What Is Safe To Eat And Not To During Pregnancy

What Is Safe To Eat And Not To During Pregnancy

18 May 2022 | 3 min Read

Tinystep

Author | 2574 Articles

Pregnancy is the time when a woman needs to take eat for herself and her baby as well. It is the mother’s body that creates and nurtures the baby in the womb. So it is essential for a pregnant woman to take extra care of her lifestyle, particularly what she eats- for her own and her baby’s health.

WHAT TO EAT?

1. Carbohydrates

Carbohydrate is the delivery boy of energy. These must be part of all the meals you have. These include potatoes, rice and bread.

2. Unsaturated fats.

Unsaturated fats are the good fats that neither increase the bad cholesterol nor accumulate in your body. Ditch the refined vegetable oils as they have bad fats (saturated fats) and rather use virgin olive oil, peanut oil or sunflower oil. Other foods that are rich in unsaturated fats are avocados, dry fruits, nuts, salmon, oils, flax seeds, etc.

3. Proteins.

Protein is important for the formation of baby’s muscles and the repair that goes on in your body. Foods rich in protein like seafood, fish, lean meat, eggs, tofu, nuts, beans, soy products and lentils should be the ones you should be eating regularly during pregnancy.

4. Vitamins and Minerals.

During pregnancy, the deficiency of minerals and vitamins is quite common because of the high demand of these essential elements. It is better to keep these stocked up. Calcium and zinc are the ones you should be really focusing on. Dairy products, broccoli, soybeans and kale are super Calcium rich foods. And foods that are high in Zinc are chicken, shrimp, crab, dairy products, ginger, onions, cereals, wheat germ, tofu, eggs, rice and sunflower seeds.

5. Fibres.

Fibres in diet help to ease your bowel movements during pregnancy as constipation does not sit well during these months. The fibre-rich foods are wholegrain bread, fruits, vegetables and pulses.

WHAT NOT TO EAT?

1. During pregnancy you should not eat raw or undercooked meat as it could be home to an array of bacteria.

2. Avoid eating fish that have high levels of mercury as this could harm your baby’s brain and might lead to impairment. The examples of such fish are tuna, shark, swordfish and tilefish.

3. Do not eat raw eggs or foods containing raw eggs a they could cause salmonella which is a kind of bacterial infection.

4. Unpasteurized milk can also harm you so do drink milk but only that is pasteurized.

5. Caffeine should be totally avoided during the first trimester and even later, it’s quantity should not go beyond 200 mg a day. Some studies have shown that caffeine might lead to miscarriages. So better safe than sorry.

6. Alcohol should be given up during pregnancy as no amount of it is considered safe during this phase.

GENERAL TIPS

1. Always eat washed fruits and vegetables.

2. Your diet should be balanced with all the nutrients in it and not just some of them.

3. Give up the habit of snacking just to pass time. And opt for healthy snacks like sweet potato, homemade light foods, nuts and fruits rather candies or other packaged foods.

4. And of course, drink lots of water.

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Suggestions offered by doctors on BabyChakra are of advisory nature i.e., for educational and informational purposes only. Content posted on, created for, or compiled by BabyChakra is not intended or designed to replace your doctor's independent judgment about any symptom, condition, or the appropriateness or risks of a procedure or treatment for a given person.