Tips for eating well during pregnancy

You’re pregnant! Congratulations! An important thing to take into consideration when being pregnant is diet pregnancy. But does diet during pregnancy really mean? It surely doesn’t involve restricted calories or losing weight, because losing weight during pregnancy can be dangerous to you and your baby.

Diet during pregnancy is actually referring to a good nutrition during pregnancy. A good nutrition gives you a higher chance of having a healthy baby, with fewer risks of chronic conditions even after he’s born. Trying to eat a well-balanced diet and taking your prenatal vitamins is important for the development of your baby.

To get the nutrients you need, your diet should contain a variety of food groups. This means you should eat lots of fruits and vegetables, breads and grains, dairy products and foods rich in protein. Basically, the goal during your pregnancy should be consuming about 300 more calories per day than you did before getting pregnant.

There are a few other things to consider and improve in your diet if you are pregnant. Do you use to often skip breakfast, or eat chips for lunch? This is the time to improve your bad eating habits. You have to consider that everything that goes inside your stomach will affect your baby. So, if you want to find out more tips for a healthy diet during pregnancy keep on reading!

One of the most important tips for a healthy diet during pregnancy is to eat a variety of foods so you baby get the much-needed nutrients that he needs. This is how you can do this and also enjoy your foods.

Protein

Your body is the home of a growing fetus, and this home needs support to take care of this little bundle of joy. You can do this by getting 10 extra grams of protein a day, and you can find this much-needed protein in beef, dairy products, soy, fish, eggs, pork, chicken, dried beans and lentils, and peanut butter. This is the time you can enjoy eating Greek yogurt, which is low in sugar and rich in protein.

Folate

Folate helps preventing chronic problems that occurs in early pregnancy. It is recommended that you get 400 micrograms of folate a day before you get pregnant, but it is also a vital mineral during your first trimester of pregnancy. There are lots of yummy ways to get your daily recommended dose of folate, such as orange juice, spinach, lentils, rice, broccoli, and strawberries.

Calcium

We all know that healthy bones mean getting the necessary calcium. This is also available for your baby. He needs healthy bones and teeth and you can help him by eating rich-calcium foods, such as milk, yogurt, cheese, broccoli, and almonds.

Fiber

Fiber rich foods help with the pregnancy constipation and hemorrhoids. That why it’s important to consume whole-grain cereals, bread, pasta, seed, apples, berries, oranges, potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes.

Fat

Your baby’s brain and central nervous system needs fat for a proper development. Fat is also transformed into energy, helping with the transport of vitamins through your body. You can get fat by eating healthy fats, such as nuts, salmon, olive oil, sunflower oil, and avocados.

What should be my weight gain during pregnancy?

Taking into consideration that you need to eat 300 calories more per day throughout your pregnancy for a healthy diet, here are some healthy snacks and mini-meals ideas that you can eat:

• Make a sandwich by using whole-grain bread with 3 ounces turkey breast meat, and 15 grapes;
• Prepare yourself a nutrient-rich snack with a low-fat yogurt, a banana, and ¼ cup whole grain cereal;
• Put 2 tablespoons of peanut butter on a small bagel and enjoy eating it;
• Prepare some milk and cereal using unsweetened cereal, milk, and berries. Berries are a great source of vitamin C and potassium.
• Eat walnuts! They contain Omega-3 fatty acids and important anti-inflammatory antioxidants.

During pregnancy you should avoid dangerous foods. These are the foods at a high-risk to be contaminated with bacteria that can be harmful to the fetus. Here some foods that you should steer clear of:

• Raw or undercooked meats can contain a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis
• sushi;
• Soft cheeses such as Brie, feta, and goat cheese. These may contain a dangerous bacteria called listeria.
• Hotdogs, and other processed meats with nitrates;
• Avoid raw or undercooked eggs, because they can cause salmonella food poisoning
• Unpasteurized milk;
• You’ll need to give up to alcoholic drinks. Alcohol can cause physical defects in babies.

You can consume with moderation artificial sweeteners, caffeine, and herbal tea. Here’s a tip! Raspberry leaf tea helps tone the muscles of the uterus and ripen your cervix for labor.

Another very important thing during pregnancy is to stay hydrated. Also, being hydrated can help you fight fatigue and constipation, two of the well-known pregnancy symptoms. So, drinking water, eating soups and water-rich fruits can help you stay hydrated.

Dos

If you want to maximize your intake of vitamins you should try new fruits and veggies each week. It’s also ok to give in to cravings from time to time, as long as you don’t over-do it.
Your prenatal vitamins are also very important, so you should take what the doctor ordered. Sometimes it’s difficult to meet your nutritional needs with just what you eat, so prenatal-vitamins helps you get the nutrients you and your baby need for a successful development. Also, make sure your prenatal-vitamins contains folic acid to lower the risks of neural tube birth defects..
Favor nutrient-rich mini-meals over empty-calorie snacks.

Don’ts

Don’t follow diets to limit your weight gain. Many diets for losing weight are low on calories, iron and folic acid, and this is unhealthy for you and your baby. You have to keep in mind that pregnancy weight is a good sign that things are on track. On average, you should gain between  25 lbs and 35 lbs. A well-balanced diet with little fats and sugars should prevent you gaining too much weight.
During pregnancy, you should avoid consuming alcohol.
Also, don’t take extra vitamins without consulting your doctor.

Keep in mind the above top tips for a healthy diet during pregnancy, and you and your baby will be fine!