Beans, the cure for morning sickness (no, really)

This is incredible news for pregnant moms everywhere, and if just one person benefits like I did, I will have done my duty to womankind.  (OK I am being a bit facetious here, but I am pregnant!)

I was very very sick with this pregnancy, and really thought "OK Lord, I am done.  I can't do anymore of this, either to my family or to myself.  I don't want this to be my last baby, and I don't want to tell you no- please don't bless us anymore, but this can't happen more times". I couldn't hold down water, and was basically on the couch just moaning around.  I don't consider myself a whiner, but this was the worst I had ever felt.

A friend at church asked how I was feeling, and I was honest.  She mentioned beans, and that another mutual friend had told her.  We had not shared our news with our children yet, so this friend was the only one that knew.  I had miscarried a twin in this pregnancy- we were not sure how things were going to work out, and didn't want to disappoint the kids with a total miscarriage.  I couldn't call the friend who knew the whole story on beans, so I googled it!  "beans and morning sickness"

I finally found the website http://www.karenhurd.com/concern_morning_sickness.html

I have never met Karen Hurd, or talked with her, but I was desperate and beans are harmless (and good for you) so I ran straight to Taco Bueno.  Not my first recommendation, but I was desperate; too desperate to wait on a pot of beans to cook!  I got relief after about 10-20 minutes,  Not complete relief, but it eased a bit. 

In a nutshell, the theory is that beans (soup beans, legumes specifically) are high in soluble fiber.  The soluble fiber binds with the bile you are producing because of hormones and the fats in your diet.  You get rid of the bile, and the toxins the bile is carrying around.

After a few days, the morning sickness is virtually gone.    You do still have to continue to eat them, sometimes five to six times each day, depending on your level of sickness.  I finally found that one or two servings a day was enough to keep me feeling fine after I finally got over the hump, so to speak.  Around 14 weeks or so the nausea went away and I haven't needed them, although the health benefits are well worth eating them everyday. 

Karen Hurd has an amazing story of how God healed her daughter and her family after a unique poisoning - read about it under the tab "The Poison Rug".  She has a PhD in nutrition, and has general recommendations on all sorts of health issues. 

She really explains all the details very well, and on a level "real" people can grasp.  I was so happy to have any relief, any amount- my kids thought I had lost it!

The beans that Karen Hurd recommends are basically just legumes, or what we call soup beans.
Pintos, black beans, garbanzos or chick peas, lentils, peas, soy, edamame, etc.  Anything that comes in a shell that you hull.  You can use refried beans, hummus, you name the recipe.  I just couldn't eat a lot of fat throughout the day, so I would make a bean only burrito, and skip the cheese and meat.  Even the tortilla was too much at first. Dull I know, but survival first!