The essential nutrients for a pregnant woman

For some of you women it will be difficult to change your diet during pregnancy because very often you have the wrong eating habits.
In this article you will find below a list of foods that can help you during this wonderful time.

Foods to choose

Cereals 

Choose organically grown grains. Take them in the form of bread, pasta, wheat, millet rice, barley, porridge.

Verdure

Vegetables should make up 40% of your daily diet and you can choose all vegetables (raw or cooked) except potatoes.
For potatoes, avoid the green ones, and never combine them with pasta and bread. Eat dark green, red and orange colored vegetables.
The celery, beetroot and carrot juices are excellent.
If you want to cook vegetables, choose to roast them or cook them in the steam or oven.

Fruit

You should have two or 3 fruits a day (the size of an apple). Dried fruit is best avoided.

Protein 

You need to consume two medium servings a day. Very important to guarantee the baby an optimal weight at birth. At each meal, choose between: Nuts, cereals/seeds, Legumes/leguminous plants.. for example rice and beans.
The meat must be organic. Chicken, for example, must not be raised in batteries because it is fed with foods full of hormones and antibiotics. Discard the skin to avoid fats. Red meats can be eaten but in moderation because they contain pesticides and pollutants. Offal may contain chemical hormones.
Fish must be healthy such as salmon, trout, cod and herring. Instead, limit the tuna that can be contaminated with mercury.
Eggs do not eat more than two or three a week and only if you are not allergic.
Eat milk and dairy products sparingly, alternatively choose goat or soy products. Yogurt is fine as long as it’s yogurt with no added sugar.

Water

Aim to drink 12 glasses of filtered, purified, or bottled water every day.

Foods to avoid

Green Potatoes: Avoid green potatoes as they are toxic.

Fats and fried foods : Avoid animal fats and heated oils. Avoid margarine that contains chemical additives.

Foods containing additives : These are all canned, packaged or bottled products because they have preservatives and substances that are used to keep the color, smell or texture intact.

Coffee and tea : You can start with two cups of tea a day and try to cut out coffee. Replace these with herbal infusions or a nice fruit juice.

To avoid Listeriosis, don’t eat:

• Hot dogs or dishes for sale in delicatessens.
• raw milk or foods containing it.
• unpasteurized cheeses
• smoked fish.

To avoid toxoplasmosis, remember to control the cooking temperature of meat and chicken as follows:
– Pork, beef, veal and lamb at 63°C
– Chicken at 77°C

Other considerations to make are:
Remember to eat a hearty breakfast, prepare lunch from home, keep only healthy snacks on hand, write down tasty and healthy recipes,
Instead of supplements you can simply choose the vitamin food you need , you are lacking or you want to integrate.

Where are vitamins contained?

Vitamin A→  red, orange and green vegetables.
Vitamin E→  whole grains and rice, oatmeal, sunflower/sesame/soybean seeds and salmon
Vitamin D→  Sardines, salmon, shrimp, eggs, mushrooms.
B vitamins →  whole grains, seafood, eggs, nuts, white meats.
Folic acid→  Beans, broccoli, spinach, lentils.
Vitamin C→  spinach, broccoli, red cabbage, grapes, citrus fruits, parsley.
Calcium→  cheeses, whole milk, yoghurt, goat’s milk, beets, parsley, almonds, walnuts, salmon and sardines.
Magnesium→ bran, wheat germ, millet, brown rice, almonds, hazelnuts, spinach, cashews, parsley, beets, avocado, tofu.
Potassium→  broccoli, mafra beef, corn, chicken, dried figs, walnuts, dates.
Iron→ lean beef, seaweed, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, dandelion greens, parsley, egg yolk, Swiss chard, beets, walnuts.

In closing, during pregnancy you must pay attention to nutrition not only for your health but you must also do it for your child.