Food in Pregnancy

General principles on diet during pregnancy

Nutrition includes everything we eat, drink, smoke and inhale - all the elements that our bodies absorb, utilise, store and excrete. Optimal nutrition is about moderation and balance rather than deprivation and starvation.
What we eat contains carbohydrates (sugars), both simple (good for you) and complex (bad for you), fats - saturated (bad for you) and unsaturated (good for you), proteins, a range of vitamins and minerals. There are also additives in many non¬organic foods - pesticides, chemicals and hormones.
For pregnancy it's particularly important to eat healthily and to keep well stocked on vitamins and minerals. Particularly important minerals are calcium (for bones), zinc (for fetal development), iron (to support the blood's oxygen level) and folic acid (baby's neurological development).
Nutrition is not about dieting, it is about maintaining good health and fitness and alleviating many of the physiological symptoms that result from eating badly.
What you eat doesn't only affect your health - it also affects your moods, your baby's growth and your relationships, your weight, your susceptibility to illness, your appearance, your energy levels and your sleeping pattern. What's more, what you eat may reduce allergies for both you and your baby.
How your baby is nourished during pregnancy is determined by your own health and everything you consume. Carbohydrates, proteins, sugars, minerals, vitamins and fats all cross the placenta into your baby's blood stream. In some respects, babies act as "parasites", taking all the nutrients needed even if a mother's own stores are depleted. Yet research evidence does show that deficiencies of vitamins and minerals in the mother or excesses of toxic metals (such as lead or mercury) may effect the baby's well-being.

Good eating habits during pregnancy

• Eat small amounts, every 3-4 hours - avoid the rollercoaster of sugar highs and lows
• Avoid dieting
• Eat slow burning meals and snacks - avoid sugary and fast foods
• Eat organic whenever possible - avoid additives, chemicals and hormones
• Use olive oil and margarine - avoid fry-ups and saturated animal fat
• Get minerals and vitamins from organic fruit and vegetables and/or take supplements
• Indulge in nuts, seeds, beans and pulses,
• Prefer fresh fruit and vegetables
• Drink good quality water and herb or fruit teas - avoid caffeine and tannin

What you should eat and what to avoid

Prefer to eat

• Fresh vegetables, including skins
• Raw, steamed or stir-fried vegetables and salads
• Fresh, whole fruits (3 daily - avoid excess fructose)
• Wholemeal bread & pasta, brown rice and wholegrains
• Organic Poultry and less meat
• Beans and pulses
• Free range eggs (well cooked)
• Fish - especially oily fish
• Yoghurt, in moderation
• Nuts and seeds in their natural state (without salt)
• Olive oil - for salads and cooking

Avoid to eat

• Liver & cod liver oil (excess of vitamin A)
• Meat pâtes
• Unpasteurised soft or blue cheeses (Camembert, Brie, Stilton...)
• Raw Eggs - including mayonnaise & mousse made with eggs
• Raw meat & raw fish
• Peanuts - check food labels carefully (allergies)
• Cigarettes (active or passive smoking)
• Alcohol

Consume in reduce quantities

• Biscuits, cakes, white bread and white pasta and white rice
• Chocolates, sweets and crisp
• Sugar and salt
• Saturated Animal Fats (Sausages, burgers, bacon and fatty meat)
• Food fried in animal fats
• Tea & Coffee
• Colas and concentrated fruit juices in cartons (unless heavily diluted with water)
• Foods containing preservatives additives, colourings, stabilizers and chemicals with E numbers.

What’s in Food

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrate is another word for sugar. The body breaks down carbohydrates to release glucose, which gives energy for body cells to function. Some carbohydrates have a fast¬-burning effect and others have a slow-burning effect.

Slow-burning complex carbohydrates
They are found in plants, wholegrains (such as oats, whole wheat and brown rice, millet, barley and corn), beans and pulses, whole vegetables and nuts and seeds. Because they must be broken down by digestion, they provide energy for long periods, giving a smoother feeling of wellbeing, and protect against hypoglycaemia. They are the foundation of a good daily diet.

Fast-burning simple carbohydrates
They are found in soft drinks, colas, fruit juices, sweets, chocolate, white flour, biscuits, cakes and other foods containing refined sugar. They contribute to hypoglycaemia and are the most common cause of excessive weight gain, because the sugar not used as energy is stored as fat. Generally, they should be kept to a minimum. To make it easier to eat slow-burning foods you may need to exclude fast-burners from your home.

Proteins

Proteins consist of amino acids and are essential for the function of every cell in your body. You could not survive without them. There are eight essential amino acids that you cannot make in your body so you have to eat them. Proteins are present in many foods, but the concentration is highest in meat, fish, eggs, many vegetables, beans and pulses, nuts, cereals and grains. Soya beans (tofu) contain the full complement of amino acids essential to build proteins. Vegetarians can get all the protein they need from plant sources. During the ninth month of pregnancy, your baby is putting on weight at the rate of up to 50 g (2 oz) per day, so sufficient protein and calorie intake is important.

Fats

Fat in moderation is good for you and essential fatty acids are crucial for health. Fat keeps you warm, insulates nerve cells and is a component of every cell in your body. What matters is the distinction between saturated and unsaturated fat.
Unsaturated fats
These provide essential fatty acids to allow the enzyme systems in the body cells to function optimally. Unsaturated fats are oils and do not coagulate. There are two main types, both important to normal health; the Omega 3 oils are derived from vegetable sources (nuts, seeds) and the Omega 6 oils are from oily fish and linseeds and dark green vegetables.
The purest 'cold¬pressed' unsaturated vegetable oils, squeezed out during pressing without heating, come from sources including sesame and sunflower seeds, corn, walnuts and olives. Olive oil is best for cooking because when heated it does not form carcinogenic free radicals.
Το get sufficient essential fatty acids, have α handful of nuts or seeds or α salad dressing made with α cold-pressed oil each day, or try three meals α week of oily fish (mackerel, sardines or salmon). Αn alternative is to take αn essential fatty acid supplement.

Saturated fat
This is not necessary in α nutritious diet, and in large quantities can cause harm. Not easily digestible, this form of fat tends to increase the risk of heart attacks. Saturated fats are usually derived from animal products such as butter, lard and red meat. Deep-fried food and fatty meat is best avoided. Saturated fat is also found in hydrogenated margarine as trans-fat, αn artificially modified and plastic¬like fat, which does not occur naturally in such high levels.

Fibre

Fibre aids digestion and promotes intestinal movement. It also helps to balance blood sugar levels, removes toxins from your body and reduces the risk of bowel disorders, cancer and heart disease. By increasing the feeling of fullness, fibrous food will reduce your desire to eat excessively. Υου'll get fibre from your diet if you eat complex carbohydrates that also contain fibre: these include grains, brown rice, wheat, oats and millet, skins and ρυlp of fruit, vegetables and salads and nuts and seeds. Linseeds added to cereal or salads add fibre, help prevent constipation and also contain essential fatty acids.

Vitamins

Vitamins Α, Β, C, D, Ε and Κ act in conjunction with minerals and enzymes to help the body's metabolic system work as efficiently as possible. The human body cannot function without them. They occur naturally in many vegetables and fruits, particularly in the skins and in green leafy vegetables. It is safer to eat the skins of organic fruits and vegetables as these do not contain pesticides. It is possible, however, to destroy or reduce the vitamin content of vegetables by overcooking, so steam or stir-fry instead boiling, or eat raw.

Vitamin Α
Essential for the skin and mucus membranes, it is present in vegetables, dairy products and liver. Avoid liver, pâte and liver oil in pregnancy because of high concentrations of vitamin Α, and if you take vitamin supplements ensure they contain less than 10,000 IU of retinol. Excess may affect fetal brain and eye development.

Vitamin Β
The Β vitamins affect the nervous system, mucus membranes, digestion, oxidation, cholesterol levels, fluid retention and blood cell formation. Vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, eggs, poultry, fish and milk αll contain elements of the vitamin Β complex.

Folic acid
This is α Β vitamin that assists α growing baby's neurological development in the womb and reduces the chance of spina bifida. Fresh or steamed vegetables such as broccoli, sprouts, asparagus and spinach are α rich source of folic acid. The recommended dose of 0.4 mg (400 mcg) per day is particularly important during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and before conception. Regardless of diet, all women are advised to take folic acid supplements daily during this time.

Vitamin C
This helps oxidation and prevents infection, is an anti¬pollutant, boosts connective tissue, reduces cancer risk and is important in iron absorption. It is present in all raw fruits and vegetables. Excess vitamin C may be harmful: the maximum safe dose is 1000-1500 mg daily.

Vitamin D
Necessary for calcium absorption and skeletal development, it is an important factor in guarding against osteoporosis. It is made in the skin by exposure to the sun, and is found in liver, dairy products and eggs and it may be added to bread during baking.

Vitamin E

This assists normal blood clotting, tissue healing and skin oxygenation. It is found in wholegrains, dairy products, Soya beans and many seeds.

Vitamin K

Essential for normal blood clotting, vitamin K is made by bacteria in the bowel. However, newborn babies do not have bacteria for a few days so currently vitamin K is given at birth.

Minerals (Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, etc)

Minerals are essential to wellbeing. Each one performs a specific task, maintaining your health while supporting the development of your baby.

Iron
In combination with other minerals and vitamins, iron is instrumental in maintaining sufficient haemoglobin levels to allow the blood to carry oxygen around the body. Low iron levels are common during pregnancy because the baby absorbs large amounts of iron to form muscles and blood, so it's important to increase your intake of iron-rich foods such as meat, seaweed, green leafy vegetables, spinach and cabbage, raw vegetables and salad, beans, pulses, tofu, millet and lentils.
If you take iron supplements, it is best to take them an hour before a meal and decrease tea, which prevents iron absorption. Iron supplements are widely available from chemists or health food shops if you need a boost.

Calcium
Intake of calcium is vital during pregnancy because your baby needs calcium to form strong bones. It is present in meat, many vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, pulses, seaweed and dairy products. Routine calcium supplementation is not essential and women who do not eat dairy products can obtain calcium from vegetable sources. Food additives and processing, sweet fizzy drinks (which contain phosphates), sparkling water and bran wheat or oats interfere with calcium absorption.

Magnesium
This is an essential mineral acting with calcium in your baby's bone. This mineral is also used by other tissues and cells in the body. Magnesium is found in sprouted seeds, leafy vegetables, seaweed, nuts, avocado, dates and apricots.

Zinc, selenium
Together with other 'trace minerals', these are extremely important in fetal development since they are integral to the make-up of every cell. Zinc plays a vital role in cell division, and zinc deficiency can block folic acid absorption. Zinc is in pumpkin seeds, wholewheat, rye, oats, almonds and peas. Selenium is an antioxidant and helps in normal function of the chromosomes. Selenium is found in tuna, sesame seeds, avocados and grains.