Things You Should Avoid in Your Diet During Pregnancy
June 29, 2009
What you DON’T eat or drink during your pregnancy can be just as important as what you DO consume!
Here are some things to avoid while you are pregnant:
Alcohol – We shouldn’t have to tell you this, but we will anyway! STAY AWAY FROM ALCOHOL DURING PREGNANCY.
A glass of wine or bottle of beer may seem harmless enough but no study has yet to determine how much is a safe amount of alcohol and how much can cause mental retardation, central nervous system damage, brain damage, and birth defects in your baby.
It is better to be safe than sorry!
Alcohol goes straight into your baby’s body in high concentration levels through your blood stream, through the umbilical cord and into the placenta, and can cause any one of an array of symptoms included in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
Children with FASD can have learning disabilities, memory and attention disorders, as well as language, and vision, or hearing problems, to name a few. So save that glass of wine or bottle of beer and enjoy it after you delivery your healthy child!
Caffeine – Consuming a lot of caffeine can increase your chance of miscarriage. Two or three cups a day may not seem like much to you, but just to be safe, you should try to stop drinking coffee altogether.
If you find you cannot do so, at least try to cut it down to one cup per day or start drinking decaffeinated coffee!
And remember that there are other beverages and foods that contain high concentrations of caffeine. Green tea and black tea, cola sodas (pop), even chocolate.
You can have these things in moderation (one cup of tea or a half of glass of soda or a candy bar once a week), because the caffeine content in these products is typically much less than that contained in cup of coffee (90-140 mg of caffeine).
You’ll be happy to know that the average candy bar only contains 5-30 mg of caffeine, but you still need to consider the FAT content in that candy and remember the word: MODERATION
Avoid foods that MAY carry bacteria and other food-borne illness (toxoplasmosis and listeriosis to name two). These can cause birth defects and miscarriage, and while you may be able to eat them with no problems, you may not want to take the risk during your pregnancy.
- Un-pasteurized (soft) cheeses, often labeled as ‘fresh cheese’ like feta cheese, goat cheese, brie, camembert, and blue or limburger cheeses.
- Un-pasteurized milk, juice, or apple cider
- Raw eggs or foods that contain raw eggs like tiramisu, mousse, cookie or cake batter, homemade ice cream, Caesar dressing (if made fresh).
- Raw fish like sushi and CERTAINLY raw meat
- High mercury content fish like shark, swordfish, tilefish (white snapper or golden snapper), and king mackerel
If you are a health advocate and you routinely take herbs, please do NOT take these particular herbs while you are pregnant:
Arbor vitae Autumn crocus
Barberry Basil oil
Beth root Black cohosh
Bloodroot Blue cohosh
Broom Bugleweed
Clove oil Comfrey
Cotton root Devil’s claw
Dong quai False unicorn root
Feverfew Golden seal
Greater celandine Juniper and juniper oil
Lady’s mantle Liferoot
Mistletoe Mugwort (avoid during pregnancy & breast feeding)
American pennyroyal European pennyroyal (avoid during pregnancy & breast feeding)
Peruvian bark Pokeroot
Pseudoginseng Pulsatilla (limit use while breast feeding)
Rue Sassafras
Shepherd’s purse Southernwood (avoid during pregnancy & breast feeding)
Squill Tansy
Wild yam Wormwood (avoid during pregnancy & breast feeding)
Pregnancy and Diabetes
June 29, 2009
If you are a diabetic and you want to get pregnant, work with your OB/GYN doctor and your diabetes doctor to be sure you are in the best shape possible at least three to six months before you conceive.
Then be sure you are followed regularly by both physicians so that you remain healthy during your pregnancy and after delivery.
During your pregnancy you should monitor your diet and exercise program and look for signs of imbalance in your blood sugar, as pregnancy can sometimes wreak havoc on your regular routine and your insulin levels.
You may have to get a special meal plan from a nutritionist or dietician in order to compensate for the changes in your body and your blood sugar and ensure that your child does not experience problems or birth defects because of high blood sugar levels that may cross into the placenta.
Talk to your doctor about getting more B Vitamins, especially folic acid to guard against the risk of birth defects.
If you have never been diabetic in the past, you may find yourself facing ‘gestational diabetes’, which is a form of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy and typically disappears after delivery.
This form of diabetes is usually controlled with diet, medication, and exercise, but it must be treated in order to ensure that you and your baby remain healthy.
Your OB/GYN doctor will usually refer you to a dietitian so you can get meal plans that are specially designed to help you control your blood sugar.
Eating Right During Your Pregnancy
June 29, 2009
Eating Right During Your Pregnancy
You already know it is important to eat a well-balanced diet, but it is even more important when you are pregnant. Keep in mind now you are eating for two. Whatever you eat, the baby eats as well. In fact the baby actually takes your nourishments so you must eat enough for both of you. The healthier you eat the better it is for the pregnancy and you.
Never miss a meal while you are pregnant, especially breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and your baby has probably been waiting since he/she woke up in the middle of the night. You may learn that if you wait so long before eating you start to feel sick, this is your body telling you to eat. Do it!
Make sure you are getting enough of the food you need daily. It takes 4-6 servings of dairy a day for a healthy pregnancy, this can include some cheeses, milk, yogurt. This provides the baby with calcium which it’ll need to develop healthy growing bones. Adding extra calcium to your diet wouldn’t hurt you either, especially your teeth and bones.
Don’t forget about your fruit and vegetable servings. Lots of green is always a good choice, so are sweet potatoes. Not only will you be giving your body what it needs but you’ll start to have more energy. Try laying off the sweets for a week and replace them with healthier items and see how alive you feel.
Foods to Avoid
Not all foods are safe during your pregnancy, there are a few things you should avoid eating:
- unpasteurized products- brie
- Certain fish- exotic, shark, swordfish, anything high in mercury
- Raw eggs
- Undercooked meats- lunch meats. If you are buying a deli sandwich you can ask for them to eat the meat up a little.
- Caffeine- soda, chocolate. If you find this difficult you can wean yourself off, but the less caffeine in your system the better it is for the baby.
If you are ever unsure of the foods you can eat you can ask your doctor for a list of items to avoid during pregnancy. They’ll be more than happy to share this with you.
You may also learn that your stomach won’t handle certain foods that it would before. Some of those foods may include foods that contain grease, fast foods, meat, and certain foods that have a strong odor.
Eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to cut out all the fun in your life, you can still treat yourself from time to time. Go out and get a frozen yogurt or a smoothie.
While you are making sure you get enough to eat throughout the day, that doesn’t mean neglect your fluid intake. You’ll need lots of water and juices from here on out. The baby will thank you later. Who knows, you may discover that you really enjoy eating healthier and continue it even after the pregnancy.
