Diet Plan for Pregnant Women

Pregnancy is a time to take care of yourself, a time to get pampered for the sake of the baby growing in your womb. Food habits need to change in such times. Nutritious food is very important for you and you should always be eating healthy. It is important that a woman should consult a doctor and get prescribed to a healthy diet.

Following is a diet plan for a pregnant woman:

1. Milk and Dairy products - Always include skimmed milk, yogurt/curd, buttermilk (chhaach) and cottage cheese (paneer). These foods are high in calcium, protein and Vitamin B-12. Calcium is very important at this time as it will help your baby’s in this growing stage. Talk to your doctor about what to eat if you are lactose intolerant.

2. Vegetables and Fruits – You just cannot avoid vegetables and fruits at any cost. These are by far the most important things to consume during your . To get the most out of vegetables and fruits always get an array of them so that you get all sorts of nutritious benefits. One trick is to mix the colours such as broccoli and sweet potato. While the former contains calcium, B vitamins and foliate, the latter consists of vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber. Pregnant women are in more need of fruits and vegetables than regular people.

3. Cereals, pulses, whole grains and nuts – These are very rich in proteins if you do not consume meat. Even if you do consume meat, you must always include some portion of these food items to your diet. Because there are other things like folic acid that is found in kidney beans and nuts, hence even after eating meat you must always grains and pulses.

4. Fish – While on one hand fish contains much good nutrition the bad news is that fishes contain unhealthy components. Mercury that is found in fishes can lead to brain damage and due to this reason many doctors do not prescribe fish for a pregnant diet. However it is also true that one should not cut fish from their diet all together. Avoid the ones with high mercury level and opt for the low ones but at the same time do not over indulge in either of the two, no matter how less the mercury level may be.

5. Poultry - Your pregnancy demands you to eat lean chicken breast because it has the lowest levels of fat and saturated fatty acids amongst all stir fried meats. It gives you omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. It is also low in cholesterol content, but rich in fatty acids, Vitamin E and A, Selenium, thiamine and niacin equivalents that promote metabolism and augment energy levels. It is carbohydrates free and as you can see is very good for you and the bay in your womb. Boiled eggs are also a very good source of nutrition for your baby.

Eat right and have a good pregnancy.