There are so many rumors about what to eat, and what not to eat, during pregnancy. How do you make sure you are eating healthy foods for your pregnancy? Follow a simple diet filled with the proper nutrients and food groups.
Folic Acid. Folic acid is arguably one of the most important nutrients in early pregnancy. Consuming enough folic acid before and during pregnancy can help prevent neural tube defects such as spinal bifida, and helps support the placenta during the entire pregnancy. Many processed foods such as breads, cereal, and pasta are enriched with folic acid, making them a healthy food to eat during pregnancy. If you are looking for fresh foods, you can eat green leafy vegetables, strawberries, oranges, broccoli, nuts, and beans. You can also get folic acid by taking a prenatal vitamin, which contains a full serving. Folic acid is a water-soluble nutrient, so your body does not store this one up. You will need to intake folic acid everyday. Folic acid, though important, was not a nutrient I was worried about during my pregnancy because folic acid is in a lot of foods. Since I ate a lot of fruits and vegetables and fortified foods, and I took my prenatal vitamin, I knew I was my diet was filled with healthy foods for my pregnancy.
calcium-rich foods. You will need to eat four servings of calcium rich foods when you are pregnant per day. This includes broccoli, milk, yogurt, cheese, certain cereals and breads, and fortified orange juice. If you get enough calcium in your diet, both your bones and teeth and your baby’s skeleton will be healthy. I had problems getting enough calcium in my diet because I have never liked milk or yogurt and prenatal vitamins do not provide even half of the calcium needed daily. I solved the problem by purchasing cheese with extra calcium and buying calcium fortified juice and cereal. I also took Tums once a day because it not only helped with my heartburn, but it also contained much needed calcium.
Iron-rich foods. By having enough iron in a pregnant woman’s diet you will help to prevent anemia (which causes exhaustion), low birth weight, and premature delivery. One of the healthy foods to eat during pregnancy is beef because it contains a lot of iron. Other iron rich foods are pork, dried beans, spinach, and wheat germ. My sister-in-law bought wheat germ and added it to her meals. She claimed that she could not taste the difference when it was added. I chose to eat steak. I also snacked on ham (heated to steaming to prevent listeriosis) and tried to add spinach to my diet.
Yellow fruits and vegetables and green, leafy vegetables. These vegetables are important because they contain vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for your pregnancy because it helps support cell development (an embryo goes from one cell to millions in no time at all) and helps to support healthy skin, bones, and eyes. Yellow and green leafy vegetables are healthy foods to eat during pregnancy because they also contain riboflavin, folic acid, vitamin E, and many of the B vitamins. This was a category that sounds hard to get all in my diet, but with a little creativity, it was quite easy to get enough. Adding spinach to a sandwich or a salad helped to get a serving in my diet. I also ate carrots and dip with my lunch instead of potato chips. Cantaloupe, mangoes, and peaches also fall into this health category.
Other fruits and vegetables. These healthy foods for your pregnancy are important because they contain potassium or magnesium, which are good for the mom and the baby’s overall health. These actually are the more-liked fruits and vegetables out of the two groups. These fruits and vegetables include apples, bananas, asparagus, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, pears, grapes, and cherries. My favorite vegetable from this group was asparagus baked in olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt. Most of the fruits and veggies in this group can stand on their own as a healthy snack.
Whole grains and legumes. This is many pregnant women’s favorite group of health food. Many of the foods that help alleviate the symptoms of morning sickness fall into this group. This group of healthy foods to eat during pregnancy also helps to aide in the digestive system, raises or maintains energy levels, and regulates the nervous system. You can get these nutrients by eating fortified cereals, rice, breads, beans, nuts, and pasta. There will be two kinds of choices in this food group. In order to get the most out of this group, try to get the whole grains rather than the enriched, refined grains (white breads, pastas, and rice). The whole grains have less empty calories, do a better job at maintaining your energy levels, and aide better in your digestion (constipation is a common problem during pregnancy). My favorite way to get whole grains was my toast in the morning made from whole grain bread. I also ate from this group when I had chocolate or sweet cravings. Instead of brownies, ice cream, or candy bars, I would eat a bowl of sugary cereal. There were fewer calories in the cereal than in the snack foods and the cereal was fortified with vitamins, which all pregnant women could use.
With a little planning, you can eat healthy foods during your pregnancy and get all of your nutrients in.
