8 Things You Should be Eating When Pregnant

When a woman gets pregnant there are so many new concerns about what she should be eating when pregnant. The goal is to have a healthy baby and healthy mother at the end of nine months. If you aren’t sure what you should be eating while pregnant, this short list will offer a set of useful suggestions you can incorporate.

1. Fish – Protein is essential during pregnancy, and you want to maximize your nutrition anyway; fish offers excellent nutrition and plenty of protein. Choose wild caught fish that contain low levels of mercury.

Salmon, shrimp, sardines and sole are all good selections. You can find a comprehensive list online. Additionally, studies show that women who eat at least 12 ounces of fish a week during pregnancy have smarter kids.

2. Whole Grains – Sprouted grain breads and tortillas, brown rice, steel cut oats, quinoa, amaranth, spelt and others will all provide extremely healthy carbohydrates for energy and plenty of fiber to keep things moving. Constipation is a very common complaint for pregnant women, and eating whole grains will help reduce the likeliness.

3. Dark Leafy Greens – This one covers several nutritional areas at once. Dark leafy greens will provide plenty of calcium, iron, folic acid and fiber. They also contain several essential vitamins and minerals.

You can at them in any form – stir fried broccoli, spinach salad, kale stirred into soup. Make sure you get enough to provide your elevated needs now that you are expecting. Dark leafy greens make for excellent eating while pregnant.

4. Sweet potatoes, carrots and cantaloupe – Each of these foods is rich in vitamin A. The advantage of obtaining this vitamin from vegetable sources is that they provide the precursor to vitamin A and if you don’t need it, the body won’t convert it. This prevents you from accidentally overdosing. Overdosing can increase the risk of some birth defects.

5. Strawberries – Ok, it doesn’t have to be strawberries, but it does need to be a food rich in vitamin C. Vitamin helps your body to absorb iron. It also aids in tissue repair, wound healing and bone growth and contains antioxidants too. Whether you get your vitamin C from berries, oranges or kiwis, make sure you get enough.

6. Lean Meats – Grass-fed beef or organic chicken provides more of the protein your body needs in order to grow all those little cells. Choosing products that are organically raised means that you won’t be introducing your baby to synthetic hormones and antibiotics before birth. Remember, an awful lot of things can cross the placenta; it is better not to take a chance.

7. Organic, live culture yogurt – While under normal circumstances we would only encourage you to eat raw milk products, they aren’t safe for pregnant women.

If, however, you find that you are among the women who tend to develop yeast infections during pregnancy, eating organic yogurt with live bacterial cultures might help. There is some calcium in yogurt too, which makes it a great choice for eating when pregnant.

8. Cranberry extract – Most fruit juice is essentially sugar water. If you can juice on your own, ensuring that you get the whole fruit in the glass is much better. Otherwise, including a cranberry extract in your daily routine may help cut down on UTIs and other problems that the changes of pregnancy may produce.

Of course this is in no way a comprehensive list. You will need to talk to your doctor, assess your health situation, and determine just how much weight you need to gain and what is the healthiest way to reach that goal.

There is no reason for you to gain unnecessary weight as long as you use common sense and good judgment while eating during pregnant. Eating right during your pregnancy will give you more energy, provide everything your baby needs and taste great as well.