Nutrition ›
Pregnancy Nutrition,
or, You and Your Baby Are What You Eat
It is a shame that most people really don’t pay any attention to nutrition. Eating the right foods will keep you healthy, prevent problems like diabetes and heart disease, and grow a healthy baby.
Take a look in the grocery store. How much do you see that is packaged, processed and ready to eat? If it is like the local grocery store near me, probably most of it. Food is at its most nutritious in its natural state, or in some cases, with as little processing as may be needed to make it digestible. Instead, we eat food that has been processed and re-processed with so many additives and preservatives that it is practically unrecognizable as food. Frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on white bread is one of the offerings in my local store. Come on! We can do better than that! When I enter my local store, the first aisle offers specials on foods that are frequently purchased by most shoppers. I routinely see Pop-Tarts, cookies, chips, canned vegetables and boxed noodle dishes. This is what most people eat on a fairly regular basis. It is no wonder that diabetes and heart disease are on the rise!
Granted, nutrition can be boring to read about, and a bit confusing when you do. We have been trying to eat better for quite a while now. While we still have room for improvement, we’re doing pretty well. I also know how difficult it can be to choose healthy food on a tight budget. Fruit and vegetables are best eaten fresh. Frozen is the next best choice, since freezing takes less processing than canning. In most cases there is less salt and sugar added to frozen fruit and vegetables than are added to canned. Eat as many of these foods as you can afford. Whole grains are also good choices. Brown rice, whole wheat and other grains help provide fiber as well as vitamins.
I am not anti-meat… we eat meat every day at my house. But I certainly understand how healthy a vegetarian diet can be. The proteins provided by meat, beans, nuts, eggs and cheese is a necessary part of the diet, especially when you are pregnant. Eating well can definitely be a challenge, but with a little planning and knowledge, it is well within reach of most people.
Now let’s talk about fats. Doesn’t it seem that almost everything in the grocery store is either low fat or nonfat? Well, here’s a newsflash… we do need some fat to keep our brains functioning properly. Our joints and nervous system also need some fat too. This doesn’t mean it’s okay to eat an entire chocolate cake. What it means is there are beneficial fats that we need. Avocados and nuts are a good source of these fats. Oily fish like salmon and trout are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. While these fish can be pricey, you can also take a supplement of fish oil.
~reprinted with permission, by Toni Rakestraw
