A sneak peek into pregnancy food to avoid

Eating nutritious food leads to healthy pregnancy but you should also know what pregnancy food to avoid so that you can make mindful food choices.

During pregnancy, food plays a vital role and it affects not just you but also the growing baby inside you.Having a well-balanced pregnancy nutritional plan always helps. A good pregnancy nutritional plan includes pregnancy food groups, giving a perspective on what pregnancy food to eat. But in the vast expanse of it, one should also be aware what pregnancy food to avoid. It is a topic to which many cast a cursory glance. Worry not, we have gone a little deep to make you understand the risk of associating with the food that you are not supposed to eat during pregnancy and what are the safety hygiene that you should exercise before eating any pregnancy food.

In this article:

• Pregnancy Food List
• Pregnancy Food that you must include
• Pregnancy Food to avoid
• Safety Hygiene to follow
  

Pregnancy Food List:

A pregnancy food list is incomplete without the following staples:

• Lentils and beans
• whole grains and legumes
• Fruits and vegetables
• Yoghurt
• Eggs
• Oats
• Low fat milk and cheese that is
• Dry fruits
• Avocado
• Lean meat
• Folic acid rich foods like leafy greens, broccoli etc
• Water

Pregnancy Food that you must include in your diet :

While the above list is mostly exhaustive and takes almost every nutrition rich food under its roof, the below are the must have and not to be compromised:

• Be a pro like protein – Make sure that you eat lean protein in every meal. Protein is required for growth and development of your baby. The above pregnancy food list contains lentils, beans, dairy products like milk and cheese, and eggs which are rich sources of protein. Eggs are incredible source of choline, needed for brain development during pregnancy. If you want to try something different for a variety, you can go for power packed healthy bites like protein milkshakes that also act like immunity boosters or try multivitamin trail mix which is high in protein and mixes super seeds like sunflower, pumpkin and sesame
• Never curb the carbohydrates – Carbohydrates are found in your wheat chapatti, starchy vegetables like potatoes, whole grain bread oatmeal, rice and banana. It is an important component of pregnancy food which supplies lot of energy to your body and are great in nutritional value.
• Collect star foods along the milky way –  Plan your meal so that you have space for atleast 3 to 4 servings of dairy products like cheese, milk, yoghurt in a day. Dairy products are star foods which guarantees calcium. Calcium is necessary for your baby’s bone health. Increase the amount of cottage cheese consumption during pregnancy so that you meet your dairy needs from various sources other than milk.
• Paint your plate with different colours – Have combination fruits and different coloured vegetables which have high amount of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Eat at least 4 different fruits and 4 servings of vegetables daily.
• Go green – Folic acid for pregnancy is vital to steer your baby clear from any neural defects. It is found mostly in vegetables, fruits and nuts. Your doctor will give you folic acid supplements but you can add in folate-rich foods like spinach, broccoli, other leafy greens to your diet.
• Hydration is the key – During pregnancy, you need to watch out your water intake. Make sure that you drink 8 – 10 glasses of water a day. Water is a significant pregnancy food tip so always carry a water bottle wherever you go. You can squeeze in some citrus food like lemon to motivate yourself to drink more water.
• Get real with cereal – Boost your nutrient density by including fruit, nuts and seeds in your cereal. There are plenty of options in cereals and to bulk more nutrition value in it, add pregnancy nutrition powder in your cereal food.
• Prenatal vitamins offer pillar of support: Sometimes even if you follow your pregnancy nutrition plan, your body is not able to create required amount of essential prenatal vitamins so in order to create a balance, pregnancy nutrition supplements are recommended. Packed with multivitamins, they offer truckload of benefits in increasing your immunity and maintaining your bone, hair, and entire functioning of your body.

Pregnancy Food that you should avoid:

Now that you have an inside out overview of what pregnancy food to eat, let’s understand more on what pregnancy food to avoid and risk of including them in your diet:

• Raw eggs – When eggs benefit greatly, raw egg is polar opposite to it. Intake of raw egg can cause premature birth or stillbirth. Make sure you cook eggs before you consume.
• Caffeine – Coffee lovers have to watch out their daily consumption of coffee. Caffeine si not only found in coffee but also in soft drinks and tea. Avoid excess of these beverages in pregnancy as these can cause growth defects in baby.
• Raw sprouts – When you scout for pregnancy food to avoid, raw sprouts instantly pop up. Salmonella is the polluting factor in raw sprouts which can result in health disorders in your baby.
• Unpasteurized juice and milk – See to it that the milk or juice that you consume is pasteurized. Pasteurized food contains bacteria which is harmful and can lead to fatal consequences for your growing baby. Drink fresh fruit juices as they are safe and devoid of any bacteria.
• Alcohol – Alcohol is harmful for your baby as it can trigger intellectual disorders and heart defects. As much as it is dangerous for foetal health, it can also cause miscarriage and stillbirth in pregnant women.
• Say no to Junk – Pregnancy food cravings can lead to consumption of junk in unearthly hours. You can give in to your cravings once in a while but see to it that you do not digress from your nutritional chart very often. Junk or processed food has no nutritional value and they are high in sugar and fat, which can lead to weight gain. Weight gain, further, leads to complications in unnecessary complications like gestational diabetes etc. You can satisfy your pregnancy food cravings by various substitutes. Enriched with natural extracts and zero preservatives, they are perfect substitute for sugar.

Safety Hygiene Tips:

• Always wash/rinse the food before you cut or cook
• Doesn’t matter if you purchase any pregnancy food online or from the market, always read label.
• Avoid raw or undercooked foods.
• Cook food thoroughly especially if you are meat or fish eater
• Clean your kitchen before you start prepping for meal
• Keep raw foods separate and do not mix them with cooked food to avoid cross contamination
• Wash your hands before handling food items

Pay close attention to the food you eat in pregnancy. A wrong food can make you sick and lead to health issues that can have long term impact in you and your baby.