Nutrition Basics
Congratulations! You are pregnant!
Its time to get busy! You have a lot of decisions to make, and the sooner you get started, the better. As soon as you find out you are pregnant, its time to look of your choices and options in where, with whom, and how to give birth. The first thing you can do to take control of your pregnancy is take control of your daily diet. Pregnancy is a time of nutritional stress on your body. Your body goes through a lot to maintain being pregnant. Eat a well balanced diet, every day, of wholesome fresh nutritious foods to provide you, your preborn baby, and your preborn baby’s placenta with: Essential nutrients; Dietary proteins; Complex carbohydrates; Vitamins; Minerals; Phytochemicals. The foods you eat while you are pregnant help build your baby’s body; build a good one; it has to last a lifetime! You may help your preborn baby grow to his or her genetic capacity when you eat every bite of food and drink every beverage for its nutritional value. A well balanced wholesome diet can help you have a healthy pregnancy. Nutritional Demands of Pregnancy Normal growth and development of your preborn baby are intimately connected with your own daily nutrition. Nutritional demands on your body during pregnancy are different than when you’re not pregnant. During pregnancy, nutrients in the foods you eat are first used by your own body to keep you alive and healthy. Pregnancy itself puts demands on your body for nutrients. Being pregnant takes a lot of calories, essential nutrients, dietary protein and minerals, and all other vitamins needed for health and normalcy. The placenta and your preborn baby have their own nutritional demands for normal growth and development. If you are pregnant with twins or more nutritional needs increase with each fetus and placenta. Keep track of what you eat and drink every day with a food calendar. There are many situations when nutritional needs increase according to individual circumstances. Stresses in your life, your current age, your income, marital status, the quality of your relationships with family and friends as well as what number of pregnancy this baby is – and even the method of baby’s conception and where you live - may affect your body’s individual nutritional demands. Dietary Protein Dietary protein provides the building blocks for normal growth and development of every cell in your preborn baby’s body, the placenta, and your own body. Protein and vitamin C build your preborn baby’s brain cells, growing at the most rapid rate of his or her life, beginning at around 7 months gestational age through the first 5 years of life. The brain is a unique organ because if it doesn’t grow on schedule because of a vitamin C or protein deficiency, the human brain will not repair itself and grow to make up for lost time later in life if protein and vitamin C are introduced into the diet. Protein and vitamin C help your body produce collagen. Collagen builds connective tissue to help your uterus grow during pregnancy. A strong uterus may contract efficiently over a sufficient period of time to bring about the spontaneous birth of your baby. Samples of Meat, Fish or Poultry Meat, fish, and poultry provide protein and some B vitamins that are needed in the B complex and are not available readily in other sources. Fish** Chicken*** Turkey Lean Beef Veal Lamb Pork *Check with your doctor and or health department for any health alerts. Dietary Protein Combinations 4 ounces of cheese or 6 ounces of cottage cheese. Brown rice with beans, cheese, seeds, or milk. Corn meal with beans, cheese, or milk. Peanuts or peanut butter with sunflower seeds or milk. Whole wheat bread or noodles with beans, cheese, peanut butter, or milk. Dietary Minerals Minerals inside the human body are divided into three (3) groups according to amount and function. Basic Functions of Minerals Basic functions of minerals in the body are building and regulating. Building and regulating are very important during pregnancy when you are building your baby's body as well as building your baby’s placenta. Your uterus grows about 30 times its non-pregnant size, and your breasts build milk producing glands and ducts preparing to lactate. Minerals regulate Heartbeat Nerve response Transport of oxygen to body tissues Blood clotting Maintaining body fluids' internal pressure. Group 1: Major Minerals Calcium (Ca) Phosphorus (P) Magnesium (Mg) Sulphur (S) Sodium (Na) Chlorine (Cl) Potassium (K) Calcium Foods Broccoli Buttermilk Cottage Cheese Dark Green Leafy Vegetables Eggs Milk (read labels) Natural cheese Powdered skim milk Peas Yogurt Calcium helps regulate body processes including, but not limited to:
Needed by all people throughout life, pregnant and lactating women and growing children (including teenagers) have the highest needs for calcium. Group 2: Trace Minerals (Function known) Iron (Fe) Cobalt (Co) Copper (Cu) Zinc (Zn) Manganese (Mn) Molybdenum (Mo) Trace minerals are essential nutrients necessary to life, have a known function, and are present in the body in smaller amounts. Most trace elements are bound to other compounds for their function, storage, and transport in the body. Iron Iron is necessary in formation of hemoglobin. Iron is needed to carry oxygen to cells in the body and for cells to utilize oxygen. Iron is found in blood, the liver, the spleen, and bone marrow. Food sources of iron include: Bananas Dark green leafy vegetables Dried fruits Egg yolk Legumes. Liver and other organ meats Nuts Raisins Whole wheat Whole grains Group 3: Trace Minerals (Function unknown) Fluorine (Fl) Cadmium (Cd) Aluminum (Al) Chromium (Cr) Boron (Br) Vanadium (V) Selenium (Se) Tin (Tn) Silicon (Si) Nickle (Ni) Some trace minerals are present in smaller amounts and their function is unknown. Vitamin C Foods Arugula Beans Beet Greens Berries Bok Choy Cabbage Collard Greens Dandelion Greens Garlic Green Pepper Red Pepper Lemons Limes Mustard Greens Onions Oranges Romaine Lettuce Spinach Strawberries Swiss Chard Tomato Turnip Greens Sodium and Chloride Sodium and Chloride combine to form table salt (sodium chloride = NaCl). Sodium and chloride each have a separate function in the body. Sodium is found mainly in blood plasma and in fluids outside the cells. Sodium Helps maintain normal fluid balance inside and outside cells. Contributes to the body's acid-base balance. Sodium affects cell wall permeability and contributes to normal muscle irritability. If you are a teenager, your own body is still growing and developing. You need to eat wholesome foods in a well balanced diet every day so that you get what you need for your own body. Eat fresh wholesome foods every day to maintain a healthy pregnancy, including complex carbohydrates, dietary protein, vitamins, and minerals. A well balanced diet every day to grow a healthy baby and a healthy placenta. Phosphorus (P) Phosphorus is present in nearly equal amounts with calcium in bones and teeth. Phosphorus plays an important role in the mineralization of bones and teeth. Phosphorus is an important part of every tissue in the body. Phosphorus helps the body transport fatty acids; aids in energy metabolism; helps maintain acid/alkaloid balance in blood. Promotes absorption of glucose and glycerol from the intestine. Phosphorous Food Sources Eggs Fish Seafood Poultry Chicken Turkey Lean Beef Goat Pork Venison Whole grains Bran flour Bran muffins Brown rice Buckwheat flour Corn Corn bread Corn tortillas Soy products Wheat germ Whole grain breads Whole grain cereals (such as granola or farina) Whole grain rolls Whole wheat flour products Yellow or Orange Vegetable or Fruit Provides vitamin A, vitamin C, and minerals. Apricots Cantaloupe Lime Large green pepper Grapefruit Lemon Lime Whole potato Cherries Corn Papaya Peach Oranges Tangerines Squash Sweet potato Yams Tomato Watermelon Wax beans |
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“You’re building your preborn baby’s body; build a good one, it has to last a lifetime!” Your Preborn Baby is What You Eat!
Healthy Mothers make Healthy BabiesEat to meet the nutritional demands of the childbearing cycle: pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding.
Avoid "empty calories" |