For pregnant women, your diet is the primary source of nutrition for your developing baby. It’s essential to maintain a balanced and healthy diet during pregnancy to ensure you’re giving your baby what it needs to grow strong and healthy. Still, there are some nutrients that are even more important for pregnant women and their developing baby.
This article will cover the best foods for pregnant women that you’ll want to include in your pregnancy health plan.
Dairy Products
It’s important that you consume plenty of protein and calcium to aid in the development of your unborn baby. In the case of dairy products, you’ll be giving your baby both! Foods like yogurt and cheese contain high levels of protein and are also calcium rich foods, making them great additions to your pregnancy diet.
Lean Meat and Proteins
By maintaining a diet high in lean proteins, you’ll ensure your baby is getting the nutrition it needs to grow. Avoiding excessively fatty meats will also help keep your blood pressure levels in a safe place, which is important for pregnant women. Focus your protein intake on lean meats such as white meat chicken, turkey, and fish. Be sure to avoid seafood with high mercury levels like swordfish or bigeye tuna, and stick to fish rich in Omega 3 like salmon.
Dark Leafy Greens
Dark leafy greens are a nutrient dense food that are a great source of calcium, which is perfect for pregnant women. These foods are rich in fiber, vitamins, iron, potassium, and folate, which is one of the most important nutrients for pregnant women.
Legumes
Speaking of folates, legumes are one of the best sources of folate and are also high in plant-based protein. Foods such as lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, and beans are rich in folate and are also great sources of calcium, fiber, and iron.
Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy
Just like there are foods that every pregnant woman should try to incorporate into their diet, there are also some foods that pregnant women should avoid for various reasons. These include unpasteurized juice and cheeses, raw seafood, excessively rare meat, raw eggs, hot dogs, deli meats, and fish that contain high levels of mercury.
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