List of Good Foods for Expecting Mothers
Pregnancy is the best time for you to change your diet regime and adopt healthy eating habits. With the baby growing healthily inside your tummy, you know everything you eat matters the most to him or her, thereby giving you that extra determination to do it correctly. Generally, the best foods for pregnant women are beneficial for all. Eating right is important during pregnancy as the little one needs just a bit more great nutrients to grow healthily. And it should all start from as early as first trimester and second trimester.
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Eggs
The dietician author of the book “Expect the Best, Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During and After Pregnancy” Elizabeth Ward recommends eggs for expecting mothers. With just 90 kcal, an egg provides no less than 12 important vitamins and minerals. It is a good source of essential proteins, which aid in cell growth in your baby.
While preventing NTDs or neural tube defects, adding eggs in your recipes are good for brain health and overall growth of your baby as eggs are packed with choline. Ward is not convinced that cholesterol found in natural food like eggs can be harmful to your body if consumed in moderate quantity; at least not as harmful as consuming food with high saturated fat, where eggs are low in. 1-2 eggs daily in a low-saturated-diet should not be a problem for an ordinary woman during pregnancy.
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Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds are also one of the best foods for pregnant women. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid or DHA. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential to human body as we need them to metabolize some fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E and K. Human body cannot produce the fatty acids and have to depend on food as a major supply.
DHA is a vital component in retina and brain. Sufficient intake of DHA-rich foods by expecting mothers are critical to the development of eyes and brain of their babies. Usually, you do not take flaxseeds alone in high quantity. Just sprinkle it over your cereals, soups and other snacks.
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Kidney Beans
Kidney beans are among the top food choices for pregnant women. They are a great source of carbohydrates and low-fat protein. Good amount of protein is needed especially to help your baby to build new cells to grow. Kidney beans are high in fiber and help to regulate the digestive tract for better gastrointestinal health and avoid constipation.
Rich in iron, it is a food you can't afford to miss during pregnancy. According to Mayo Clinic, a cup of boiled kidney beans supply around 5 mg of iron. When you are pregnant, you need a daily iron intake of 27 mg.
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Salmon
According to research done by the University of Granada, two servings of salmon weekly are what you need to reach the minimum recommended level of omega-3 fatty acid during pregnancy. Salmon consumption raises not only the levels of omega-3 fatty acids in both mother and child, but also the levels of antioxidant defenses, as a result of retinol (vitamin A) and selenium content in the fish. Retinol and selenium levels were noticeably increased in plasma of pregnant women, while selenium levels were also increased in the babies. Researchers suggested that the rise of antioxidant defenses help prevent oxidative stress during pregnancy.
It is very important for pregnant women to know that too much intake of preformed vitamin A (usually found in animal sources including eggs, milk and liver) can be dangerous. A safer source of vitamin A can be obtained via fruits and vegetables in the form of carotenoids, which are converted by your body to vitamin A when needed.
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Cereals
Cereals provide expecting mothers with an array of essential nutrients, especially those fortified with calcium and iron. According to the USDA, A 3-quarter cup of specially fortified cereal contributes 18 mg out of 27 mg iron required by pregnant women. At the same time, it also offers 400 mcg of folic acid, out of the recommended 800 mcg. Then, a cup of cereal fortified with calcium provides with 100-1,000 mg out of 1,000 mg calcium required by pregnant women.
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