Best Way to Eat Healthy During Pregnancy

For healthiest pregnancy eating, follow the rules of the USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid. That means eating foods high in protein and complex carbohydrates and low in fat and sugar. If you’re a vegetarian and/or do not eat dairy products or meat, you need to talk to your doctor to make sure you’re getting enough B-12, a vitamin found only in meat and milk. You will also want to boost your consumption of foods that are high in calcium, iron, and fiber.

Increase Calcium

Everyone needs calcium to build and replenish bones and muscles. Calcium is also important to your baby’s development in utero. All women need calcium throughout their lives but many find it hard to take in enough. Women of childbearing age should have about 1000 milligrams of calcium daily, whether they’re pregnant or not.

The easiest way to add calcium to your diet is to increase your con­sumption of dairy products. To minimize fat intake, drink skim or low-fat milk and eat low-fat cheeses and yogurts. If you are lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy, salmon and sardines are good sources of calcium. If you follow a vegetarian diet that does not include dairy, increase your consumption of dark green leafy vegetables such as collard greens, turnip greens, and kale, and include more legumes such as dried beans and peas.

Other sources for calcium include nuts and seeds, cooked rhubarb, acorn squash, and tofu. Spinach, while high in calcium, also contains oxalic acid, which may inhibit the body’s ability to absorb the cal­cium. If you feel you don’t take in enough calcium daily, you should ask yourOBprovider about taking supplements such as calcium citrate or carbonate.

Increase Iron

Iron is important in the formation of new blood cells for both mother and baby and to prevent anemia in the mother. The recom­mended minimum daily allowance for women who are not preg­nant is 15 milligrams. For pregnant women the RDA doubles to 30 milligrams!

Beef liver, clams, oysters, roast beef, hamburger, sardines, canned tuna, ham, chicken, eggs, almonds, and peanut butter are good sources of iron. Many commercial cereals have been fortified with vitamins and minerals, including iron. Fruits high in iron are dried apricots, raisins, prunes, and prune juice. Vegetables high in iron include spinach, potatoes, peas, acorn squash, brussels sprouts, dan­delion greens, broccoli, lima beans, and tomato juice. Eating foods high in vitamin C at the same time as eating foods high in iron will help your body absorb more iron.