What Foods Should Pregnant Women Eat?

Recommend (0) Comments (0)

Pregnancy is an optimal time to become educated about health and nutrition and to commit to eating well. Superior nutrition during pregnancy is about more than simply following recommended daily allowances or avoiding alcohol or caffeine, but also about reducing chemical exposures for mom and baby and creating nourishment for mind, body and spirit. Expecting mothers need to become informed about whole foods and nutrition, and to take the time to create meals that will soothe and energize.  

Begin by avoiding processed foods and focusing on whole, organic choices.   Processed foods are more likely to contain artificial ingredients and other chemicals that will increase toxin exposure. Additionally, simple, refined sugars are plentiful in processed foods and may contribute to fatigue, irritability, and depression during pregnancy. Eat healthy with a diet rich in whole grains, dried beans, orange juice, and green leafy vegetables to keep iron and folate levels high and to avoid unnecessary contaminants.  

Why organic? Conventional produce found in your local supermarket is sprayed with pesticides and herbicides that cannot be removed by simple washing. Pesticides found on conventional produce make their way to the womb and into the blood of newborns, according to the Environmental Working Group’s study Body Burden: The Pollution in Newborns (see http://archive.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/execsumm.php ). The chemicals found in the blood of infants (as well as their mothers) are linked to cancer, birth defects, developmental delays, and immune system issues, among others. In addition, a 1993 study in the Journal of Applied Nutrition has shown that organically grown fruits and vegetables have a higher nutritive content that those that are grown with traditional farming methods. Organically grown apples, wheat, sweet corn, potatoes and pears were examined over a 2 year period and were 63% higher in calcium, 73% higher in iron, 118% higher in magnesium, 178% higher in molybdenum, 91% higher in phosphorus, 125% higher in potassium and 60% higher in zinc than conventionally grown produce. The organic produce was also 29% lower in mercury.   Selecting fresh, organic produce will help to reduce the chemical load and the potential risk factors associated with these toxins, while also providing healthy nutrition for mom and baby.

Mothers should also be aware of chemical exposure from common household and personal care products that can also pass to their babies (see, for example, http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Toxic-chemicals-found-in-domestic-products-poisoning-newborn-babies-4814-1/ ).