Find Out The Essential Foods To Eat When Pregnant

When you are pregnant it is important to remember good nutrition. After all, the importance of pregnancy nutrition is imperative in keeping both mother and baby healthy. Along with proper exercise (if permitted by your physician) compiling a list of the proper foods to eat when pregnant and subsequently eating these foods will ensure the prevention of many possible complications.

When it comes to vegetables, you may think there is no way you can go wrong, but you would be incorrect. When eating for two you want to think extra healthy, and get the most nutrition out of what you are eating. When you want a salad choose baby spinach and romaine lettuce. Spinach is high in folic acid, vitamin A and calcium, as well as iron which is great for the blood cells. Romaine lettuce is high in folate, vitamin K, vitamin C and calcium. When it comes to choosing the right vegetables during and after pregnancy it is important to remember greener is better. The greener the vegetable, the healthier it will be.

Fruits are always a good choice. However you want to choose fruits that are organic as other fruits may contain harmful chemicals that can cause complications. Mangoes are a great choice as well as oranges and grapefruit. Mangoes are sweet and contain more vitamin A and C than an entire salad. They are also full of potassium. Citrus fruits such as grape fruit and oranges are a great source of vitamin C and are great when you just need to cure a sweet tooth. All in all, fruits are a great way to stay away from junk food, they are sweet and the best part is, they are full of nutrition.

Every expecting mother needs calcium in her foods to eat when pregnant. A great source of calcium is milk and yogurt. When drinking milk you should drink at least three, eight ounce glasses of milk a day. If you find this difficult remember that one yogurt is equivalent to an eight ounce glass of milk. The great thing about yogurt is you can be creative, you can take your favourite fruit and mix it up or you can make delicious fruit smoothies.

Here are some ideas for foods that are whole grain; oatmeal, brown rice and whole grain crackers. When it comes to pregnancy nutrition you should eat at least six to nine servings of whole grain everyday as whole grain promotes healthy growth and proper development of your baby. Try to switch your saltines for whole grain crackers and choose a whole grain cereal or oatmeal for breakfast.

Fish is an excellent source of omega 3 fatty acids which are essential for your baby's verbal and behavioural skills. However, stick with the FDA weekly recommendation of 12 ounces of any of the following: canned light tuna, catfish, cod, pollack, salmon and shrimp. It's important to stick to these recommendations as lots of other fish have high levels of mercury in their systems which can be be detrimental to the healthy development of your baby.

With a little research, you can compile a list of foods to eat when pregnant that will ensure your developing baby is getting all the essential nutrients that he requires.