Health

Foods to eat when pregnant is a very broad topic. Let us look at how the right choice of pregnancy nutrition can give you and your unborn baby the best possible journey towards that special day when he or she draws their very first breath.

How many times have you heard a woman say that she is "eating for two now?"This is not quite true, but she must eat the correct food to make sure that she has adequate levels of nutrition for the two of them. After all, the baby can only get what the mother's body is able to provide through the umbilical chord, its lifeline.

Therefore, if she is lacking in the correct vitamins and nutrients, her baby will not get the correct pregnancy nutrition, which is vital as it develops.

When you consider the necessary requirements when compiling a list of foods to eat when pregnant, you cannot escape the subject of diet. Now diet and "going on a diet" are not the same thing, but they do share a common word we all know, and that is the calorie. On average, a woman will need around 2000 calories a day under normal circumstances, and when she is expecting a baby that will rise by approximately 500 calories a day to 2500 calories.

Around a tenth of the daily calorie intake needs to be protein and can be found in foods such as fish, meat, eggs, dairy products and pulse foods like beans or peas etc. Try to eat lean meat where possible.

A third of the calorie intake should come from fats that can be found in foods like oils, butter, margarine and spreads, dairy products and nuts.

The balance of the calorie requirement, which is a little over half of the total, is from the group known as carbohydrates. They are foods such as pasta, potatoes, bread, cereals, rice and maize. These foods are also known as starchy foods. Try to eat wholegrain bread where possible because it is high in fibre and therefore helps in avoiding constipation that can be quite prevalent in pregnant women.

A food type that pregnant women need to avoid is junk foods such as biscuits, cakes, fast foods, fried foods and heavily processed foods. These usually contain high levels of fats, sugar, additives and preservatives, and are of very little nutritional value to the developing baby. Treats are okay occasionally, but these are not foods to be consumed on a regular basis. However, healthy snacks should be on your list of foods to eat when pregnant. Such healthy snacks include fresh or dried fruit, bean and vegetable soups, and lean chicken or ham, for example.

Compiling your list of foods to eat when pregnant should be fun, not a chore. The pregnant mother today has a fantastic array of food choices available to her, and as long as she makes sensible educated choices, her diet can continue to be diverse and tasty.

----------------------------------------------------
Make it a priority to get to know about foods to eat when pregnant. Find all the information you need right here at http://www.pregnantwomennutrition.com