Detox Before You're Expecting
This week marks the release of Detox Before You're Expecting (Ulysses Press, $14.95), a guide to doing a whole-foods cleanse before you get ready for baby.
Nashville-based author Rea Frey (also an occasional contributor to the Scene's Vodka Yonic column), wrote the book as a way to guide moms-to-be through what she calls a "safe whole-foods detoxification program" that is definitely not intended to be a diet.
Frey, also the author of Power Vegan: Plant-Fueled Nutrition for Maximum Health and Fitness (Surrey Books, $15.95), went through a similar cleanse before she got pregnant with her daughter Sophie. The process made her feel healthier and ready to conceive and, she believes, helped newborn Sophie start life healthy.
Drawing heavily on her personal experiences, the book is intended as a holistic book based on nutrition, not a medical guide. It breaks out foods into categories: "The Crap List" is, obviously, stuff you shouldn't eat, whether you are about get to get pregnant or not. That's bleached flour, artificial flavors and all those things you can't pronounce, like dimethylpolysiloxane (an anti-foaming agent). But some things on the list will be a little harder for many to avoid, including caffeine and even fresh corn.
Rea Frey
Frey, who is also a fitness conditioning coach, lists lots of substitutions to make the detox transition easier (if you crave bread, for example, pick a sprouted variety; swap out butter or margarine for olive or coconut oil).
In addition, Frey believes "the frequency and amounts of foods we eat are more important than what we are eating." So she suggests mixing it up, so you aren't relying on the same few proteins and fruits and vegetables during your detox.
Like many nutrition books, the second half is a cookbook, with detox-friendly recipes, including several from Nashville's Jess Rice Andrews.
Chat with Frey in person about nutrition, baby-making and the book at noon on Saturday, Feb. 28, for a free health and wellness seminar at East Nashville's Gym 5, 925 Main St.
