Nutrition During Pregnancy

A balanced, nutritious diet is an important aspect of a healthy pregnancy. It is not a matter for eating more or "eating for two"; your energy requirement do not double just because you are pregnant. However, your body will require more of certain key nutrients i.e. Folate, Gangliosides (GA), Sialic Acid (SA), Essential Fatty Acids (EFA), Calcium, iron and others to support a healthy pregnancy.

Folate

Also called as Folic Acid or Vitamin B9. Leafy vegetables such as spinach, turnip greens, lettuces, dried beans and peas, fortified milk and cereal products, sunflower seeds and certain other fruits and vegetables are rich sources of folate.

Folate is essential for growth and division of cells in both mother and unborn baby. Division of cells occur rapidly in developing baby to for important organs such as brain. Folate helps to maintain the growth and development of the foetus. As our body is unable to store Folate, it is therefore important to obtain Folate from our daily diet.

Gangliosides (GA)

GA is a type of fat which is highly concentrated in the brain. GA helps with brain cell connections. More brain cell connections lead to faster learning. research shows that GA may enhance learning ability and memory retention.

Sialic Acid (SA)

SA is highly concentrated in the central nervous system, especially the brain and in the celebral cortex (memory area)

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA)

Some of the food sources of fatty acids are fish and shellfish, flaxseed(linseed). hemp oil, soya oil, soya oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, leafy vegetables, and walnuts.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) are particularly important during pregnancy because your body cannot make these fatty acids; nor can your baby. EFA such as linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid are the precursor of DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) and AA (Arachidonic acid). DHA and AA are the building blocks of brain and eyes. Therefore, it is important that EFA be present in your daily diet.

Calcium

Dairy products, such as milk and cheese, are a well-known source of calcium. Other than that, seaweeds; nuts and seeds (like almonds and sesame); beans; oranges; figs; okra ; broccoli; and fortified products such as orange juice and soy milk contains calcium.

Calcium is essential for building strong bones and teeth for your baby as well as for yourself. To ensure the sufficiency of calcium during pregnancy, your body absorbs 50% more calcium than usual especially in the first 6 months. If you are not getting enough calcium from your diet, your body will get the calcium from your stores i.e. bones, thereby reducing your bone mass.

Low intakes of calcium during pregnancy may also cause muscles spasm while adequate intakes of calcium during pregnancy may help to reduce having high blood pressure caused by pregnancy. it is important to make sure you are getting enough calcium throughout your pregnancy.

Iron

Good sources of dietary iron include red meat, fish, poultry, lentils, beans, leaf vegetables, tofu, chick peas, black eyed peas, potatos with skin and bread made from completely whole-grain flour. Iron in meat is more easily absorbed than iron in vegetables but heme/hemoglobin from red meat has effects which may increase the likelihood of colorectal cancer (source wikipedia).

During pregnancy, you need for iron almost doubled. iron is needed to built red blood cells that help to carry oxygen around the body and to your unborn baby. It is important to have sufficient iron stored before you embark upon a pregnancy.