Pregnancy can be a challenging time for your health, both physically and emotionally. As you grow a baby, your body needs more nutrients than ever before. During pregnancy, it’s especially important to eat a healthy diet to give your growing baby the best start in life. You may have heard that it’s “eating for two” during pregnancy, but this isn’t quite right. It’s more accurate to say that you need 300–400 extra calories per day to accommodate your growing baby. This may not seem like a lot, but it adds up to almost 10 pounds of weight gain during the course of your pregnancy. In this article you will find 8 tips for eating healthy during pregnancy.
Why it is important to eat healthy during pregnancy?
Eating a healthy diet during pregnancy will help you make sure that your baby gets all the nutrients he or she needs to grow and develop. It will also provide you with the energy you need for your changing body and may help prevent or reduce some of the common discomforts of pregnancy.
When should you start eating healthy during pregnancy?
You should start eating a healthy diet as soon as possible. Eating a balanced diet is important for your baby’s growth and development, but it’s also important for you. A balanced diet of nutritious foods can help you maintain energy levels throughout pregnancy and prevent common pregnancy discomforts such as heartburn, constipation, and morning sickness.
Why is it so hard to eat healthy during pregnancy?
It can be difficult to make healthy eating a top priority during such a transformative and demanding time in your life. However, eating a healthy diet is essential to your health and the health of your growing baby. Even though the focus of your diet may shift during pregnancy, that doesn’t mean you can’t eat well.
Does eating healthy help during pregnancy?
It is known that a healthy diet during pregnancy can help to reduce the risk of certain health conditions in both mom and baby, such as gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and complications during delivery. A healthy diet during pregnancy can also help to optimize mom’s health and help her to deliver a healthy baby.
Tips for Eating Healthy During Pregnancy
1. Eat a Variety of Foods
Choose a wide range of foods from each food group, including plenty of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals and fiber — all essential nutrients for good health. Choose whole grains instead of white flour products whenever possible — whole grains have more fiber and other nutrients than processed wheat products.
Eat at least 8 ounces (1 cup) of milk or milk products every day, such as low-fat or nonfat milk or yogurt, cheese, or fortified soy beverages. Choose lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts, and seeds instead of high-fat meats like beef, sausage, hot dogs, cold cuts and lunchmeats. Lean protein sources are packed with protein but contain less fat than meat products (and fewer calories too!).
2. Get an Assortment of Nutrients
A prenatal vitamin supplement is an easy way to ensure that you get all of the nutrients you need for good health during pregnancy without having to worry about taking several different vitamins individually every day.
You may also want to eat certain foods in order to increase intake of certain vitamins and minerals–for example, dark green leafy vegetables help boost your intake of iron and calcium, while broccoli provides vitamin C and folic acid (another vitamin very important for pregnant women).
3. Eat Slowly and Chew Well
One of the best ways to eat healthy during pregnancy is to slow down so that you can properly enjoy your meals. Don’t let yourself get rushed or distracted when eating meals; instead, focus on each bite and chew it thoroughly before taking another bite. This will help you feel more satisfied throughout the meal.
4. Avoid Processed Foods
Another important tip for eating healthy during pregnancy is to stay away from foods that have been processed in some way, such as canned fruit or vegetables, packaged snacks or frozen dinners. Instead, focus on eating fresh foods that you prepare yourself at home; they are typically healthier than anything that can be bought at the store because they are less likely to have preservatives or other artificial ingredients added to them.
5. Don’t Cut Out All of the Salt
Because you might retain some extra water while pregnant, it is important to keep your sodium intake up in order to avoid hyponatremia (low sodium in the blood). One way to do this is by eating foods that contain salt, such as pretzels, crackers or soups. Another way to get extra salt is by drinking one cup of bouillon broth per day; if you are eating meat and vegetables for dinner, for example, make a little broth with the bones you are using and drink it at least an hour before bedtime.
As important as it is to keep your intake of sodium up, however, be careful not to overdo it. If you eat salty foods all day long, you could get far more than your body requires and suffer the consequences: high blood pressure during pregnancy can lead to serious problems with the placenta and baby, so make sure that you do not let your salt intake get out of control.
6. When You Have Morning Sickness…Don’t Forget to Eat
I’m sure that if you are reading this article, you already know that morning sickness is one of the most common side effects of pregnancy. With nausea a daily occurrence for many women during the first trimester, it’s easy for moms-to-be to skip meals and forget about eating altogether.
This can have serious consequences for a pregnant woman’s health as well as her baby’s — her metabolism slows down as she becomes less active (which also means less hungry), leaving her at risk of both malnutrition and dehydration.
To help avoid these problems:
- Eat small meals throughout the day instead of three big ones
- Eat frequent snacks rather than large meals
- Drink plenty of water (or other non-caffeine beverages) at regular intervals throughout the day
- Eat high-protein snacks such as nuts or crackers if you are feeling nauseous or queasy
7. Eat Small, Simple Meals with Lots of Protein and Few Carbs
Limit your intake of heavy or greasy foods. In later pregnancy when morning sickness has subsided you can add some variety to your diet, but in the early weeks stick to simple foods that are easy on your stomach.
Avoid pungent foods such as onions, garlic, curry and other spices; Don’t drink carbonated beverages; Have something sweet before bed — a small piece of chocolate or bit of ice cream can help you sleep well at night; When you have an upset stomach (likely due to nausea), try eating crackers or dry toast for breakfast instead of eggs or other greasy foods. Do check out and try follow these tips for Morning Sickness Relief.
8. Keep Track of Your Fluid Intake
One of the best ways to stay hydrated during pregnancy is simply to drink lots and lots (and lots) of water. Try drinking mint-flavoured seltzer water as an alternative if you find plain water too bland (you’ll lose a lot less weight…).
It’s very important that pregnant women remember to drink plenty of fluids throughout the day — not just when thirsty. In addition to maintaining adequate hydration levels in your bloodstream, drinking more fluids will also help fight fatigue.
Conclusion
These tips should help you to stay healthy during your pregnancy. Stay active, consume healthy foods, and visit your doctor regularly. Remember that you are eating for two, so you don’t have to stress about putting on a few extra pounds during pregnancy.
Did you find these 8 tips for eating healthy during pregnancy useful? Be sure to share them on Pinterest!
Do check out my blog post on the 10 things I wish I knew before having a baby too. It gives you an insight what life is really like after baby.
