When it comes to pregnancy diets, you want what’s best for your little guy (or girl). While some rules of eating while pregnant are obvious (like no consuming alcohol), there are some foods you should steer clear of as much as possible.But what kind of pregnancy food should you be including in your pregnancy diets? We’re going to go over them below.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a great source of vitamin A, beta carotene, and fiber for you and the baby. Fiber is especially important for you since constipation is not an uncommon symptom among pregnant women. To start your meal planning for pregnancy, click here.
Legumes
What are legumes? In case you haven’t heard of these, legumes are a food group consisting of peas, peanuts, chickpeas, lentils, beans, and soybeans. Another great source of fiber, legumes contain iron, protein, calcium, and folate.
Dairy
Like legumes, dairy contains protein and calcium – two nutrients that will help your baby grow. Even if you’re lactose intolerant, you should still be able to enjoy yogurt. Greek yogurt, in particular, gives you a dose of both calcium and healthy bacteria.
What better pregnancy food is there than yogurt parfaits and smoothies?
As a final note on dairy, be on the lookout for the word “pasteurized.” Since pregnant women are more susceptible to infections, pasteurized dairy is just the thing you need to fight off germs.
Eggs
Eggs should be the staple of all pregnancy diets. Why? They have choline, one of the most important nutrients for your baby’s brain and spinal health. If you consume the recommended amount of choline every day (which is 450 milligrams for pregnant women), a single egg will get you nearly a third of the way there.
Additionally, eggs have many other nutrients you need for eating while pregnant. These include vitamins, protein, fat, and minerals.
Lean Meat
Lean meat is another great pregnancy food for balancing blood sugar and beefing up your protein intake. Not only that, but lean meat protects the red blood cells of both you and the baby because of the iron it contains. Because pregnant women are at risk for anemia, this is a pregnancy food you cannot afford to overlook.
Foods to Avoid
While some meets are perfectly safe for pregnancy diets, stay away from fish meats with mercury. Mercury is a contaminant found in some seafood like swordfish, shark, bigeye tuna, and others.
Opt instead for salmon, which will provide you one of the most overlooked vitamins for pregnancy diets: vitamin D. Freshwater trout, cod, and anchovies are other great low-mercury fish. Foods like raw eggs or uncooked meat are obvious foods to stay away from, but look out for unwashed produce, raw sprout, and organ meats, too.
Unfortunately, you’re going to have to fend off your hankerings for sugary junk food. They’re high in calories and fats and are void of nutrients.
Buy the Best Foods for Pregnancy Diets Today
When it comes to pregnancy diets, there’s a lot to consider. You need to think not only about your own health but the health of your baby.
Thankfully, a little preparation goes a long way. Start planning your pregnancy food today, and keep reading our site for more tips.
