With more and more super foods appearing on the market each day, a real concern for women has become what to eat during pregnancy. I am against the strict diet of only this or only that. I believe that a healthy diet is a balanced one, with no excesses of any sort, and all the food groups taken into consideration. Of course you shouldn’t eat fast food or something similar because it has been proven that it is not good for you, but this doesn’t mean that you should be paranoid about it and not take a bite once in a while if you really crave it. The only key word is moderation, never an excess of anything, and you should be just fine. Having said that, let’s take a look at some of the most recommended foods that can have a positive effect on you during labor.
1. Foods that contain folic acid. In the first three months of pregnancy and preferably before getting pregnant, a high intake of folic acid is necessary. This is part of the B vitamin category and it is also known as B9. The folic acid has an important role in developing the fetus’s nervous system. The folic acid is believed to prevent certain tube defects such as spin bifida and others. Folic acid can be found in such foods as: green vegetables, fruit, lentils, and orange juice, peas, rice, and barley beans. To get its full effect, pregnant woman need to take a four hundred microgram supplement of folic acid a day for about two months before the pregnancy, and three during. You should consider foods that contain folic acid if you are wondering what to eat during pregnancy.
2. Iron rich foods. Iron is one of the key components in creating additional supplies of blood in order to provide nutrition to the placenta. Iron can be absorbed much easier by the body if it is taken in conjunction with vitamin C, either as a supplement or from citric fruits and juice. Iron can be found in green vegetables such as broccoli or spinach, in strawberries, or muesli. You should also know that tea and coffee affect the intake of iron in the body. If you’ve had a healthy diet before your pregnancy and you are not anemic than iron supplements aren’t absolutely necessary. If not you should take iron supplements from the 20th week of pregnancy. You might also want to know that these iron supplements may cause constipation. Still, a bigger dose of iron in your diet is definitely something worth considering if you want to know what to eat during pregnancy.
3. Sugar rich and fatty foods. Contrary to almost all diets, during pregnancy you should have a high intake of fat and sugar, because they are very rich in calories which you would need. Things like ice cream, chips, pastries cake, can be on your regular menu, but it is necessary to remember the golden rule: never in excess. If you eat this kind of sugary, fatty foods with moderation, than you won’t get the problems associated with them such as tooth decay, or high cholesterol level and weight gain. If you can, you should limit the amount of saturated fat intake and focus more o unsaturated fats that can be found in fish oil, avocados, walnuts, seeds, and sunflower or olive oil.
4. Healthy snacks. For the cravings in between meals it is important to focus on other types of snacks other than just sugar and fat rich foods. This is why you should consider having one of these kind of sandwiches laying around the house: dairy products with less fat such as low fat yogurt that also helps with digestive problems; salads with lots of vegetables especially celery, carrot or cucumber, breakfast cereals such as corn flakes and other unsweetened verities; baked potatoes, or baked beans on bread; berries which are incredibly nutritious, and other ready to eat fruit such as figs or apricots.
5. Calcium and zinc. These minerals are very important for the developing embryo as well. You can consider food supplements, but if you follow a varied diet you should have enough minerals.
I have already told you the golden rule about what to eat during pregnancy and that is nothing in excess. At the same time you should get blood and other types of tests on a regular basis to make sure every parameter is normal. If you have any deficiencies in any of the nutrients I have mentioned above than you should consider taking supplements. As well as knowing what you’re body needs when you are pregnant you should also know what it doesn’t need, and an example of that is vitamin A in excess, so you should limit your intake of liver, which is very rich in this vitamin, that can prove damaging for the embryo.