5 Highly Nutritious Foods To Eat When You’re Pregnant

Maintaining a healthy diet during pregnancy is very important.

During this time, your body needs additional nutrients, vitamins and minerals and whatever a woman eats and drink during pregnancy becomes her baby’s primary source of nourishment.

Owing to this, experts have recommended that a mother-to-be should choose a variety of healthy foods and beverages that are essential for the baby’s growth and development.

Here are 5 highly nutritious foods to eat when you’re pregnant.

1. Dairy products
Dairy is the best dietary source of calcium, and provides high amounts of phosphorus, various B-vitamins, magnesium and zinc.
Yogurt, especially Greek yogurt, is particularly beneficial for pregnant women.

Other Food sources of calcium: milk, cheese, sardines or salmon with bones.

2. Vegetables
In other to get an adequate nutrient, fill your plate with different variety of vegetables.

Choose vegetables that are dark green (broccoli, kale, spinach), orange (carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, winter squash), yellow (corn, yellow peppers), and red (tomatoes, red peppers).

3. Protein
As the nutrient for building, protein helps to build important organs in the baby, such as the brain and heart.
Food sources of protein: meat, poultry, fish, dried beans and peas, eggs, nuts e.t.c

4. Fruits
Fruits are generally high in sugar, fiber and various vitamins and minerals.

Therefore, one serving of fruit salad can provide a large percentage of the recommended intake of many vitamins and minerals, including folate, iron and potassium

Try as much as you can to Include at least one citrus fruit (orange, grapefruit, tangerine) each day because citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C.

5. Water
During pregnancy, blood volume increases by up to 1.5 liters. Therefore, it is important to stay properly hydrated.

The fetus usually gets everything it needs, but if you don’t watch your water intake, you may become dehydrated.

Symptoms of mild dehydration include headaches, anxiety, tiredness, bad mood and reduced memory.

Furthermore, increasing water intake may help relieve constipation and reduce the risk of urinary tract infections, which are common during pregnancy.

Note
A diet that lacks key nutrients may negatively affect the baby’s development. Poor eating habits and excess weight gain may also increase the risk of gestational diabetes and pregnancy or birth complications.

In other words, choosing a healthy, nutritious food will help ensure your health and that of your baby.

And it will also make easy for you to lose the pregnancy weight after you’ve given birth.