Eat Healthy During Pregnancy for You and Your Baby

One of the best things you can do for yourself and your baby is to eat healthy during pregnancy. The food you eat is your baby’s only source of nutrition.

Your body’s main source of energy comes from the essential carbohydrates in grains. You should choose at least nine servings of grains per day. Review the following list of grain servings:

• 1 cup cold cereal
• ½ cup cooked cereal, pasta or rice
• 1 slice bread
• ½ English muffin
• ½ small bagel
• 6 crackers

Foods enriched with whole grains provide you with fiber, iron, B vitamins, various minerals and protein. Ways of including whole grains in your diet include:

• Trading sugary cereal and white bread for whole-grain cereals
• Brown rice instead of white rice
• Whole-wheat pasta

Read food labels to be sure whole grains are listed first in the ingredients (whole-wheat flour, not simply wheat flour). Fruits and vegetables provide you with Vitamin C and fiber as well as many other vitamins and minerals. Vitamin C also promotes healthy gums and other tissues for both you and your baby. Other important nutrients during pregnancy are Vitamin A, iron and folic acid.

You should choose three or more servings of fruit and four or more servings of vegetables per day.

Servings include:

• 1 medium-sized piece of fruit
• ½ cup fresh, frozen or canned fruit
• ¼ cup dried fruit
• 1 cup raw, leafy vegetables
• ½ cup cooked or other raw vegetables
• ¾ cup fruit or vegetable juice
• 1 small baked potato

If you are tired of canned and fresh fruit, try dried fruits. There are several different fruits available such as apricots, cherries, strawberries, blueberries. Blueberries and strawberries are packed with antioxidants. I just love the dry pineapples! Protein is extra important for your baby’s growth especially during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Choose at least three servings of protein-rich foods a day. These foods include choices in the meat, poultry, fish, eggs and beans category.

A serving includes:

• 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish
• ½ cup cooked dried beans
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup nuts
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter

And don’t forget the dairy products that helps build your baby’s bones and teeth as well as keeps your bones and teeth healthy. Calcium-fortified soy milk is a good choice during pregnancy. Choose three or more servings a day. Servings include:

• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 ½ ounces natural cheese (about the size of six dice)
• 2 ounces processed cheese
• Calcium-fortified orange juice
• Some bottled waters contain a little calcium per bottle

Indulge in fats, oils and sweets only once in a while during pregnancy. Keep an eye on portion size.

Your doctor will probably also prescribe a daily vitamin. Even women who eat a healthy diet daily may miss out on some nutrients. A daily vitamin can help fill in the gaps. There are also special supplements your doctor may recommend if you have any kind of a chronic health problem.

Visit us at http://www.babiesandtoddlers1.com About Babies and Toddlers is an article directory all about babies and toddlers available for your information, education and FREE reprints to your newsletters, websites and blogs.

Return to women's health

Native American Herbs to Ease Childbirth
Blue cohosh is a perennial plant found in eastern North America, near running streams, around swamps and in other moist places. The fruit is a pea-sized, dark blue berry borne on a fleshy stock

Herbs for pregnancy and fertility
There are many different causes of infertility in both men and in women. The primary source of infertility in men is a low sperm count. This can be due to constitutional and environmental factors. Chinese medicine can be used to increase circulation and body temperature, which may help improve sperm count

Common Herbs for Fertility
Some common plants that can influence fertility are red clover, partridge berry, life root, wild carrot and wild yam. You can grow these, or buy them at any health food store. Some other plants that have been known to increase or decrease fertility are oat straw, jack-in-the-pulpit, and parsley

Fruit Recipes for Pregnant Women
There are many wonderful fruit salad recipes for you to consider, if you want to satisfy your sweet tooth and eat delicious fruit salads while you are pregnant. But you sure do not have to be pregnant to enjoy them!

Healthy Eating during Pregnancy
One of the best things you can do for yourself and your baby is to eat healthy during pregnancy. The food you eat is your baby’s only source of nutrition

Home remedy for yeast infection
If you have ever had a yeast infection, then you know how irritating it can be. Many women look for a home remedy for yeast infection instead of turning to medications. These remedies are much better for your body because medications can kill off helpful bacteria also. This article will share with you a few home remedies for yeast infection