During pregnancy
Today I want to share some information about eating healthy during pregnancy! I have been there myself and I can tell you sometimes I struggled to find the balance with my diet during this important part of life.
There is no doubt that during pregnancy is not a time to lose weight. You can think of it as a time to increase the nutritional value of your diet. Maintaining healthy eating habits during pregnancy can make a huge difference to both you and your baby’s development.
There is no specific number of calories you need to have each day. This can be different for each person and depends upon your weigh at the beginning of the pregnancy. However, on average you only need an extra 200 calories each day in the second and third trimester. Woman who were underweight at the start can afford to put on more weight than women who were overweight.
Healthy eating is important as well as vitamins and minerals intake, that’s why some nutrients such as folic acid, iron, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin B6, B12 and vitamin C are recommended as supplements for every woman in pregnancy.
When you have a variety of different foods from the food groups you are more likely to get the balance of nutrients that you and your baby need.
Food Groups
Carbohydrates: responsible for daily energy production and consists in starchy food as bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, cereals…
Protein: promotes cell growth and blood production. Sources are meat, fish, eggs, beans/pulses, nuts, milk, yoghurt, soya, quorn…
Fruit and vegetables: most are good source of essential nutrients and fibre which helps to prevent constipation, common during pregnancy. At least five portions are an important part of any healthy diet. Vegetables such as broccoli, spinach and other green leafy vegetables are good sources of folic acid, vitamin A and iron.
Fat: responsible for the body’s energy reserve. Sources are meat, whole-milk and dairy products, butter, vegetable oils.
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