Healthy Eating In Pregnancy Week By Week
As you progress through your pregnancy calendar it remains important that you watch your diet every step of the way.
Pregnancy isn’t a license to eat for two. As you monitor the growth of your baby through your pregnancy week by week you should also be monitoring your own growth.
Sticking to a healthy diet now, that’s rich in vitamins and minerals but easy on the empty calories, will not only benefit your baby, but will make it much easier for you to regain your pre-pregnancy figure without having to resort to drastic dieting.
Throughout your pregnancy calendar you really don’t have to increase your calorie intake by more than a couple of hundred, and even then it’s not necessary until the third trimester.
Two hundred calories is only equivalent to two small slices of toast, an omelette or a bowl of fruit and yoghurt.
It’s the type of food you eat that’s important throughout your pregnancy week by week.
Try to eat a variety of foods every day and include some from each of the following groups at every meal;
o Carbohydrates – bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals and potatoes. Wholemeal varieties have a slower and longer lasting energy release
o Fruit and vegetables – at least 5 portions a day. Eat a variety of different coloured vegetables and fruit to vary your intake of vitamins and minerals
o Protein-rich foods – lean meat, chicken, fish, eggs, beans, lentils and nuts. Red meat, beans, lentils and nuts are also good sources of iron.
o Dairy foods – milk, cheese and yoghurt. These are important sources of calcium
Healthy eating tips
o Fruit and vegetables can be fresh, frozen, tinned or dried.
o When possible, choose well-washed, raw fruit and vegetables or steam them as overcooking destroys the vitamins.
o Make soups, juices or smoothies if you aren’t keen on fresh fruit and veg.
o Leafy, green vegetables like spinach and watercress, or dried fruits such as apricots or figs are great sources of iron which is very important for pregnant women.
o Drinking a glass of fruit juice which is rich in Vitamin C helps boosts iron absorption.
o Tea and coffee hinder the absorption of iron, so avoid these at meal times.
o Folate, the natural form of folic acid can be found in green vegetables and brown rice, fortified bread and breakfast cereals
o Wholegrain foods such as some breakfast cereals and breads help avoid constipation.
o Essential fatty acids (especially omega-3 DHA and omega-6 AA which are important for your baby’s brain and eyesight) can be found in oily fish and nuts like brazil and walnuts. Eat 2 portions of oily fish, such as salmon and mackerel a week.
o It’s important to maintain your levels of vitamin D. Good sources are oily fish and eggs and fortified foods such as margarine, breakfast cereals and powdered milk.
Author Bio: Debra Aspinall is an experienced journalist and the editor and leading writer for the Emma’s Diary website, one of the UKs foremost pregnancy and baby websites. She writes on how to get pregnant, pregnancy week by week, raspberry leaf tea and etc. If you are searching for free baby stuff, please visit us at Emmasdiary.co.uk.
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