“Eating for two doesn’t mean eating twice as much;
it means being twice as careful about what you eat.”
– Dr. William Sears, M.D. & Martha Sears, R.N.
Pregnancy is one of the most critical times for good nutrition. It doesn’t matter whether you have lived a lifetime of eating healthy or incorporating healthy eating habits because you are pregnant; the positive effects of these food choices are beneficial for mom and baby.
When you include a healthy diet, you will experience fewer pregnancy discomforts, such as morning sickness, constipation, and heartburn. You will be less likely to develop pregnancy-related complications, such as gestational diabetes (diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy), preeclampsia (pregnancy-related high blood pressure), and anemia (low red blood cells). You will also encounter fewer cravings for overly processed high-fat and high-sugar foods and make it easier to take off your pregnancy weight postpartum (following childbirth).
Baby will also benefit from mom’s healthy nutritional choices and experience healthier birth weights, reduce the chance of complications during and after birth, and severely decrease the likelihood of physical, mental, and emotional delays.
As recommended in EAT RIGHT NOW by Dr. Sears, “eating well during pregnancy is much like eating well when you are not pregnant, except that your body needs more of certain nutrients.”
Additional calories during the first trimester are not required. However, during the second trimester, an extra 340 calories are recommended above what you would consume while not pregnant. During the third trimester, you want to increase your total calorie consumption slightly by another 110 calories (450 total) more a day than when not pregnant. Dr. Sears and Dr. Darci, our team Naturopath, recommend focusing on adding more protein, calcium, folic acid in the form of folate, iron, and healthy omega 3’s into your daily meal plan when pregnant.
Please consult your OB/GYN on personal dietary advice and supplementation or set up an appointment with Dr. Darci Davis, our team naturopath, for pregnancy-related supplement guidance and prenatal support.
The extra calories needed during pregnancy make sense, but why should those added calories come from protein, calcium, folate, iron, and omega 3 fatty acids?
High-quality lean proteins such as salmon, chicken, turkey, and lean cuts of beef are good sources of amino acids, necessary building blocks of mom and baby’s body. Also high in protein, if you are not dairy sensitive, are cottage cheese, organic Greek yogurt, and milk. Eggs, tofu, peanuts, nut butter, kidney beans, specific whole-grain cereals, various kinds of pasta, and bread will also provide a source of protein.
Your OB/GYN will most likely recommend a prenatal vitamin, but adding more calcium through real food is the most beneficial way to absorb the calcium you consume. The need for more calcium during pregnancy supports the added load on mom’s bones and maintains a healthy heartbeat and nervous system. This added calcium also helps the baby develop strong bones and teeth. Dr. Sears recommends 1,400 milligrams of calcium per day, which is 800 milligrams more than you would need before or after pregnancy. In addition, scientific studies have shown that pregnant women who consume high calcium-rich foods reduce their chances of developing preeclampsia (high blood pressure) by over 60%.
What are calcium-rich real food choices?
High calcium foods include sardines, dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale, super greens, low-sugar yogurt, cheese, and milk. You will also find orange juices, cereals, and other prepared food products fortified with added calcium. However, you want to consume these in limited amounts to focus on whole and natural food choices.
Folate, or folic acid, is a water-soluble B vitamin essential in reducing the risk of a spinal defect in your baby. Although your OB/GYN will most likely prescribe a prenatal vitamin high in folic acid, there is much you can do to add more to your healthy diet. Naturally occurring folate is found in dark leafy greens, beans, sunflower seeds, eggs, seafood, and various fresh fruits.
An increase in iron is due to your body’s need for more blood during pregnancy. Your body needs hemoglobin to make red blood cells and reduce your risk of anemia (low red blood cells), making you tired and irritable. Natural foods rich in iron include green leafy vegetables, beans and lentils, and tofu. Cashews and baked potatoes are also good sources of irons, but you want to eat these in moderation due to their higher calorie count.
Omega 3’s (EPA/DHA) are very healthy fats found in many cold-water fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and sardines. Walnuts, flax, and chia seeds are other beneficial plant sources of Omega 3 (ALA) healthy fats. The U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health recommends “adequate consumption of omega-3 fatty acids as vitally important during pregnancy as they are critical building blocks of fetal brain and retina”. These critical nutrients, along with lots of fiber and water, will benefit pregnant moms and their growing babies to achieve optimal health and wellness.
Do you see a common theme here? Many green leafy vegetables, seafood and lean proteins, eggs, nuts, and some dairy and fruits. These are the essential elements of a healthy pregnancy diet.
As we focus on what you should eat, it is equally important to review what you should avoid or eliminate to create a beneficial environment for your unborn baby.
Reducing or eliminating highly processed foods, many of which are prepackaged and have a nutritional label on them. My advice to anyone consuming packaged foods is to read the ingredients list and be informed about potentially harmful food additives and chemicals that benefit the food industry by extending shelf life and not helping the health of you or your baby.
Food high in processed sugar includes desserts, low-fat yogurts, condiments such as ketchup and BBQ sauce, juices, sodas, and sports drinks, should be severely reduced or illuminated completely.
Pregnant women should also avoid several non-food toxins. Although these dangers are not food-related, they can still have a potentially devastating effect on your baby if ingested. Harmful toxins to be avoided include alcohol of the slightest amount, smoking of any kind, legal or illegal drug use, and various environmental pollutants.
Harmful toxins such as tobacco can result in low birth weight, premature birth, oxygen deprivation, and increase your baby’s risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Scientific studies have shown that, although not fully understood, many of these terrible SIDS tragedies took place in premature, low birth weight babies born to smoking mothers. So it’s just safer to eliminate the possible cause of potential harm to your unborn or newborn baby.
When pregnant moms consume alcohol, even in small amounts, it goes through the placenta straight to the baby’s blood supply, and the baby cannot eliminate the alcohol as efficiently as a mom can. In addition, various levels of alcohol consumption can lead to a wide range of possible side effects ranging from minor pregnancy complications to the devastating impact of fetal alcohol syndrome in babies born to excessive daily drinking moms. As you do not know what effects alcohol could have on your unborn baby, it’s just safest to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Be mindful of environmental hazards such as cleaning products, insecticides, secondhand smoke, and automobile exhaust. Chances are, your pregnant body will become highly sensitive to various strong smells, and you will feel compelled to remove yourself from these offensive odors. Unfortunately, many of these environmental toxins are part of modern-day life and, thankfully, will not harm you or your baby in small doses. Remove yourself if you can, do your best to eliminate any ongoing exposure as best you can, and don't stress out because the stress is not healthy for mom or baby.
Dr. Darci recommends a great website, EWG’s Skin Deep, that allows you to know what is in your makeup, cleaners, etc., and how toxic they may be. Check it out and be informed!
The food choices you make are vital to your overall health and wellness and become crucially important for the growth and development of your unborn baby. Eating natural food and eliminating harmful food additives and toxins from your diet and life will reap the great reward when it comes to experiencing a healthy pregnancy and helping your baby get an optimal healthy head start in life.
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