Nourishing the Mind and Body: Functional Medicine and Pregnancy Health
In this enlightening episode, Mari Kharroubi, a bilingual pediatric speech-language pathologist and dedicated pregnancy coach, shares her deeply personal journey from overcoming learning disabilities to pioneering holistic approaches in maternal health. Listen as she explains the transformative impact of functional medicine on pregnancy, nutrition, and emotional well-being.
Key Takeaways:
- Overcoming Speech and Language Challenges: Learn how Mari’s early struggles with learning disabilities inspired her to become an advocate and speech-language pathologist.
- Functional Medicine’s Power: Discover Mari’s journey into functional medicine after becoming disillusioned with traditional treatments.
- Nutrition and Cellular Health for Pregnancy: Understand the importance of nutrition and cellular health for a healthy pregnancy, especially at advanced maternal ages.
- Emotional Healing in Pregnancy Preparation: Recognize the crucial role emotional healing plays in preparing for pregnancy.
- Nutrient-Dense Foods for Maternal Health: Get practical advice on the best foods and supplements to support maternal and fetal health.
Episode Highlights:
[0:00] Dealing with Speech and Language Disorders in Children
[5:57] Shifting to Functional Medicine
[14:36] Achieving a Healthy Pregnancy at 39
[22:11] Preparing for Pregnancy with Emotional Healing
[27:14] Importance of Hydration and Minerals
[34:37] Nutrient-Dense Foods and Supplements for Pregnancy
[41:27] Personalized Pregnancy Coaching
Mari also reflects on her own health struggles, including fibromyalgia and Bell’s Palsy, and how functional medicine improved her health and her ability to serve her clients.
Whether you’re a healthcare professional, an expecting mother, or simply curious about holistic health, this episode provides valuable insights and practical strategies.
Disclaimer: This episode is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional therapy.
00:00 Dealing with Speech and Language Disorders in Children
Discussions about speech and language disorders in children, including diagnosis and treatment begin. 0:00
◦ Personal experiences with learning disabilities are recounted, noting their impact on self-confidence and social interactions.
◦ A choice to become an SLP to assist others with learning disabilities and advocate for their rights is shared.
◦ The personal journey leading from experiencing speech and language disorders to building a career in speech language pathology is unfolded.
◦ There’s an expression of disillusion with the slow pace of progress in children’s treatment due to heavy, long-term caseloads.
05:57 The Significance of Functional Medicine on Health and Pregnancy
Discussions focus on functional medicine and its impact on health and pregnancy. 5:57
◦ Reflections on past experiences with children dealing with developmental delays occur, with the realization that treating symptoms rather than addressing the root cause was an ineffective approach.
◦ An inspiring journey through personal health issues leading to the pursuit of functional medicine is recounted.
◦ The challenging experiences of handling a heavy caseload as a bilingual pediatric speech language pathologist, leading to burnout and health issues are shared.
◦ Varied health challenges including Bell’s Palsy, fibromyalgia, and a weakened immune system are revealed; setting the context to explain why functional medicine was sought.
◦ The critical need for addressing root causes in healthcare as opposed to just treating symptoms is brought forward, highlighting the limitations of conventional medicine in doing so.
14:36 The Power of Preconception Health, Nutrition and Cellular Health on Maternal and Child Health
◦ A fascinating journey of learning about nutrition and trauma, which leads to a healthy pregnancy at 39 years old is shared.
◦ The joy and surprise of midwives at witnessing the lack of pregnancy symptoms, despite being 39 years old are discussed.
◦ The vital link between cellular health, nutrition, and child development is discovered and highlighted.
◦ The experience and strategies of a pregnancy coach who empowers moms with knowledge to heal their bodies and lead healthy pregnancies are shared.
22:11 Preparing Body and Mind for Pregnancy: Nutrition, Lifestyle, Stress Management, and Emotional Healing
◦ An inspiring personal journey of healing and conception shared, igniting others to take control of their health.
◦ Disagreements with the health industry’s focus on new supplements and protocols surface.
◦ A conversation stressing the importance of addressing emotional trauma in the healing process arises.
◦ Personal experiences with emotional trauma stemming from in utero experiences are unveiled.
27:14 Navigating Nutrition, Trauma, Stress, Exercise and Hydration during Pregnancy and Bridging to Overall Health
◦ An instance of maternal emotional trauma during pregnancy impacting a speaker’s nervous system and health unfolds.
◦ A transformative journey through emotional traumas and a reduced supplement use to health via a holistic approach is discussed.
◦ The importance of hydration and mineral-rich water for preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum health is stressed.
◦ The significant impact of mineral depletion during pregnancy on fetal development and overall health is highlighted.
34:37 The Role of Nutrient-Dense Foods in Pregnancy and Postpartum Periods
◦ The recommendation of Quinton Isotonic Minerals for remineralizing the body is made.
◦ The possible alternative options include Trace Minerals, Himalayan salt, and Celtic salt, but emphasize is made regarding the importance of brand’s purity standards and quality control.
◦ Discussions around postpartum hormonal changes and nutrition for women are involved.
◦ The role of cruciferous vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and choline-rich foods in supporting brain development and hormone production during pregnancy and postpartum is underscored.
41:27 The Gateway to Nutrient-Dense Foods for Pregnant Women to Boost Fetal Development and Maternal Health
◦ A recommendation is made to supplement with phosphatidylcholine for brain fog and iodine-rich foods for boosting baby’s intelligence and aiding in postpartum depression prevention.
◦ A nutrient-dense diet for postpartum women is advocated that includes fermented foods, fruits, and whole food vitamins.
◦ A personal journey with pregnancy and motherhood is shared, laying emphasis on the importance of preconception care and nutrition for fetal neural development.
◦ The unique coaching services and concierge program offered by a pregnancy coach are discussed, explaining how they help clients prepare for pregnancy and parenthood through personalized guidance and support.
Expand for Podcast Transcript
Dealing with Speech and Language Disorders in Children
Kira Yakubov Ploshansky 0:00
Hi, welcome back to Heal Your Roots Podcast. This is Kira Ploshansky. I’m so excited for today’s guests, Mari Kharroubi. She is a pregnancy coach, speech pathologist, and working in functional medicine helping moms and children.Mari Kharroubi 0:14
This stress that was happening in my job. In me burning the candle at both ends, ended up making me choose between my career and my health because my immune system was so taxed that it started to attack my liver.Kira Yakubov Ploshansky 0:33
Murray, thank you so much for being a guest today.Mari Kharroubi 0:35
Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. This is a true honor.Kira Yakubov Ploshansky0:39
Absolutely. I’m really excited for this. Mari and I met actually in a mommy group. So I recently had a baby four months ago, when this podcast episode comes out and maybe longer than that, but we met at this local mommy group, and I just fell in love with all the information you were sharing and how much knowledge you had on this topic. So I’m really glad that you know you’re a guest that I am so excited for everyone to hear all the information that you have.Mari Kharroubi 1:06
I am excited to share this is something that I’m very passionate about.Kira Yakubov Ploshansky 1:11
Awesome. So Mari, can you kind of share with us a little bit of your your backstory? How did you get into speech pathology or become a pregnancy coach and functional medicine? This is a lot of a lot of big stuff that you have here.Mari Kharroubi 1:24
Yeah, so I became an SLP, or speech language pathologist back in 2007. And what drew me to the field was my own learning disabilities and as a child, and the challenges that it created in school, and in my life. I had these challenges actually remote, eroded my self confidence, and really made me feel like an outsider in social and academic settings. Because my learning disabilities that I had went undiagnosed for so long, um, and I went through a lot of bullying in school, at when I was younger, and I never understood like, why am I so different from other kids? Like, why does it take me longer to understand the information? How is it that children, you know, other students can hear it once, and they have it and they don’t have to study for as long as I do. And, you know, all of that really impacted? You know, me, and I knewMari Kharroubi 2:52
I just never want others, other children to go through what I what I went through. So I started to seek ways of how can I help turn this around for other children. And that’s how I came upon the communications program for speech and language pathology. And I also realized that I wanted to do pediatric speech, you know, because it’s a field is very broad. So I wanted to just hone in on, you know, children from birth to elementary school. And so when I got into school, I actually realized through the knowledge that I was learning that I had an auditory processing disorder. And it was like a light bulb went off, like, Oh, my goodness, this is the reason why I’m having so many challenges. And that, like further inspired me,Kira Yakubov Ploshansky 3:53
I think it’s really interesting that, you know, I think a lot of us go into particular fields because of our personal experiences, and how you know, we were treated or the things that we went through and finding ways to help ourselves, that we end up helping other people. So I think it’s great that, you know, through that adversity that you went through, you’re able to now create a career and be in a field where you’re helping other children that may have gone through something very similar.Shifting to Functional Medicine
Mari Kharroubi 4:19
Yes, so now as an as a speech language pathologist, like I treat kids from the ages of birth to six years old, who have all different types of speech and language, language disorders, from which includes speech sound errors, nonverbal children, language delays, children who have problems with like reading and writing, which is considered literacy. And I also see a lot of children in my practice with neurodevelopmental delays such as autism, and ADHD and hyperactivity. apraxia of speech. But I, you know, going through this journey as a speech pathologist, I started to be, you know, at first I was excited because I was like, Oh, I’m changing, you know, I’m going to change the lives of these children. But then I started to become disillusioned. Because I was like, man, like, there’s children that are, you know, obviously, that that make progress. But then you have these children that you you see on people’s caseload for years, and are hardly making any progress. And I started to wonder, like, why, like, if this, you know, if, if speech and language pathologists are diagnosing, and evaluating and treating kids and like, this is, like, the, the root of what’s supposed to help these children, and I’m not seeing it? Why is it happening? And then I also started to think like, what’s going on, like, pop out? Like, you know, I started seeing, like, the difference in like, birth order. So like, the first child versus, you know, the second or the last child, in someone’s family, and why is it that the first child came out, you know, with normal milestones, normal wit, language acquisition, but then like, the second or the third child in that family had more language impediments or, you know, more health issues? Yeah, so I started to realize, like, that, I was just kind of treating signs and symptoms, and not really getting to the root cause, or the why have these symptoms? And so then, I, you know, I also started to become saddened for these parents who are like, you know, I don’t want to say losing hope, but they’re just, like, so anxious and overwhelmed and like, why what’s wrong with my child? Like, why isn’t my child progressing? Why, especially a lot of times, like, with children who are nonverbal, you know, That’s every parent’s like dream is to hear them say, Mommy, you know, like, their first words, mommy, daddy, I love you, you know, and here, you know, like, I was like, Okay, well, maybe, maybe I’m not using the right techniques, you know, so like, now I would start digging into more research, and I would start learning all of the therapy techniques under the sun. And yes, that works for some children. But for others, it didn’t. And, you know, especially when it comes to like, children with autism, you know, I start seeing parents, you know, they’re paying so much money for ABA services, because like, that’s like the the gold standard of therapy for children with autism. Yeah. And you don’t I, you know, some, you know, it works for some, but for, again, for others, like, there’s so much money being spent, and there’s not a lot of progress being made. You know, so again, like, what it brought me back to why, why is this happening?Kira Yakubov Ploshansky 8:34
That how you found yourself going into functional medicine?Achieving a Healthy Pregnancy at 39
Mari Kharroubi 8:37
No, it’s not well, I went into functional medicine due to my own health issues. So I was a, I was only one of four bilingual pediatric speech language pathologist in my area. And that led to a very heavy caseload, because so many children needed services. And I want it you know, I have a very helping, you know, mothering nature, like, I want to go and heal the world and heal everybody. And so, I mean, at one point, I think when I was working in the school district, I had like, 164 kids on my caseload. And, you know, so then I got out of I got out of that, because I was like, Whoa, like, burnout was huge. I already had a lot of my own health issues growing up. And, you know, my job was actually exasperating that. So I thought, well, you know, I’ll go into work for an agency, and maybe this will be better. But, you know, I still had I still ran a very high caseload, and now instead of being in one place, I was actually traveling Yeah. And you know, so now I’m eating out of it, you know, inclement weather, you know, hot cold, because I lived in New York. So we have the ups and downs of, you know, hot and cold and rainy and snowing and in and out, you know, between a Warren car cold cold outside and in a warm building, and then you add in the children, you know, are come with a lot of germs. So I was, I was getting very sick. And that just added to the health issues that I had already had. Since I was a child. Growing up, I had a very weakened immune system. Since birth, I had to take a lot of antibiotics, um, and lived in an environment that wasn’t always conducive to the nervous system. There was a lot of yelling all the time. And so I grew up a very nervous and anxious child, which also impacts your nervous system and your in your immune system. And so I ended up due to a lot of those things, I ended up with a lot of health issues. And then my job came along and added to those health issues. And I ended up having Bell’s Palsy and they thought I had biliary cancer, I had fibromyalgia. The list goes on and on. And the stress that was happening in my job, and me burning the candle at both ends, and did up making me choose between my career and my health, because my immune system was so taxed, that it started to attack my liver. And so the doctors basically said, you know, like, if you don’t, you don’t take a break, then you may not be here to like, continue to do your job. And along with that, they also told me that my future for having children was looked very bleak. Because if I were to have a child, it would probably take the life of my child or and or my own life, because my body, I had a fragile constitution a fragile body. So my system just wouldn’t be able to handle it. So that is what brought me to functional medicine. I took a step back from my career. And I knew I was I was newly married, and knew that I wanted to have a family. And so I started dedicating my life to learning about functional medicine. And I learned about genetics, and how to do they impact your health. And a lot of it was geared to my motivation was geared to because I wanted to have a child. So like, how does maternal health, you know, impact pregnancy? And like, I was like, I’m not going to let you know, some doctors tell me, you know, that I can’t, I can’t, I’m not going to be able to do this. I think that, you know, I was I think everybody deserves the chance to have a child. And I think that there’s an ability to do it. And a lot of times functional medicine. They don’t look at the root causes of or not functional medicine, not guess that conventional medicine is what I meant. Conventional medicine doesn’t now can you conventional medicine, if you repeat. Sorry. Okay. The conventional medicine doesn’t always look at the root causes, they look at the signs and the symptoms of disease, and they, you know, they just say, Oh, well, here’s some birth control pills, or here’s some antibiotics or if they don’t know what it is, then they chalk it up to what’s in your head or you know, things just don’t really give you specific reasons. And once they can’t, you know, use pharmaceuticals as a way to heal you then they’re just kind of like they don’t know what to do. And that’s kind of where I was in my health. So I as I started to say before, I started to learn about like genes and how your environment impacts your genes and like how environment impacts like maternal health. And I learned about environmental toxins, chemicals, neutral mission because of my gall stones and because they thought I had biliary cancer and through all the surgeries that I had for that there, one of their recommendations was to go on a low fat diet, and it was pretty much one of the worst recommendations they could have given. Because one of the major reasons people end up with gallstones is because they’re not eating enough fat in their diet. And fat for women especially, is a huge, huge way of making hormones. And not only that fat, also you need fat, like in order for your gallbladder to work properly. So which is another reason why I was creating more gallstones. I wasn’t ingesting enough fat. So I learned about nutrition long way to say that I learned about nutrition. And, and started to learn about traumas and how traumas affected me. And and that’s what actually drew me to, to functional medicine. And I was like, Oh my gosh, like, this is amazing. I implemented all these things. And you know, I ended up you know, getting pregnant. And having one of the healthiest pregnancies as a quote unquote, geriatric pregnant mom,Kira Yakubov Ploshansky 16:32
don’t you love that.Mari Kharroubi 16:34
And my midwives were constantly in awe, because number one, you know, of my age, you know, at the time, I was 30, I think I was 38. When I got pregnant, I was 39, when I actually had my daughter. And I would go in and they’d always be like, where’s your, where’s the edema? Like, I never, you know, like, I never had the edema. And I never had like a lot of the pregnancy, what they call normal pregnancy symptoms. You know, like the morning sickness and the gaining of a lot of weight and the edema and the constant need to go to the bathroom, and just all of these pregnancy symptoms, and they’re like, you’re like, you’re a breath of fresh air, like you’re an anomaly like, what are you doing? Like, this is amazing. And it was just like, all of these things that I have learned and implemented. And, but then, so it made me very passionate about Mattel maternal health and preconception and how I know how important preconception is most, most women and most, most parents, most people don’t even realize the importance of preconception, like, people don’t start to think about like, their, their health and their nutrition, and all of these things until they become pregnant. And, you know, um, you know, one of the things that is actually wildly known is that we pass on our DNA to our children. But what they don’t realize is that we also pass on our cellular health. And, you know, cellular health is, is at the forefront of all disease of all chronic health issues. And it’s especially at the forefront of neuro developmental disorders. And so this is where I started making the connection, you know, with, like, speech and language. I’m like, Oh, my goodness, yeah, I’m like, here’s the root cause. Here’s the missing link that I’ve had in this gut feeling of mine, like, of why children, some children were like, advancing and some children weren’t. And it’s, you know, because of all of these things that I talked about the nutrition, the toxins, and the chemicals in the environment and your genes, like, all of these things, impact your cells. And, you know, where does the baby start from? It starts as a cell. And so those in so one of the things that we learn in functional medicine is the levels of physiology, which is we start as a cell that cell purler proliferates or it divides, and then it turns into your tissues. And then those tissues turn into your organs. And then those tissues organs turn into organ systems. And it was like, Oh, wow. Like, this is where cellular health comes in at the at the level of Iselle. When you know, like when a baby is just becoming and making all of these organs, an organ system, then I’m like, Oh my gosh, in utero, the biggest thing that’s developing is your nervous system, your neurological system, and your brain. And so, through my pregnancy and realizing this, I became really, really passionate. And when my own midwives are telling me, like, I don’t understand what’s going on here. And like, they prescribe things that are actually hindering cellular health. I was like, I need to become a pregnancy coach, more moms need to, like be empowered with this knowledge. Because I mean, how sad is that, that there’s so many moms that are going through pregnancy unhappy, and they can’t wait for it to be over. And it’s, it’s a, you know, pregnancy, you know, the ability to even be able to be pregnant, is is such a beautiful blessing. And have it taken away with the symptoms that are in conventional thinking, May to be normal, that are really not normal. I was like, I have to change this like. And so that’s what drove me to becoming a pregnancy coach, and then really starting to look into like functional medicine, because I was able to heal myself. And I was like, I know if I can heal myself, I can also help moms heal their own bodies, prior to conceiving, and then also lead them through a healthy pregnancy, which leads to healthy neuro development. Which leads to healthy children. Yeah,Preparing for Pregnancy with Emotional Healing
Kira Yakubov Ploshansky 22:11
that’s really incredible. I mean, the fact that you were able to learn all of this information, heal yourself, right? Like, I hear this so much, especially in our mom groups, like how women are constantly going to doctors, and they just aren’t getting the right answer, or it’s not working, it’s not helping, things are getting worse. And they kind of just take matters into their own hands and do the research and figure things out and listen to their body, and find ways to heal their body. And now you’re helping all of these women through this process. And it’s incredible, because I remember before I got pregnant or was trying to get pregnant, I was like, Okay, I should prepare, right? Like, I feel like I should prepare in some way. I don’t really know how, but I should like, go see all my doctors and do all these things. But I didn’t actually know what I was supposed to be doing, or how I should be preparing. Or like I heard that like, I should go to the dentist. There’s a lot happening with my teeth. I went to all these different doctors and like, thankfully, I did you know my thyroid, everything like I figured these things out with bloodwork, but I don’t think a lot of people know how to prepare their bodies more, I think maybe the common things when you stop drinking or smoking or doing drugs, right, like, that kind of thing. But even that’s like, oh, once you find out you’re pregnant, you stop. But are there certain things that you can kind of let our listeners know, that are thinking about, you know, conceiving how they can prepare their bodies or their minds in, you know, in preparation for trying to get pregnant that they may not know now.Mari Kharroubi 23:41
Oh, wow, there’s, it’s such a big topic. So I’ll just like kind of give little tidbits. But I mean, the first, you know, a lot of people, and that’s the big thing that actually irks me too, like with the health industry right now is you know, they’re always leading people to like the sexy shiny newest supplement or lab test or newest, sexiest protocol that they are like, well, this is like the end all be all. But a lot of people forget about the foundation of, of health, you know, and that’s, you know, your, your your diets, you know, so nutrition, your your lifestyle, because you can never, you can never out you’re never going to heal if you don’t have a healthy lifestyle. So diet, lifestyle. Stress, that’s another one. Stress is a very huge thing. I mean, it impacts you in so many in so many ways. Whether it be good or bad stress, you know, it could be just stress of, you know, going to a birthday party, which should be fun, you know, but it’s like that’s so stressful, you’re around lots of people lots of energy, you know, there’s just a lot of going on. But it could also be, you know, you know, everyday, you know, stress from work and life balance type things. So really getting a hold of stress. Another key one is like emotional trauma. That was, that one actually was a huge one for me emotional trauma. I never realized this, but, you know, I got myself, I would get myself better, and I’d be up here in my health, and then I would, you know, so I talked about like stress, you would think about, like going on a vacation, and that’s like, not supposed to be stressful, and it’s supposed to be like fun, and things like that. But for me, it was like, the exact opposite. Like, I’d go on a vacation, and I’d be up here. And then I would all of a sudden, like, take 10 steps back 10 steps back and my health. And I’m like, I don’t understand this, like, you know, I’m eating a nutrient dense diet. You know, so I’m getting all the vitamins and nutrients and minerals that I needed. You know, I’ve worked on my stress levels. You know, I opened up my own practice. So I stopped working in an agency, you know, I’m able to, like, I have more ability to regulate my my schedule, you know, I don’t have somebody telling me that I have to take 100 kids, you know, I can only take so many. So that helped a lot with my stress levels. And it wasn’t until the emotional trauma part that I was like, Oh, I started seeing it was a health coach. And he dealt, he dealt a lot with emotional trauma, I started to realize that my traumas stemmed all the way back from in utero. Who knew about that? Nobody talks about it. Nobody, nobody, nobody. Yeah, you know, at first, I was like, oh, gosh, this guy’s kind of, you know, I don’t know, he’s kind of going somewhere where I’m not really I’m not kind of understanding this. But my husband was like, What do you have to lose? I mean, I had already spent 1000s of dollars on functional medicine, people, you know, functional medicine doctors and, and all sorts of supplements up the wazoo. And then like, so it changed my diet and changed every chemical that, you know, I can possibly control in my environment. So what can you know, what is it? What do I have to lose? So I started doing therapy with this with this coach. And it led me to finding that in utero my mom faced a lot of emotional trauma, and all that emotional trauma and all that stress and your pregnancies, they hired, they raise your Kormos and so that impacts the your baby. And so my, my nervous system was dysregulated from birth, which is why I had so many health issues. You know, right, right from birth. And so, like, that is one of the first things when I work with my, my clients now for pregnancy coaching. And, and with my speech clients, when my parents come to me and say, Hey, like, you know, can we work on the root cause the the functional part of speech and language? That’s one of the first things that I asked my parents like, what’s going on? Like, what went on in your pregnancy? And what what happened prior to conceiving? Like, did you have a lot of emotional traumas, like with your parents, with family, with friends? Yes, because this all all impacts yourselves. And it impacts in turn impacts your health. So once I was able to figure that out and go through the healing Oh, of the things that my mom like the her traumas that affected me and I was able to heal that and then heal my own emotional traumas that came from all of that. I was like, I got off all my supplements. I was only I only had to do like my basics, like my my vitamins and amino acids. And continue with my you know, like, obviously the things that you can’t your body doesn’t make on a daily basis. So you know, you have some, some amino acids and things like that and some nutrients that you can’t, you can’t just get from food, you have to supplement them. And I was like, Whoa, this is amazing. I went from spending like two to $3,000. Or I should say my husband, who’s spending two to $3,000 on supplements, to now barely having to be on anything. So emotional trauma. And exercise is another important one too. So like just looking at your basics, your foundation, and like getting your foundation in order, it will take you a long way. Another one that’s important for preconception, but it’s actually when I talk about all of these things, all of them are actually important for all stages of, of pregnancy, whether it’s preconception during pregnancy, and postpartum. So nutrition, trauma, stress, exercise, all of these things all impact all of these stages, but in a different way. I’m sure. Hydration hydration is so so so important. Your brain needs hydration, your your cells, all the cells and all of your organs, and all of your bodies need hydration. A lot of times, it’s as simple as that some people just come in, and all they need to do is hydrate more. And they’re like, oh my gosh, like my brain fog went away, like my energy went up. Like, I don’t feel as lethargic. Like. So hydration is important. But what people don’t realize with hydration is that they need it can’t be just plain water. People are like, I have clients that come to me and they’re like, but, but mighty, I’m drinking you know, half my body weight in water. Like, you know how well eight ounces, I should say, half my body would ounces in water. But I’m still, you know, I don’t feel like I’m, I still feel dehydrated. Like I don’t understand or they feel like that the you know, it’s just like they’re drinking it and then they’re just like going to the bathroom is coming right out of them. Yeah. And that is because of a lack of minerals. So, I always suggest that, you know, if you’re going to drink water always, always have, you know, like a quarter teaspoon of Himalayan or Celtic salt because that’s a natural mineral for us. And I also you know, we’re so we’re so mineral depleted. And that even this day, like for pregnancy, people don’t realize that pregnancy is a huge mineral depleting state, we lose as a woman, we lose 10 to 20% of our minerals in one pregnancy. And guess what? You don’t get those back. So, recurrent pregnancy. Now you’re starting off with 10 to 20% Minerals less. And now that baby if you’re going into another pregnancy is taking another 10 to 20% of your minerals. Wow. So and minerals are huge for the for everything for your cellular health in general. But I mean, for your brain development, your neurological damage if you don’t have minerals. Like it causes a lot of damage in your body. And I had no idea Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I meanThe Role of Nutrient-Dense Foods in Pregnancy and Postpartum Periods
Mari Kharroubi 33:37
it’s, it’s very, it’s a it’s a critical, it’s a critical thing that we need to be implementing in our in our lives in our daily lives.Kira Yakubov Ploshansky33:46
Are there other minerals, Marie that for listeners to hear other minerals that will help? I mean, this sounds like in general, not even just pregnancy, but it sounds like pregnancy. You know, our babies are taking this from us because they need all our nutrients, like we are giving life literally. So I mean, that’s crazy. I had no idea that it’s depleting 10 to 20% each pregnancy so it’s just continuously going down and if we have no idea that we even need them to begin with. I mean, we’re just at a constant state of lacking Yes.Mari Kharroubi 34:18
Our bodies are a constant state of not only lacking minerals but lacking nutrients in general because people’s lifestyle and diet like people we have we’re living in a society now that it’s such so fast paced that a lot of people are just living on processed foods. They’re not even getting in like the nutrients from our fruits and our vegetables in our in our real like meats and organ organ meats, you know. But back to what you were saying about like the the minerals on what I would recommend is a great brand is Quinton When isotonic minerals, they’re they’re amazing. There are minerals that come from come from the ocean from our seawater. So that’s a great one, it tends to be a little pricey. So a lot of times people are like, oh, yeah, I want to get on that. And then they see the price and they kinda like glue. But I will tell you, like they are, if they’re one of the best out there for remineralizing your body and they work the best. Now, I’m obviously not everybody can afford to do these things. So the next best thing, there’s a company called trace minerals, you can you can get on Amazon or you can go right through trace minerals company and it comes in I got blue, a blue bottle. And that has that has your your magnesium, magnesium and your potassium in there. It has your lithium in there because people don’t realize that we are lacking in lithium because our soils are depleted of it and our waters depleted of lithium. So that’s another that’s another good mineral. And then if you don’t do that, then the salt is like the next best thing which you can do. Either Himalayan salt or Celtic salt. Is, are good ones. I mean, but with everything like there’s, you know, people are saying, Oh, it’s high and heavy metals and all this stuff. But with everything I always say follow at 20. Because with everything, like if you’re going to be afraid, oh my gosh, now they’re saying that this is not good, but you’re taking it and it actually makes you feel well, then, you know, like you can’t always like be afraid of like, because be afraid of like what all the noise out there is, you know being said, I’m crucial. Four is another great mineral that you can use. It’s a salt product, and it’s really good. But it’s also a little bit pricey, but it’s it’s actually one of the best I would actually recommend that over Himalayan or Celtic salt if, if possible. AndKira Yakubov Ploshansky 37:22
so is this something to do for women who are pregnant, like during the whole process after as well to help with postpartum just having that increase of minerals again, because you know, after postpartum or your hormones are all over the place? Sure, you know, everything is depleted again, are there certain things that you help with women for postpartum as well to help like just them feel better get, you know, back into like feeling in their body because it’s such a huge shift and transition from before?The Gateway to Nutrient-Dense Foods for Pregnant Women to Boost Fetal Development and Maternal Health
Mari Kharroubi 37:53
Yeah, so postpartum is a huge shift. And one of the major reasons for that is because it is the only time that we ever experienced in our human life, the biggest, biggest plummet in our hormones progesterone and estrogen. And nutrition again, is like something that if you go into private, you know, if you go into pregnancy, already eating a nutrient dense diet, which I’ll go over what that actually means and you are, you know, using your minerals inside of your water or taking the Quinton isotonic minerals. The other thing too is electrolytes. There’s a lot of electrolytes that can be put in your water seeking health has a great electrolyte but nutrient yet so a lot of eating properly. So eating, eating meets eating organ meats, a lot of people kind of balk at that like when you tell them to eat, you know organ meats, but they’re actually really organ meats are really high in like iron, and they’re high in zinc. And they’re they’re high in amino acids as well. And then the other thing is like a lots of fruits and vegetables you know like cruciferous vegetables especially during your well I would say throughout the pregnancy and before and but specifically postpartum, because cruciferous vegetables actually help with detoxify detoxifying bad estrogens and they also help with liver detoxification. So it’s, that’s really it’s really important and then fruits and vegetables. They’re very important for like their their vitamin C and all of their antioxidants and bio flavonoids. And then healthy fats. And so foods such as butter and ghee, and tallow and olive oil, and avocados, they’re all super powerhouses for the formation of the brain into support like adequate hormone production. As I said earlier, many women don’t know that they actually need fat for healthy hormones. And yeah, that’s, that’s very crucial. prior to pregnancy, you know, to get to get pregnant, it’s very important during pregnancy for the brain development. And it’s also very important for postpartum, helps with postpartum depression, and anxiety. And all of these things that happened after our hormones drop eggs is another is another great nutrient. It’s a great source of choline. Very important for the neuro development of your baby. And it’s also very important for moms during postpartum it also helps with brain fog. And it helps with breast milk flowing through the ducts. Easier. A lot of women get mastitis because they don’t have adequate production of choline in their in their system. So aches is a great source of that now. If if people cannot get their enough choline from a eggs, and I suppose I suggest supplementing with phosphatidylcholine. It’s, I actually had to supplement with that through my entire pregnancy. And it helped me a lot. It helped my brain fog a lot. I went from not being able to remember day to day, you know items such as a fork or the refrigerator. I was having really hard time putting sentences together. So phosphatidylcholine was amazing. Another great food is eating shellfish and or seaweed. It’s a great source of iodine. And research studies have shown that eating enough iodine actually increases the intelligence of your baby but it also helps prevent postpartum depression. Interest so and a lot of Yes, iodine, but natural foods sourced iodine. sardines and oily fish are part of the healthy fats as well. A lot of people don’t realize that sardines can contain large amounts of calcium, and women are growing a baby. And so they need you know that baby’s pulling their calcium stores from their bones and from their teeth, which is why a lot of women end up with cavities or weak bones during pregnancy and it’s also a huge reason why our children are having a lot of cavities from a young age. They’re not getting enough of calcium and a lot of times people think calcium has to come from from dairy. And they don’t realize that you can actually get it from your sardines. AndKira Yakubov Ploshansky 43:45
you can also have no clue.Mari Kharroubi 43:47
Yeah, yeah. So and then like your oily fishes are really good for your fats as well. So like, not only is starting to annoy the fish, but you are macros and you’reMari Kharroubi 44:04
drawing a blank Oh, salmon, sorry. Salmon is a great one. And we already talked about fruits, they provide vitamin C, they, you know, for the bioflavonoids and the antioxidants, which actually increase your immune system. And a lot of people here’s a good one too for postpartum. A lot of women don’t realize that they’re lacking vitamin C. So they’re losing a lot of hair and vitamin C actually produces collagen. Interesting. So you know, one of the if you can’t get it in your fruits, you can take a natural whole food vitamin which is called Kambu. It’s a it’s an actual fruit is Kambu can camo camo and that has one of the highest forms of vitamin C. So I always say suggests women take kamoun. And not only that, it also helps with iron absorption. And then the last one is fermented foods. So foods like sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, all these fruits, I mean, sorry, not fruits, fermented foods, actually improve your microbiome. And, you know, women don’t realize that we’re actually passing on our microbiome to our children. So that’s why we’re seeing like a lot of extra minds and skin issues and children. Because our parasites or infections are coming from Mama, you know, because they’re not taking care of their gut, you know, their microbiome, prior to getting pregnant. So those are all in it just, we could go into like all of the vitamins and the minerals that are inside of all of these foods, but a gist of what a nutrient dense diet would look like. Sure.Kira Yakubov Ploshansky 46:06
So this is great information. I wish I knew you and had all this before I was pregnant. Because I was really trying to prepare my body ahead of time. And it’s hard to know what to eat and how it’s going to impact you how it’s going to impact your baby, really creating a healthy womb and body for your baby to grow in is so important. But there’s just not that much information. I mean, there’s information out there, but it’s not commonly known. It’s not totally Yeah. Right. Like you have to go dig and do your own searching. And it’s, you know, it’s tough to do that when you’re adulting, and living life and you know, having motion sickness and motion sickness, you know, morning sickness, or all day sickness which I had, right, so being able to have resources, and people like yourself, who have done this research, have this knowledge and want to help other people through this process is incredible and very beneficial for so many people out there who are trying to get pregnant, who are pregnant and who just had a baby. So I’m sorry, that the experiences you’ve had throughout your life. And I’m glad that they led you in a place where you are now giving back and helping so many other people not have to go through that.Mari Kharroubi 47:22
Yeah, it’s, it’s an I don’t know, for me, I feel like everything that I went through is actually a gift and a blessing. Because it led me to what I am doing and what I am super passionate about, which is, you know, maternal health and, you know, fetal neural development.Kira Yakubov Ploshansky 47:44
So I know we’re out of time, and we can definitely have you back. So I think there’s so much more information to be shared. Is there a way that are you seeing clients right now? Like, how can people work with you if they want to do pregnancy coaching or anything like that?Mari Kharroubi 47:59
They can email me. And we can talk about one on one coaching or doing. We’re also working on a concierge program. So being able to have me as your coach from preconception all the way through elementary age.Kira Yakubov Ploshansky 48:18
Awesome, so we’ll definitely put that in the show notes have let everybody know where they can reach out to you so they can work with you, Mari, thank you so much for being a guest today. This was awesome. If you if the listeners like the episode, please like, share and subscribe. But otherwise, thanks so much for being with us. And that’s a wrap.Mari Kharroubi 48:38
Thank you so much.