Is it possible I've made a connection with the cause of Morning Sickness in Pregnant women?  In researching the needs of Salt (the real kind, unprocessed sea salt, not processed to death table salt) for pregnant women I discovered that pregnant and lactating women need more salt (not a ton, just more) than non pregnant and non nursing women.  www.storknet.com - Nutrients:sodium

Why?  Turns out that Progesterone 'encourages' salt wasting... Symposium on Hormones ...in other words, your body usually recycles salt, but progesterone competes for receptor sites with the hormone that controls the salt recycling, and thus salt is lost through the urine rather than recycled for the body to use again.  When salt levels drop too low, symptoms include nausea, dizziness, fainting, lack of energy... just to name a few.  Basically, the list is nearly a carbon copy of many early 1st trimester pregnancy symptoms. 

This got me thinking last night.  I wonder what the hormone levels for progesterone looks like throughout pregnancy?  In looking it up, I learned that there are TWO forms of progesterone that increase during pregnancy.  As it turns out, one of them rises fairly sharply early on, but then declines right toward the end of the 1st trimester, and the other goes high and stays high. 

I just can't find it within myself to believe it is just coincidence that progesterone induced salt wasting is likely the source of so much of morning sickness.  The rise and fall of the Hcg hormone likely also plays a roll in aldosterone, (the salt regulating hormone).

Think about the foods used to help reduce nausea for a moment: saltine crackers and pretzels, both dry AND salty foods. Other suggestions often found helpful for morning sickness have been listed at popcorn, pickles, salt and vinegar potato chips... all salty foods.

Well, what about women who's nausea and bouts of vomiting start after using prenatal vitamins?  Well, they have to go through the liver to be processed, and the liver is already processing the hormones for pregnancy AND the hormones for keeping salt levels where they should be.  That's why changing vitamins can be helpful, because it relieves a level of stress on the liver in all the hard work it's trying to do.

One other factor that would contribute to lower than needed salt levels is stress.  Stress hormones also compete with the hormone that regulates salt levels and contribute to salt wasting.  People with higher levels of stress may ingest normal amounts of salt in a day, but because it's not recycling, their salt needs would be greater, as would the need for more water, for when salt wasting occurs, dehydration accompanies it. 

A lot of people would probably argue with me in that they are concerned about water retention, but as it turns out, that is more a problem with being DEHYDRATED and increasing estrogen levels, not so much a high salt level problem.

Keep in mind, processed food and processed salt won't likely have the same benefit.  Those things actually act as additional stressors to your body so cutting them out of your diet is more than just a good idea.  But a pinch of salt washed down with 12 oz. of water a couple of times a day just may do wonders for your morning sickness.

For some great information on Salt, visit The Water Cure.