A healthy diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but especially more vital when you’re pregnant. A few nutrients in your pregnancy diet deserves special attention.
Top nutrients
💊Folate and folic acid
Folate helps prevent birth defects and serious abnormalities of the brain🧠 and spinal cord. Folate is often consumed in forms of folic acid supplementation and fortified foods such as cereals, leafy greens🥬, dried beans and peas.🥜
💊Calcium
Calcium is vital for strong bones🦵 and teeth🦷 development. It also helps your circulatory, muscular and nervous system run normally.🧠
Dairy products🥛 are the best sources of calcium that you can incorporate into your diet daily. Nondairy sources include broccoli🥦 and kale🥬. Fruit juices and fortified cereals also provide lots of calcium for you.
💊Vitamin D
Vitamin D builds your baby’s bones🦵 and teeths🦷. Fatty fish🐟 such as salmon, fortified milk and orange juice🍊 are vitamin D rich sources that you can include in your meals.
💊Protein
Protein is very crucial for your baby’s growth during pregnancy. Lean meat🥩, poultry and eggs🥚 are great sources of protein. More “vegan” options include beans, peas, nuts, seeds and soy products.
💊Iron
Iron plays an important role in hemoglobin formation🩸 that carries oxygen to your tissues and allows your body to function normally. You need double the amount of iron because you’re also supplying your baby.👶
Iron deficiency anemia can make you become fatigued and lead to dangerous complications during pregnancy.⚠️ Lean meat, poultry, fish, fortified cereals and beans are good sources of iron. Pair them with foods rich in vitamin C such as orange juice🍊, strawberries🍓 to increase iron absorption.
Other supplements
A healthy diet😋 high in all sources of nourishment might not be enough to supply nutrients for both you and your baby. Have regular health checkups👩⚕️ and consult with your healthcare provider if you have a strict diet that is mandatory to follow, a chronic health condition and need any special supplements.💊