Healthy Diet During Pregnancy

A healthy diet during pregnancy doesn't mean that you should lessen the foods you eat. This is different from the usual diet programs that you have followed when you were still single. Your body, most especially at this time, needs a higher calorie intake.

There may be some women who regularly have vegan diet or who are vegetarians. They may want to know if they have to change to the regular foods. The good news is that these two types of diets work just fine for pregnant women. There are many protein alternatives for replacing meat for the two diets. You will have many ways to have complete nutrition scheme during pregnancy with both diets.

You are going to gain an average of 20-35 pounds no matter what. And it is not unusual for women to gain even 45. A friend of mine who is vegetarian, she gained that much and she is tall and very skinny. I don't think you can really control too much of the weight gain to the pound, but you can control if you will gain 40 or 60 pounds. And this of course is done with a healthy diet during pregnancy.

Avoid skipping meals. If you have a habit of skipping breakfast, you'll find that you are not only more fatigued but ravenous during your pregnancy, which will result in overeating. Be sure that you eat each meal every day.

Try eating several mini meals throughout the day. This will not only help you feel fuller longer, it will help minimize the nausea often experienced during the first trimester.

Iron is most essential in the body and in brain cells, it prevents imbalances of enzymes and neurotransmitters in the brain. Without enough iron, the body can't make enough red blood cells. The red blood cells are in charge of delivering oxygen to all its cells and through out the body so that tissues and organs can function well. Babies with low levels of iron may grow up with brain deficiencies.

We are not saying you should not indulge from time to time, but a healthy desert is a frozen yogurt and a bad desert is chocolate fudge Sunday with extra toppings.

Keep your canned food intake to a minimum, and if you can eliminate it fully, then that's ideal. Further, make sure you drink 8 to 10 glasses of water every day. This will help your body stay clean and pure and flush out all the toxins and excess water and fat out of your body.

Physical activity in this period generally decreases, and thus, leads to more weight problems. As much as possible, try to walk and remain active. Always drink plenty of water and eat loads of fruit. Pregnancy should be a wonderful experience and not a time of dietary checks, yet it is very important to watch what you eat.

While everyone knows that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, the American Dietetic Association recommends that a pregnant mother increase her fruit and vegetable servings from five to seven a day. Fat content should also be limited as much as possible, and any food with poor nutritional value should always be avoided.

You will be advised by your doctor as to what a good weight gain is, and to that effect you should adjust accordingly your diet during pregnancy so that you gain weight sensibly. Otherwise you might find that after your have baby that the weight stubbornly refuses to come off, and you will have a harder time of it in the end.