How To Eat Well during Pregnancy ?

Enjoy To Eat Well during Pregnancy 

 

Eating good foods is important for staying healthy and growing a healthy baby. During pregnancy, your unborn baby gets nutrients from the foods you’ve eaten. Also, your body stores nutrients in preparation for breastfeeding.

What Are Nutrients ?

Nutrients include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. They come from food, pills, and food supplements, but eating healthy whole foods is the best way to get them.

What Should You Eat ?

Eating healthy foods that you cook yourself is best, even better if you can choose organic ingredients. If you are eating prepared foods that others have made, try to choose the ones that are less processed—more like food you could make yourself, and less like something designed by a scientist. 

Choose foods with less added salt, fat, and sugar, and more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Be sure to eat a variety of foods:

• Vegetables (3 – 3 1/2 cups): Eat many different types of veggies. Greens, orange veggies (such as squash and sweet potatoes), dried peas and beans, beets, and mushrooms are all good choices. Generally, the stronger the color, the more nutrients. Dark green veggies, such as broccoli, kale, and spinach, are healthier than light green lettuce. 

 

• Fruits (2–2 1 / 2 cups): Eat a variety. With fruits and vegetables, fresh is the healthiest choice, frozen is the next best, followed by dried and then canned. Very processed foods, such as fruit snacks and chips or crackers with vegetables added, have fewer nutrients. 

• Grains (8–10 ounces): The best choices are brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, and other whole grains. Eat less white rice and foods made with white flour, such as bread, flour tortillas, noodles, crackers, and cereal.

• Dairy products that provide calcium (3 servings): Choices include milk, cheese, yogurt, and foods that contain milk. You need more calcium when pregnant. If you’re not able to eat milk products, get calcium from canned fish with bones, tofu, dried beans (white beans and black-eyed peas), chia seeds, greens (collard, kale, bok choy, seaweed), almonds, and calcium-fortified products or calcium supplements. 

 

• Protein foods (6–7 ounces): Examples include meat, poultry, fish, nuts, eggs, or beans. You need more protein when pregnant. For meat and poultry, choose low-fat options or trim extra fat and cook well. If you are vegetarian, be careful to get the calcium and protein you need. If you’re vegan, you will need to take a B 12 supplement. 

• Liquids: Try to drink 8 glasses (64 ounces) of water a day along with milk or juice. You know you’re drinking enough if your pee is very pale yellow.

• Healthy fats: Good choices include olive oil, canola oil, avocado, nuts, fatty fish, or flaxseed. Eating the recommended amount of healthy fat is good for you and your baby.

• Take a daily prenatal vitamin with folic acid and iron.

• Try to stay away from foods that aren’t healthy, such as chips, cake, cookies, candy, and soft drinks.