Research consistently shows that diet and health are very closely linked and that a balanced and varied diet can protect us against from nearly all known disease as well as ensuring good energy levels and a positive mental outlook on life.

Food and nutrition are also key factors in supporting a healthy pregnancy. Many anxieties and distressing health problems that can occur in pregnancy can be linked to dietary habits and intakes of critical nutrients.

The pregnancy and pre-conceptual periods are likely to be the most important nutritional periods in any woman’s life. Sensible dietary choices and a good antenatal supplement regime will enable the mother to relax in the knowledge that they have all the nutrients they need and that they have ensured that one of the most important influences in their babies health and development is taken care of.

How to Eat a Healthy Diet

A healthy diet should contain a wide range of nutrients to help support the growth and development of the baby, as well as the mother’s health.

It’s important to eat regularly, little and often, particularly as the pregnancy progresses. The growing baby’s needs are constant, and long gaps between meals and snacks may cause dizziness, energy dips and headaches, possibly nausea as well.

• Eat 5 fruit and vegetables a day.
  • Try to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetable, not just the same ones day in and day out. it’s really useful to choice different colours of fruit and vegetables as, in addition to the vitamins and minerals the different varieties contain, it’s often the bio-active molecules that create the colour that are the health promoting components in fruits and vegetables.
  • Aim to eat 2-3 fruits a day. Wash fruit well to remove any surface germs and chemicals.
  • Aim to eat 2-3 portions of vegetables a day. As before, wash and/or peel vegetables. Vegetables can be eaten raw (but be careful if you are on holiday abroad), or cooked.  If you don’t steam vegetables already, pregnancy is a great time to invest in a steamer, just the insert that goes into a saucepan will do fine, but this cooking method ensures that essential nutrients, such as vitamin C and potassium, are not lost in the cooking water.
  • Fruits and vegetables can be fresh, frozen, tinned, pureed or as a juice- variety and minimal processing are the key factors.
• Eat 3 portions of Dairy Produce a day:
  • Try to eat a source of dairy produce such as milk, cheese, yogurt, throughout the day. Dairy produce can inhibit the absorption of iron which is a key mineral in pregnancy, so it’s a good idea to eat dairy produce as snacks or desserts rather than with your main meal. For example, a glass of milk before bed may help you sleep as well as give you the calcium and other nutrients you need for your baby.
  • Dairy produce can be ‘fat free’ low fat’ or regular, depending on your energy needs. Low fat dairy produce does not contain less calcium, in fact usually slightly more and the calcium in low fat produce is more ‘usable’ within the body.
  • Take a look at the ‘Essential Nutrients for A Healthy Pregnancy’ section for more information on Calcium sources.

• Eat Plenty of Fibre.

Pregnancy hormones and changes in food preferences can cause digestive discomfort and constipation. Including a source of fibre at each meal will help maintain a healthy gut function and assist in the digestion of foods and the absorption of nutrients.

• Fibre has an important role in health and it is important to eat 3-5 portions of fibre each day. There are two main types of fibre: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre is found mainly in oats, fruits and vegetables, lentils and is very important for gut health. Insoluble fibre keeps us ‘regular’, as your Granny would say, although take care not to increase your insoluble fibre intake without also ensuring that you have enough fluid each day or just the opposite can happen! Avoiding constipation is really important as regular bowel movements ensure that waste products, toxic compounds and other elements are removed from the body regularly and efficiently without enabling them to hang around and cause any unwanted effects.
• Regular Intakes of Protein.
  • Protein is best eaten ‘little and often’ as this allows the body a consistent source of amino acids for repair, growth, immunity and hormonal functions in both mother and baby.
  • There are two classifications of protein:
    • Animal and fish sources including red meats, chicken, eggs. These sources offer a complete profile of amino acids and are often rich in additional nutrients such as iron, zinc and B vitamins.
    • Vegetable sources of protein (beans, lentils, nuts and seeds) contain a number of amino acids, but are not complete. It is therefore important that people who rely partially or solely on vegetable sources of proteins need to eat a variety of sources to ensure that they have all the amino acids needed.
• A Good Fluid Intake.
  • Fluid requirements increase during pregnancy. The increased turnover and excretion of metabolites and waste products within the mother increases her need for fluid, and as the baby‘s circulatory system develops so does their blood volume which increases the need for fluid even more.
  • Dehydration can quickly lead to a build up of unwanted waste products, headaches and dizziness.
  • Ideal fluids are water, milk, weak squash, diluted fruit juices, green tea and fruit teas.
  • Try to limit caffeine containing drinks (Cola, coffee, tea) to a minimum as these can affect foetal growth.

  Signs of dehydration
  If you think you might not be getting enough fluids, check if you are showing any of these other common signs of dehydration:

  • dark coloured urine and not passing much when you go to the toilet
  • headaches
  • confusion and irritability
  • lack of concentration.
• Choosing Carbohydrates for Energy Balance
  • Carbohydrates (sugar, starch, soluble fibre, insoluble fibre) are key for energy release.
  • It’s also important to eat a healthy mix of carbohydrate to balance blood sugars and maintain regular energy release.
  • As a guide instant release carbohydrates that are high in simple sugars should be eaten in small amounts and where possible mixed with slow release carbohydrate.
  • When pregnant it is useful to eat little and often, as the pregnancy progresses you may not have any choice! Glucose blood sugar levels can drop quickly in between meals when you are pregnant and this can cause dizziness and light-headedness. If you feel like this it is best to eat a quick acting sugar (listed in the Quick Energy Release section) which will boost blood sugars quickly. Soon after it is a good idea to eat a Slow Energy Release Food which will sustain a more constant flow of sugar into the blood.
  • The following table can be used as a simple guide to help you make carbohydrate choices.

  The Glycaemic Index of Foods

  

• Choosing Dietary Fats Wisely - The current advice for the general population is to eat at least two portions of oily fish each week. The advice for women that are hoping to conceive, pregnant or breastfeeding is the same, but limited to no more than two portions a week.  These recommendations are based on the beneficial effects of the long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in oily fish. Amongst other benefits these omega-3 fatty acids are required for the development of the central nervous system of the foetus and infant and so are very important for pregnant or breastfeeding women. Pre-conceptual women have an opportunity to increase omega-3 levels prior to pregnancy either in changes to food intake or through taken appropriate daily supplements such as DHAPure Pregnancy.The Food Standards Agency has set a limit of two portions of oily fish per week for pregnant women because of the risk of exposure to pollutants, such as mercury, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Such compounds can accumulate in the body over time and are best avoided if possible. More information is available in the ‘Food Safety and Hygiene in Pregnancy/Fish’ section of the website.Omega- 3 fatty acids are essential for the development of a healthy baby and this creates a difficult choice for pregnant women because the benefits of oily fish must be considered alongside the problems associated with any contaminant present.For this reason it is sensible for pregnant women to consume their omega-3 fatty acids through supplementation. High grade omega-3 supplements are extensively purified to ensure virtually all contaminants, such as dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are removed. Therefore, supplements provide a safe method of consuming health promoting omega-3 fatty acids to mother and baby without risk or worry.The fetal brain grows rapidly during the third trimester of pregnancy, a process which requires DHA, as does the development of the retina and therefore, an omega-3 supplement, with a high concentration of DHA, is particularly important at this time. Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids (FA) during pregnancy has also been found to lower the risk of premature birth and increase the length of pregnancy and birth weight. Furthermore, intake of omega-3 FA during pregnancy and breast feeding may facilitate infant brain development and there is also some evidence that supplementation with omega-3 FA might help to prevent pre-eclampsia, post-natal depression, menopausal problems, post-menopausal osteoporosis, and breast cancer.Juliet Wilson DHAPure Pregnancy is a premium, highly purified, pharmaceutically graded omega-3 supplement, with high concentrations of DHA. This advanced hypo-allergenic formula is designed to provide you with peace of mind – all through fertility, conception, pregnancy and breastfeeding. Visit our shop if you would like to purchase DHAPure Pregnancy or other nutritional products from the Juliet Wilson Nutrition range.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 at 4:22 AM and is filed under Pregnancy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.