What can and cannot be eaten during pregnancy?

Pregnancy is a period that requires careful monitoring of your health status. The expectant mother should remember that the development of the child primarily depends on her well-being. It is very important to get adequate rest and eat right.

Why is nutrition given so much attention? And are there any diets for pregnant women?

Restrictions during pregnancy

Until recently, strict nutritional requirements were imposed during pregnancy. Gynecologists closely monitored weight gain and urged not to feed the child, allergists for some reason forbade eating honey and citrus fruits. With even minor edema, pregnant women were not allowed to drink more than 1 liter of any liquid per day.

But are there any justification for these strict restrictions? And is it worth adhering to such recommendations?

Modern nutritional requirements for pregnant women

To date, it has been proven that there is no direct relationship between the nutrition of the mother and the weight of the child. The kid in any situation will assimilate exactly as much nutrients as he needs at the moment. And even if the expectant mother for some reason restricts herself in food, first of all, the child will be provided with food. His development will not be affected, in contrast to the health of a woman.

The baby's weight gain depends on various factors, including diseases of the mother's endocrine system. That is why, with an increase in sugar levels (diabetes mellitus of pregnant women), children weighing 4–5 kg are born, regardless of the constitution and nutrition of the mother.

Diet in case of weight gain

Do you need a diet with a significant increase? What if the weight is growing rapidly? There is no definite answer to this question. Previously, a normal increase was considered 11-15 kg throughout pregnancy. Today these boundaries have expanded.

It is assumed that the body of a pregnant woman is able to control its own needs. But sometimes it's better to listen to common sense. A constant desire to eat is a normal condition during pregnancy, especially in the early stages. But you need to eat not buns and cakes, but full-fledged snacks.

It is advisable to eat not 2-3 times a day, but 4-6 and do it in small portions. Such fractional nutrition is useful not only during pregnancy, but also after childbirth.

In the case of significant weight gain, the main emphasis should be on plant foods - vegetables and fruits, meat, cottage cheese. And reduce the amount of carbohydrate food in your diet. This is especially true for easily digestible carbohydrates - potatoes, bread, chocolate, sweets and sugary drinks.

You need to know that sometimes the usual desire to drink can be hidden under the guise of hunger. And a glass of plain water will help get rid of annoying sucking in the spoon.

Balanced diet

In order for food to be digested normally, it is necessary to properly distribute their intake throughout the day.

The most high-calorie should be lunch. At this time, you can eat whatever you want. If possible, the menu includes the first course - soup or puree soup. They are well absorbed and do not overload the digestive system. If the desire to eat persists, lunch is complemented by a second course - boiled, stewed, baked meat with a side dish or vegetable salad.

Breakfast in terms of calorie content and volume is usually inferior to the lunchtime meal. In the early stages of pregnancy, many women do not eat breakfast at all due to severe toxicosis - nausea or vomiting. To relieve the condition, you can drink a glass of water in the morning with a few drops of lemon juice. Some people are helped by orange juice. And sometimes it is enough to nibble on a raw carrot or unleavened crouton.

By the evening, toxicosis usually decreases. Although there are opposite cases. One should strive to have supper not too late, 3-4 hours before bedtime. Usually at this time you can eat porridge or other side dishes, with meat or fish. Cottage cheese dishes are perfect for an evening menu.

Since hunger sometimes haunts pregnant women throughout the day, snacks are encouraged. They will be appropriate in between meals. As a second breakfast, you can make a vegetable salad or protein omelet, eat fruits, cottage cheese, mild cheese. For an afternoon snack, kefir or yogurt with cookies are usually used.

For the normal development of the baby and the well-being of the mother, nutrition must be balanced and varied. During pregnancy, the following foods are recommended:

1. Lean meats (beef, veal, turkey, quail, chicken, lean pork).
2. By-products - liver. It is consumed in limited quantities, no more than one or two times a week to prevent excess vitamin A.
3. Porridge made from different cereals. Buckwheat, rice and oatmeal are especially recommended. Wheat and semolina can interfere with iron absorption.
4. Durum wheat pasta.
5. Vegetables in any form other than fried. Raw vegetables in salads and steamed vegetables are especially useful.
6. Fruit. Seasonal - in any quantity, citrus and exotic - very moderate.
7. Dill, parsley, celery are allowed in the preparation of various dishes.
8. Dairy and fermented milk products. Pregnant women can consume milk, kefir, yogurt, butter, sour cream, low-fat cheese at will.

It is important that the diet contains foods rich in folic acid, vitamin E, iron, calcium.

Foods containing folic acid and vitamin E

Folic acid is needed for the proper formation of the child's nervous system. It is usually prescribed in pill form. But do not forget that it is also present in ordinary products. Folic acid is rich in:

• spinach;
• salad;
• parsley;
• legumes;
• citrus.

Vitamin E is also essential during pregnancy. It is found in eggs, wheat germ, soybeans, various vegetable oils (sunflower, corn, peanut).

Iron rich foods

Pregnancy is a time of increased iron consumption. A woman should not only maintain her reserves, but also provide the baby with this microelement. So that the level of hemoglobin does not decrease, and anemia does not develop, foods rich in iron are definitely needed in the diet. However, it is not only the percentage of this element in food that matters, but also the degree of its assimilation.

Iron is best absorbed from meat, fish, and other seafood. The diet of a pregnant woman must include:

• beef tongue;
• beef;
• turkey meat;
• liver;
• a fish.

Meat and fish can be used to make casseroles, stew or boiled. Among plant foods, legumes are considered leaders in iron content - lentils, peas, beans. From cereals, it is better to give preference to buckwheat and rice.

Vitamin C, which is found in vegetables and fruits, helps to absorb iron from food. For this purpose, it is better to drink meat dishes with orange or tomato juice. Contrary to popular belief that pomegranates and apples are high in iron, there is not much of it.

Calcium-containing foods

During pregnancy, a woman should take care of the increased intake of calcium into the body. After all, it is spent on building the baby's skeletal system. With insufficient intake of calcium from food, the expectant mother develops brittle nails, dull hair, and deteriorate teeth. Best of all, this trace element is absorbed from dairy products, although it is inferior in calcium content to some plants.

During pregnancy, you need to eat cottage cheese, sour cream, hard cheeses or feta cheese every day, drink milk and kefir. You can make cottage cheese on your own, and you must heat-treat one bought in a store.

From plant foods, preference is given to spinach, cabbage, parsley. Canned fish can also be considered a source of calcium.

Prohibited foods

Are there foods that are prohibited during pregnancy? Since pregnancy is not a disease, there can be no absolute prohibition on certain foods. But there is a list of products, the use of which is highly discouraged while carrying a baby.

First of all, this applies to such unhealthy food as chips, spicy crackers and similar snacks. They contain many chemical flavors and additives that can harm the baby and mom. During pregnancy, sugar substitutes such as aspartame, sucraltose, neotame should not be used.

You can not overly lean on sweets. This leads to rapid weight gain and creates a feeling of fullness at the expense of other foods the body needs. You should not eat large quantities of foods that cause fermentation in the intestines - legumes, cabbage dishes. This can cause severe abdominal pain during pregnancy.

Since constipation during this period is not uncommon, the problem cannot be aggravated. It is worth giving up bread and flour products and eating more vegetables and fruits.

It is categorically impossible to eat mushrooms bought from hand - dry or pickled. However, during pregnancy it is better to give up any mushrooms, their protein is too hard to digest. Also, you can not eat raw eggs, sushi, steaks with blood.

During pregnancy, it is undesirable to eat fried and fatty foods, rich broths, use a large amount of spices and seasonings.

Drinking regimen

You can drink during pregnancy without restrictions, if you do not forget about common sense. During this period, the woman's circulatory system works with a vengeance to ensure normal nutrition for the mother and child. If not enough fluid enters the body, it begins to function idle.

Swelling in a pregnant woman is not a reason to forbid her to drink. They are almost always associated with other reasons:

1. Increased vascular permeability.
2. Poor kidney function.
3. Decreased blood protein levels.

Restricting drinking does not in any way affect the solution of this problem - the liquid will be lost in the same volume. But in the body it will remain less, which means that dystrophic processes will begin to develop in the placenta, the health and development of the child will suffer.

The expectant mother should be wary if the desire to drink becomes constant and obsessive, and the thirst is practically not quenched by anything. This condition is called polydipsia and indicates the onset of diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes).

The situation when a woman drinks much more often and more than urinates also requires close observation. If at the same time the body weight increases sharply, we are talking about the onset of gestosis - a dangerous complication of the second half of pregnancy.

Drinks during pregnancy

What can and cannot be drunk during pregnancy? Are there any beverage requirements? During this period, it is better to drink green tea, compotes, fruit and vegetable juices, fruit drinks. At home, you can make your own yoghurts, cook jelly.

Herbal teas should not be drunk without the permission of the attending physician. Certain herbs can cause the uterus to contract or harm the development of the baby. A decoction of chamomile is considered safe, it can be freely consumed as a regular drink. Drinking black tea and coffee is not recommended because of its tonic effect.

During pregnancy, you should not take alcohol, even in small quantities. Alcohol has a negative effect on the child and takes a long time to be removed from the mother's blood. Also, at this time, energy drinks should not be abused, since their effect on the development of the baby has not been studied by anyone.

In general, the diet during pregnancy is not very different from the balanced diet in everyday life. But the expectant mother must remember that the health of the child now depends on the quality of her food, and not allow gross errors in the diet.