The kind of diet we encourage you to maintain in your pregnancy involves reshaping your eating habits for ensuring that you get enough nutrition for you and your baby’s health. Healthy eating during pregnancy is a must for your baby’s development and growth.
Check out below the important food groups and dietary complements for a healthy pregnancy diet. You’d typically have to consume an additional 300 calories daily.
What role is played by diet during pregnancy?
When you talk about diet in pregnancy, it is not about limiting calories or attempting to drop your weight. Dieting for losing weight in pregnancy, on the contrary, can be dangerous to both you and the baby, mainly because a weight loss regimen can limit essential nutrients like folic acid, iron, and other vital minerals and vitamins.
Hence, Ashu Gupta’s Diet Clinic, the best diet clinic in Gurgaon, recommends avoiding popular diets including the Raw Food Diet, The Zone, South Beach, Atkins, etc.
Pregnancy diet tips from Ashu Gupta’s Diet Clinic
It’s vital to have a variety of foods throughout the day. Ensure you consume the nutrients needed by both you and your baby. Below are certain food groups and suggested sources to make a healthy diet during pregnancy:
Veggies and fruits have several vital nutrients for pregnancy, mainly folic acid and vitamin C. pregnant women require at least 70mg of Vitamin C every day. It’s found in fruits like honeydew, grapefruits and oranges and veggies like sprouts, Brussel, tomatoes, and broccoli.
Have 0.4mg of folic acid daily for preventing neural tube defects. Its rich source includes dark green leafy veggies (other sources are legumes like veal, black-eyed peas, lime or black beans, etc.) You must have at least 2-4 fruit servings and 4 or more veggies servings regularly.
The body’s essential source of energy for pregnancy is obtained from the vital carbohydrates in grains and bread. Whole grain products contain important nutrients like fibre, vitamin B, iron and also some protein. The necessary quantity of folic acid is available in fortified cereal and bread.
According to your dietary requirements and weight, you must eat about 6-11 (Oz) servings of grains/bread per day.
Beans, eggs, fish, poultry, and meat have iron, vitamin B, and protein required in pregnancy. your growing baby needs abundant protein, particularly in your second and third trimesters. Iron helps in carrying oxygen to your muscles for avoiding symptoms like depression, irritability, weakness, and fatigue.
You should have 27mg daily. Veal, turkey, liver, lamb, chicken, and lean beef are good options. Within guidelines, fish and certain other seafood can be nutritious in pregnancy. Avoid fish containing high mercury levels. Have at least 3 servings of protein every day.
Have at least 1000mg of calcium for supporting a pregnancy. it’s needed to improve bones and teeth strength, nerve and muscle function, and normal blood clotting. As the growing baby needs a considerable content of calcium, your body will extract it from the bones if you don’t consume sufficient through your diet (it may result in future problems like osteoporosis).
Rich sources of calcium are puddings, cream soups, yogurt, cheese, and milk. Some calcium is also present in dried peas, beans, seafood, and green veggies. Have at least 4 servings of dairy products regularly.
- A complement to nutrition
- Prenatal vitamins
Although the nutrients and vitamins required in pregnancy must mainly come from your diet, a regular prenatal vitamin can help in filling small gaps if you unknowingly don’t receive sufficient key nutrients. If possible, have prenatal vitamins up to 3 months before contraception.
Discuss the most suitable supplement with your health provider. Don’t forget that prenatal vitamins or other supplements can only complement your healthy diet in pregnancy.
Sample of a daily healthy menu
A healthy sample menu is given below to provide you with some idea of the typical foods to be consumed by a pregnant woman daily to create a healthy diet in pregnancy. 3 light snacks and 3 small and balanced meals throughout the day can work well as a thumb rule for ensuring that you and the baby’s daily nutritional requirements are adequately met.
- Breakfast
1 cup of skim milk, 2 tsp of jam, 1 slice of whole-wheat toast, banana, and oatmeal cereal.
Snack
Grapes and 1 cup of yogurt.
- Lunch
Turkey (if it’s deli meat, don’t consume it cold; heat to steaming for avoiding Listeria), 1 cup of skim milk, pear, a small bag of potato chips and cheese sandwich with whole wheat bread.
Snack
Raw vegetables with a low-calorie dip.
- Dinner
1 cup of skim milk, 1 cup of vegetables, 1 cup of wild rice, and 4 Oz of chicken.
Snack
Low-fat or frozen yogurt or fresh fruits.
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