The common question first time moms ask is: What do I eat during pregnancy?
Taking a balanced diet at any time in your life is important, especially during pregnancy. It will help your baby to grow healthy. It will also help in developing and maintaining a healthy weight.
A balanced diet includes taking variety of healthy foods. These nutritious food include:
Fruits and Vegetables
You should always take fruits whether it is fresh, frozen or dried fruit depending on your choice. They provide vitamins and minerals your baby needs.
Protein
It is important to eat a variety of proteinous foods. They help in building tissues. Examples of protein-rich foods are meat, eggs, beans, poultry, peas, nuts and seeds.
Dairy Products
When you want to choose dairy products, ensure that they are pasteurized. Milk and milk products, such as cheese and plain yoghurt are good examples.
Fats and Oils
You must limit the intake of solid fats, especially those from animal source. You can take healthier fats in other foods such as fish, avocados and nuts. The oils in food are mainly from plant.
Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are important during pregnancy.
The vitamins and minerals required during pregnancy are: calcium, iron, vitamins, and folic acid.
Calcium
Calcium is important because it helps in building your baby’s teeth and bones. Sources of calcium include milk, plain yoghurt, cheese and green leafy vegetables.
Iron
Iron helps red blood cells to deliver oxygen to your growing baby. You can find it in lean red meat, poultry, peas and beans.
Iodine
Iodine is essential for your baby’s healthy brain development. Sources of iodine are seafood, meat and eggs.
Choline
Choline helps in the development of your baby's brain and spinal cord. You can find it in eggs, milk, peanuts and soy products.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A helps your baby’s bones to grow and gives healthy eyesight and skin. You can find it in carrots, sweet potatoes and green leafy vegetables.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 helps your baby to form red blood cells. Its sources are bananas, pork, beef, pork, whole-grain and cereals.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 helps in the development and maintenance of your baby's nervous system and the formation of red blood cells. Fish, meat, and milk are rich in vitamin B12.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C helps in promoting healthy gum, teeth and bone development. It can be found in citrus fruits, strawberry, and tomatoes.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps to build your baby’s bones and teeth and helps to promote healthy eyesight and skin.
Early morning sunlight, fortified milk, salmon and sardines will provide you with the vitamin D you need daily while pregnant.
Folic acid
Folic acid is important for pregnant women. It helps to prevent birth defects of the brain and spine. It supports the growth and development of the unborn baby and placenta. It can be found in green vegetables, beans and orange.
However, food alone is not enough. You should take a daily supplement so that you can get everything you need. Speak to your doctor to learn more about the right supplement for you.
Now that you have known the food to take while pregnant, the next is to know the foods you should avoid when you are pregnant.
What are the foods to avoid during pregnancy?
Pregnant women are more susceptible to diseases which can leads to the complications of their pregnancy. The diseases might be food-borne or water-borne. In order to avoid such, they must prevent it.
How can you prevent these food-borne diseases?
Food-borne diseases are diseases that contracted from eating contaminated foods. Some kinds of food should be avoided during pregnancy in order to prevent these food-borne diseases.
7 Kinds of Food to Avoid During Pregnancy
Some of the foods to avoid during pregnancy are as follows:
1. Raw Unpasteurized Milk:
You must not take raw unpasteurized milk and soft cheeses made from unpasteurized milk. They may contain a bacteria known as Listeria. These bacteria can cause an illness called listeriosis.
2. Expired Foods:
You must not take expired food past. Those expired food can contain microorganisms because the preservatives would not be active again thereby giving chance for the growth of microorganisms. Expired foods can contain bacteria.
For example, expired loaves of bread will develop moulds, which is a fungi. To prevent taking expired foods, always check the production date and the expiring date of the food items you want to buy.
3. Raw and Uncooked Meat Products:
Raw and uncooked meet products can contain bacteria. The bacteria can be either Salmonella or Listeria. Examples of these raw and undercooked meat products are sausages.
4. Uncooked Seafood:
Uncooked seafood, for example fish, can contain microorganisms such as bacteria and parasites. You should avoid uncooked fish because it is dangerous to your body.
Apart from having microorganisms, some of the fish also contain toxic elements called mercury.
5. Uncooked Smoked Fish:
Ensure that you cook any smoked fish that you buy before eating. Don't eat it without cooking it because it may contain harmful bacteria.
6. Raw or Uncooked Eggs:
Avoid taking raw or unboiled eggs. It can also contain bacteria called Salmonella.
Ensure you cook or boil your eggs for some minutes at least 20 minutes before you eat.
7. Organ Meats such as Liver:
During pregnancy, you must avoid taking liver and other organ meats. Although liver is very rich in iron, but it is not recommended for a pregnant woman to consume because it contains a very high amount of vitamin A. This high amount of vitamin A has a potential risk for toxicity.
How to safely prepare your foods while pregnant
In order to minimize or prevent these food-borne diseases, you must ensure food safety. Ensuring good safety is importance during pregnancy. Some of the best safety practices include:
1. Wash your hands with soap and water before eating. Don't be in a rush to eat without washing your hands before eating.
2. Wash all cooking and eating utensils thoroughly before and after use.
3. Cook meat thoroughly to destroy the microorganisms.
4. Wash uncooked vegetables and fruit carefully before eating. You can add little quantity of salt to the water to wash them.
5. Store your food at the appropriate temperature. When you need to warm your food, warm it. Those that require refrigerating, put them in the refrigerator to preserve them from the growth of microorganisms.
6. Eat your food immediately after cooking. Don't leave it open for long, whereby you put it one side and you're busy doing another thing without covering your food.
Read: What to Eat During Pregnancy
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Reference:
UNICEF. What to eat when pregnant. Accessed on 5th February 2024. Available at:
https://www.unicef.org/parenting/what-to-eat-when-pregnant
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