aid a painless, easy delivery. It also promotes milk production.

Gentle Diuretics
Many fruit and vegetable juices such as those made from cucumber, watermelon, watercress, horseradish, carrot and celery have gentle diuretic properties. Cornsilk tea is also gentle and, according to Bartram, is suitable to help prevent swollen ankles in the later stages of pregnancy. Cornsilk is the silky strands found under the green outer sheath of a head of sweetcorn (maize).

Don’t forget to help blood flow by

Lying on your left side
Walking around from time to time instead of sitting still
Putting your feet up
Don’t cross your legs

If you can’t find raspberry leaf tea or corn silk tea locally, you can order them online:

Resources (UK)

Raspberry Leaf Tea
Cornsilk Tea
Bartram’s Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine*

Resources (USA)

Raspberry Leaf Tea
Cornsilk Tea
Bartram’s Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine*

*Includes pregnancy herbal safety information

Information extracted from the 3rd Edition of The Waterfall Diet (Piatkus Books) to be published in 2010. Get the current (2003) edition.

If you are pregnant, always report water retention or swollen legs to a doctor

Waterfall diet FAQ: soy and soy products

Posted by Linda Lazarides on March 12, 2009 under Waterfall Diet FAQs | 2 Comments to Read

From time to time I get enquiries from people on soy-free diets, asking about alternatives to soy.

Although the Waterfall Diet list of Yes foods does include soy, it is by no means a compulsory item. Soy milk, tofu and soy yoghurt are great for vegetarians seeking a good protein alternative to meat and dairy products. They are also beneficial in many ways for adult women, but they do not have to be consumed.

However the Waterfall Diet does exclude cows’ milk, so I will suggest some alternatives for those who are not able to use soy milk as a substitute.

1. Sheep and goat’s milk and yoghurt. These are becoming easier to find in supermarkets and health food stores.
2. Nut and rice milk. These are found in health food stores and in larger supermarkets. They can be quite expensive, and their palatability varies a lot. The Rice Dream brand is very good, and includes a variety flavoured with almonds and hazelnuts.
3. Oat milk. Worth experimenting with. I have personally not tried it, so would be interested to get feedback on whether it is good with gluten-free cereals, for instance.
4. Fruit juice. Some cereals can be pleasant with fruit juice instead of milk.

NB: You should not rely on any plant-derived milk as a good source of protein. Meat, fish and poultry are good protein sources. You can also get high quality protein by mixing ground-up or grated nuts (e.g. Brazils, cashews, pecans, hazelnuts) into bean or lentil soup, or combining them with mashed beans to make patties.