Health and Nutrition: What to Eat

Now that you are expecting, eating a healthy, well-balanced diet is more important than ever! Eating plenty of good healthy food helps your baby’s body and brain to grow and develop and can help prevent birth defects.  Healthy foods also help you to stay strong and energized during this important time in your life. There are also some foods that you will want to stay away from while you are pregnant.
 
Ideally, you should eat a wide variety of foods, but that can be challenging with morning sickness, indigestion, food cravings, and other issues that often accompany pregnancy. To be sure you are getting all the nutrients you and your baby need, be sure to take a good prenatal supplement. You need to eat about 300 extra calories a day during your pregnancy, although that number will vary. On some days you may feel very hungry, while on others you may not. Recommended daily servings for pregnant women are:

• 6-11 servings of whole grains and breads
• 4+ servings of vegetables
• 2-4 servings of fruits
• 4 servings of dairy
• 3 servings of protein

It is okay to eat a treat every so often, but remember that the empty calories in cake, cookies, candies and other sugar-rich, processed foods don’t help your baby or your body. White bread, white rice, and white pasta are also low on nutrients. Choose the whole-grain varieties whenever possible. Not only do these contain more nutrients, but they are also richer in fiber.

Some nutrients are especially important during pregnancy. During the first three months of pregnancy, try to eat something rich in folic acid every day. Foods rich in folic acid include barley, beans, green vegetables, orange juice, lentils, peas, and rice. Iron is also an important nutrient. Good sources of iron are spinach, broccoli, strawberries, muesli, and wholegrain breads.

Calcium is another important nutrient, especially in the last weeks of pregnancy. Dairy products are an excellent source of calcium as are spinach, kale, legumes, and soybean products.

You will also want to consider the quality of the food you are eating. Fertilizers and pesticides are not good for your baby, so try to eat organically whenever possible. One way to start is to be sure and always purchase the “dirty dozen” organically. These are the top twelve types of produce most susceptible to pesticides. The dirty dozen are: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, grapes, spinach, lettuce, and potatoes.

Many women find that eating several small meals is better than eating three larger ones. This can really help during the early months when you may be feeling morning sick, as well as toward the end of your pregnancy when there just isn’t a lot of room left inside you for food. 

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