Pregnancy and Nutrition

You may feel sick and nauseous within the first weeks of pregnancy and you may not fancy eating anything at all. Later on your appetite may increase slowly.

Pregnancy and Nutrition Guidelines:

• It may make sense to have small frequent meals as your baby will be hungry even if you are not.

• Take an antenatal mineral-vitamin supplement to be able to meet your nutritional needs, but please check with your doctor.

• Increase calorie intake slightly as the pregnancy progresses.

• Make the transition to eating nutritious and well-balanced meals. Limit junk food as it offers nothing more than extra unhealthy calories: Have a banana instead of an ice cream, but you can still have an occasional treat, no need to feel guilty.

• Do not go on a diet when you are pregnant.

• Eat when you are hungry and frequent small meals throughout the day. Your doctor will monitor your weight and advise what you will need to eat so no need to worry about changing your appetite.

What Not to Eat During Pregnancy:

• Tuna is also likely to contain some level of mercury so only two portions of fresh tuna or no more than four medium size cans of tuna as there is less mercury in canned tuna.

• However, do not take fish off your diet completely as fish contains proteins, minerals, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids.

• Avoid cheeses like brie, camembert, stilton that may contain listeria that could harm your baby.

• Raw seafood, pate, liver, liver sausage, undercooked meat, eggs and poultry should all be avoided as they may contain harmful bacteria that could possibly harm the baby.

• Cut down on caffeine as it may increase the risk of miscarriage and low birth weight. It makes sense to switch to decaf drinks.

Pregnancy and Nutrition : Low GI Diet

It is about eating healthier foods, it is not a fad diet and is not in favor of cutting back on foods. You can eat a great variety of foods on a low GI Diet.

A study from Australia suggests you may have healthier babies on a low glycemic diet. Given that maternal glucose is the main sourde of nutrition for fetal growth, the GI of a pregnant woman's diet can be expected to play a role in fetal health.

62 pregnant women were instructed to either eat plenty of low GI foods or high fibre with moderate to high glycemic index. Babies born to women on high GI diet were heavier and higher ponderal index- a measure of weight in relation to length. Women said they had easier time following the low GI diet.

"Because birth weight and ponderal index predict long-term risk of obesity and chronic disease, a low-glycemic index diet in pregnancy may favourably influence long-term outcomes," the researchers write.

*Here I'd like to tell you about my favorite diet program that uses a lot of the healthy lower GI foods: Isabel de los Rios' 'The Diet Solution Program'.

The Diet Solution Program favours a long term health orientated approach to fat loss, but not offering anyone a quick fix to their weight troubles. It has loads of valuable data and research to support its approach. I personally investigated the program thoroughly and my mum has been using it for a while now. I have to say she got some great results.

The nutrition plan is one of the healthiest we have seen, a strong core focus on vegetables, fruits, vitamin dense foods, lean proteins, select dairy produce and a clear approach to not expecting one diet to work for all body types. So give it a try and let me know how you’re doing.*

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