Pregnancy Survey: How to Improve What We're Eating
Pregnancy News
Obie Editorial Team
By Sandy Hemphill, Contributing Writer
We all know what we should be eating, whether we’re pregnant or not, but we also know that most of us often ignore the “shoulds” and reach for the “I wants” instead. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recently teamed up with American Baby Magazine to find out what pregnant women really are eating and offer ways to improve our choices.
Of the 2,300 expectant mothers in the survey, 70% said they improved their diets during pregnancy, but many indicate the hormonal fluctuations of pregnancy can make healthy eating all the time more promise than practice. Here are some highlights:
Pregnant women should be eating five to nine servings a day of fruits and veggies but:
Two ways to overcome the produce problem:
One-third of the surveyed women said they probably over-indulge as a result of the “eating for two” theory and cravings for sweets such as carbs and sweets can be difficult to overcome:
Know that “eating for two” means an average of 400 extra calories a day (one piece of whole wheat bread with a tablespoon of peanut butter, for example) but only during the second and third trimesters. No calorie increases are needed during the first trimester.
Some foods really do need to be avoided during pregnancy because they are likely to be contaminated with germs that can do harm during pregnancy:
How to take the risk out of eating while pregnant?
Don’t eat foods known to harm a pregnancy and the developing fetus. Just don’t. It’s that easy.
Omega-3 fatty acids found in abundance in seafood and fish feed your unborn baby with important brain-building nutrients but fear of toxic mercury contamination leaves many expectant moms confused about which is safe and which is taboo:
Think small. Small fish and seafood such as salmon, scallops, shrimp, and trout have short life spans; they don’t live long enough to eat much fish or other marine organisms, which avoids a buildup of toxic mercury levels, and they are rich in omega-3s. The bigger the fish the longer it lives, the more it eats, the more mercury its body stores. Save the big catch for later. Think small during pregnancy.
Pregnancy only lasts nine months but what you eat during these important months can mean a lifetime of robust health for your baby. Make healthy choices on a daily basis but do indulge guilt-free in something just for the fun of it every now and then.
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