What are the right foods for a pregnant?

There is no need to eat for two during the pregnancy. It is recommended that for the first trimester the food intake should remain about the same as it was prior to the pregnancy. During the second and third trimesters the food intake should be increased upto 30%. It is easy to achieve this with more fruits intake.

It is important to eat variety of foods to ensure the nutritional needs of both mother and the baby. The recommendations include:

• Fruits and vegetables very generously
• Whole grain products and cereals, but not milled grain products
• Milk and dairy products should not be eaten in excess
• Lean meat, chicken and fish in moderate amounts
• Avoid excess intake of fats, sugar and salt
• Beans, pulses, nuts and seeds
• Drink enough water

Do not diet if you are a pregnant. This bad for you as well as to your baby. Green leafy vegetables are very important for the intake of folic acid. Folic acid supplement is recommended for the health of your baby. It is better to consult your doctor before you take a supplement.

With proper food it is possible to manage the iron content of your body also. Iron supplement could be taken only if your doctor recommends it.

Avoid excess of vitamin A intake and vitamin A supplements are not required. The excessive intake of vitamin A may cause birth deformities.

Oats, whole grains

Oats, whole grains are well known in India. To reduce the weight some dieticians recommend oats kanji (a sort of thick soup) and huge amounts of spinach. I have seen persons who ate this for many months. They are very unhappy. This is their fate. Oats is a good food, but the dose makes always the poison or kills the pleasure in our life.The nutrients in 100 g oats, whole grains include:

• Water - 13.0 g
• Protein - 11.7 g
• Fat - 7.1 g
• Carbohydrates – 55.7 g
• Fibre – 9.7 g
• Minerals - 2.9 g – sodium 8 mg, potassium 355 mg, magnesium 130 mg, calcium 80 mg, iron 5800 micro g, copper 420 micro g, zinc 3200 micro g, selenium 7 micro g, iodide 8 micro g.
• Vitamins - vitamins B1, B2, B6, nicotine amide, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid
• Phytic acid 900 mg
• Purine 145 mg

Whatever we eat we have to chew it for many times because normally the digestion starts in the mouth with the help of saliva. Except drinking water and other soft drinks all the foods must be chewed well. If not you will have stomach problems.

Minerals, particularly selenium varies with their concentration in the soil.

Food & Fertility: Food rich in vitamin B6, Folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and zinc

Food rich in Vitamin B6

• Vegetables
• Whole grain products
• Nuts
• Legumes
• Fish
• Poultry
• Meat
• Milk

Plant food loses less Vitamin B6 than meat and milk during cooking. Milling reduces vitamin B6 and so white flour (Maida) has very little vitamin B6. All the processing techniques including freezing, cooking, canning etc. can make vitamin B6 loss.

Food rich in Folic acid

• Meat and inner organs like liver, kidney etc.
• Nuts
• Beans and legumes
• Leafy vegetables
• It is present in all vegetables in small quantities and it is very difficult to take the necessary amount from the food or from raw food. The loss in cooking is always very high. Here we have to think about the supplement.

Food rich in Vitamin C

• Citrus fruits like oranges, grape fruit and lemon
• Vegetables with dark green leaves
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Strawberries
• Kiwi
• Spinach
• Cabbage
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Capsicum
• Liver
• Oyster

Vitamin C is unstable. Losses occur from exposure to air, light, heat and copper.
Also dissolves in cooking water and is mostly wasted.

Food rich in vitamin E

• Edible vegetable oils such as sesame oil, coconut oil, groundnut oil
• Unprocessed cereals
• Unprocessed nuts
• Seeds
• Green leafy vegetables
• Fish
• Poultry
• Fruits and vegetables contain small amount of vitamin E

Vitamin E is relatively stable except at deep frying temperatures.

Food rich in Selenium
• Meats
• Seafood
• Poultry
• Eggs
• Nuts and seeds, particularly nuts from tropical countries including coconut
• Whole grains are rich in selenium

The problem is in most countries the soil is poor in selenium and the local food contains almost no selenium. That is why in most of the developed countries it is added in bread or in other food stuff. Or they must eat nuts imported from tropical countries. If nothing helps supplementation is the last step.

Food rich in Zinc

• Onion
• Garlic
• Nuts including coconut
• Milk, yoghurt and cheese
• Meat
• Liver
• Fish
• Eggs
• Seafood

Fruits and vegetables contain only little zinc. The vegetarians must be careful in their food. Nuts, pulses and milk and dairy products may be the rich sources.

Seafood contains poisonous metals like mercury, cadmium, lead etc. and one must be careful to eat them.