Pregnancy Nutrition: Do’s and Don’ts

Once you’ve found out you’re pregnant, everyone and their mamas are sending you articles about nutrition “Do’s” and “Don’ts…

Certified nutritionist and Managing Director of Nutrition Nation, Tanja Guigon-Rech who is seven months pregnant takes some time to help make sense of all the important pregnancy nutrition information and offers tips for good health to all expectant mamas.

It’s All About Balance

Proper nutrition is so important and will influence the baby and mother’s health. Remember your own immune system will slow down during pregnancy and you need healthy food to feel energised and stay healthy. However, cut yourself some slack and do enjoy the occasional treat without beating yourself up about it. Your hormones will occasionally dictate your taste buds and you’re allowed to have the odd junk food choice. Remember mamas, it’s important that you’re happy and if the occasional treat makes you more balanced and happy, enjoy it guilt-free!

You’re Not Eating For Two

This is one of the most common misconceptions new mamas have. Many think that if you’re pregnant you have a free pass to eat twice as much as you did before. Contrary to that oh so popular belief, you hardly need any extra calories in the first months. Rather only after the first few months do your extra calories demand rises to 300 and then 500 calories per day. The key is to eat more nutrient dense food. Your body releases more cravings because you need more nutrients. Your body is creating life so you need much more of the same vitamins and minerals compared to pre-pregnancy. If you start drinking a green juice every day, snack on vegetable sticks with hummus, eat more brown or red rice and brown bread, you’ll notice your cravings will be much more manageable. You can eat two hands of extra veggies with two tablespoons of hummus dip, two pieces of fruit and one slice of pumpernickel bread and still be well within your 500 calories range.

Drink Water

Did you know that most sugar cravings can be traced back to a lack of water? It means that your body needs more liquids to nourish your body. Liquids are essential to a healthy pregnancy. Increase your water intake (mineral, filtered or distilled) by 500 ml to 1 litre on top of your usual daily requirement of eight glasses. It will not only help to lower your sugar cravings, but also support you and your baby with all the liquids requirements.

Eat Complex Carbs

Consume foods high in fiber that can supply you with a stable energy release over hours. Firstly you avoid constant blood sugar spikes and craving, but these foods are also healthier and won’t be stored as fat as easy as simple carbohydrates. Complex carbs are: brown rice, red rice, whole wheat or pumpernickel bread, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, starchy vegetables like pumpkin or sweet potatoes.

Don’t Skip Meals

Eat three full meals and one to two snacks per day. Try your best not to eat too late either. The later you eat, the more your cravings grow during the day and it’ll be difficult to control your appetite. A constant supply of good energy during your pregnancy is key. If you’re not feeling like eating a full meal, make sure you snack throughout the day to keep your energy levels up.

Morning Sickness

Morning sickness hits everyone differently (like a ten tonne truck or some lucky ones miss it completely!). It’s still a mystery why it’s called morning sickness when it does not discriminate any time of day! Generally, morning sickness is the most severe in the first trimester when your hormones are riding rollercoasters around your body. Your whole system needs some time to adjust to being pregnant. Morning sickness is often accompanied with a metal like taste in your mouth which is significant for your hormonal changes. You can ease that taste by consuming more zinc which balances the hormone up’s and down’s. Zinc can be found in pumpkin seeds, cashews, spinach, mushrooms and some meats.

Morning sickness in general may lead you to not wanting food at all. You can counter this by having many snacks and small meals to avoid feeling hungry. Hunger will switch into morning sickness right away, so avoid long breaks without food by all means. Have a good supply of snacks and meals available at all times (i.e. nuts, vegetable sticks, green juices, fruit, wholemeal bread with natural peanut butter and bananas etc.). If you’re that sick that you can’t even wake up without wanting to throw up, place some plain crackers or almonds next to your bed and eat them before getting up.

Here’s to a healthy and happy pregnancy, mamas!