Following a quality diet is essential at all stages of life, but during pregnancy we must accentuate care to protect both the development of a new life and the organism of the surrogate mother. That’s why we let the best tips to achieve a balanced and safe diet during pregnancy.
Quality is more important than quantity
During pregnancy, women’s caloric and nutrient requirements change. Nevertheless, it is not necessary to eat for two and even in the first trimester of pregnancy no extra calories are needed.
During the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, the calories that the pregnant mother’s body needs increase, but not considerably. Therefore, we have focus on the quality and not the quantity of what we eat.
Going to supplements is usually essential
Achieving a quality diet by cooking at home is essential. However, go to supplements at this stage of life it is usually indispensable.
To ensure adequate levels of certain nutrients, folic acid supplements are recommended in the first trimester, as well as vitamin and mineral complexes in the second and third trimesters. This is to ensure the presence of iron calcium, iodine, vitamin D and folic acid at appropriate levels.
Prioritize fresh and natural foods, and avoid ultra-processed foods
Avoid highly industrialized products It is essential in any diet to improve its quality, but more than ever we must be careful during pregnancy.
Certain nutrients such as sodium or excess sugars can be especially harmful during pregnancy, while fresh and natural food They provide vitamins and minerals that the body needs (especially at this time) as well as provide fiber that contributes, among other things, to prevent or reverse constipation So common during pregnancy.
On the other hand, fresh or natural foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, have a lower glycemic index than ice cream and therefore guarantee the presence of glucose at adequate levels for longer in the body. ensuring the supply of quality energy to the developing organism.
Take frequent and smaller meals
To regularly provide energy to the body and therefore to the baby, as well as to prevent ideas or stomach upsets, among other things, it is recommended to carry out smaller gestations more frequently.
Small quality trends based on fresh and homemade food is very useful at this time, as well as reducing the volume of the main intakes to add other small daily meals.
Include quality fats in your daily diet
Beneficial unsaturated fats for the body are essential in any diet, but especially Omega 3 can offer benefits during pregnancy.
To obtain this type of fat, we can go to oily fish or small arms, which are the ones that concentrate the least amount of mercury, or incorporate nuts, extra virgin olive oil or seeds and oils derived from these into the usual diet.
Choose water as your main drink and consume it in adequate amounts
To promote hydration and blood circulation, avoiding, among other things, fluid retention, it is recommended drink water in sufficient proportions every day.
We recommend avoid sugary and carbonated drinks and choose water as the main drink, in order to prevent excessive weight gain, heartburn and other discomforts that excess sugars in the usual diet can cause.
Completely eliminate alcohol and tobacco
The toxic habits that it is recommended to completely eliminate during pregnancy are the consumption of alcohol and tobacco.
Totally avoiding alcohol is essential, because even a daily minimum is harmful and can hinder pregnancy Exactly the same thing happens with smoking.
If you want, you can go for non-alcoholic beers or non-alcoholic cocktails inside to consume instead of traditional alcoholic beverages that do not benefit health at all.
Avoid extreme or highly restricted diets
Stay away from miracle diets or strict diets that considerably limit feeding is essential during pregnancy.
Although the pregnant woman is overweight, pregnancy is never the ideal time to start a weight loss plan but by taking care of the quality of what we eat we can achieve a healthy weight, but extreme or very strict diets should always be avoided at this stage of life.
Properly sanitize vegetables before eating
To achieve a safe diet and prevent the entry of pathogenic microorganisms into the body of the pregnant woman, it is essential properly wash and sanitize fruits, vegetables and vegetables prior to consumption.
This is especially necessary if we are going to consume these foods raw, since can carry bacteria as the Escherichia coli or others.
Avoid eating raw animal foods
To avoid food-borne diseases that can cause severe pathologies, the intake of food of animal origin is strongly discouraged in raw or undercooked.
They are unsafe foods undercooked meats, fish and raw eggs, as well as milk or other unpasteurized dairy.
Similarly, the consumption of cold meats and sausages is discouraged and other cured meats, which can carry parasites that cause diseases such as listeriosis or trichinosis.
These are the best nutritional advice to achieve a balanced and safe diet during pregnancy, that we must consider to protect both the mother’s organism and the developing baby.
In Vitónica | The best fish to safely add vitamin D during pregnancy
Image | iStock and Jumpstory