When you are pregnant you will need to eat a diet that is nutritious and healthy. It is needed not only for your body but also for the growth and development of your baby inside you. For this
You do not need to start a special diet but, instead, have a well balanced diet. Although sometimes supplements are needed, it is ideal to get the vitamins and the minerals from the food itself.
You do not need to eat for two but rather have nutritious food. Especially start with a heavy breakfast.
Healthy eating does not imply cutting off all the favourite food, but eating more variety so that overall it becomes a balanced diet
An ideal diet would include the following:
Fruit & Vegetable
Eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables daily. These not only provide fibre which is important for digestion but also helps to prevent constipation – a common problem during pregnancy. Fruits and vegetables are also rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals. While eating fruits try and eat fresh ones but don’t forget to wash them well. As for vegetables, they are best eaten cooked.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates become important because they are filling, have fibre and are not too high on the calories. Common sources of carbohydrates, or starch, are bread, potatoes, sweet potato, oats, rice, noodles and maize. While eating this group of food try and consume the wholemeal variety instead of the white variety 9for example brown instead of white bread)
Protein
If you are a vegetarian, soya, tofu, beans, pulses are the sources of protein for you. If you are a non vegetarian then you can get your protein from fish, eggs and meat. However, do keep in mind a few things:
Fish
In a week, try and consume two portions of fish – one portion ideally being an oily variety like mackerel or sardine.
