Tips for good nutrition during pregnancy

Tips for good nutrition during pregnancy

Nutrition is critical during pregnancy as it can have a tremendous impact on our and our dear baby’s health. By following nutrition guidelines and designing a daily diet based on them, we pregnant women can experience a healthier and more pleasant pregnancy.

We all would like to have a healthy diet during pregnancy; however, we may not know where to start or what particular foods to include in our diet. The following are nine healthy dietary habits:

We should chew each morsel well

Through our adequate nutrition during pregnancy, our baby receives good nutrition even before it is born. Chewing each morsel is one of the most effective nutrition rules. Keeping our baby’s nutrition in mind while eating, we shall chew each morsel thoroughly.

Calories are not equal

In a healthy diet, we need to pay more attention to the quality of food rather than its quantity. For example, the 200 calories in a donut are in no way equal to the 200 calories in a wholewheat raisin cookie. We shall keep in mind that our little ones benefit more from foods enriched by nutrients than sheer calories.

Our fetus eats when we eat

The small fetus in our uterus needs a well-organized diet and we are the only ones who can meet its needs. Sometimes, since we do not feel hungry, we may forget that our baby is hungry and needs us to eat food. Therefore, we must remember to eat food regularly and not to skip any meals (except when we are experiencing morning sickness and cannot eat anything easily).

What foods should we eat?

We can guarantee our and our baby’s health by choosing low-calorie, light foods which are full of nutrients. We should not forget that fat has more calories (over twice as much) than protein and carbohydrate. Therefore, meat and low-fat foods can be better choices during pregnancy. We can also replace fried foods with grilled ones. Among us there are pregnant women who need to gain more weight in order to have a safe pregnancy. These dear mothers should use foods which are high-density in terms of nutrients and calorie (e.g. avocado, nuts, dried fruits).

Let’s not forget good carbohydrates

Some pregnant women omit carbohydrates from their diets in order to avoid gaining weight, which is absolutely wrong. Unrefined carbohydrates such as wholewheat bread and grains, brown rice, fresh fruits and vegetables, beans and green peas can supply the vital B vitamins, rare minerals, protein and the fiber needed by the body. In addition to keeping nausea and constipation in check, these carbohydrates are also effective in managing weight. Moreover, we’d better leave out refined carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice, refined grains, junk food, and cookies from our diets as much as possible.

Let’s say goodbye to sweets

Unfortunately, sugar calories are useless. Although sugar consumption from time to time does not harm us or our babies, by using it we leave a smaller place for nutrients. Moreover, high sugar consumption may cause obesity, tooth cavities, diabetes, heart conditions, etc. Therefore, we should abstain from using refined sugar as much as possible. We can use fresh and dried fruits and concentrated fruit juice to enjoy something sweet.

We should eat fresh food

We need to include in our diets a good amount of fresh fruit and vegetables which are in season (In situations where one cannot have access to fresh vegetables, using canned and frozen foods is acceptable. We just need to make sure that we are using products which do not contain additives such as sugar, salt or fat). Moreover, we need to abstain from processed foods since not only do they contain a huge amount of chemicals, fat, sugar, and salt, but they are also low in terms of nutrition.

Let’s not neglect the people around us

Having a healthy diet while your spouse is lying on the couch eating ice-cream is not easy. Therefore, we’d better encourage all family members to have healthy food habits. In order to do this, we can make wholewheat bread a regular thing in our homes and fill our fridges with plenty of fruit and vegetables.

We shouldn’t feel guilty

Maintaining a strong willpower, especially when we are eating for two persons is not easy. The good news is that we can sometimes give in to temptation. However, we need to be careful not to feel guilty. In other words, we should mostly eat healthy food but sometimes allow ourselves to eat what we crave without any regrets. We just need to make some modification to what we eat. For instance, we can add a piece of banana or some nuts to our ice-cream or order a salad and slices of tomato with our hamburger. In these situations, we should pay attention to our food portion and be careful not to overeat.

The last word

It is undeniable that dietary habits have a significant role in the mother’s and baby’s health during pregnancy. However, unfortunately, some pregnant women use their cravings as an excuse and do not follow a suitable diet during pregnancy. Having a healthy diet guarantees our and our dear baby’s health, while giving us the chance to enjoy delicious, desirable meals.