What every healthy woman needs to know about eating for two, according to pregnancy experts
Pin ItThere’s nothing quite like pregnancy to shake up a gal’s nutritional routine. For some typically clean eaters, bagels and potato chips are suddenly far more appealing than green juice and quinoa. Others find that morning sickness (or really, all-day-long sickness) makes their standard a.m. avo toast sound positively revolting. And then there are more extreme examples of eating habits gone wild—like die-hard vegetarians who spend those nine months dreaming about steaks.
Between the crazy cravings and unexpected food aversions, it can be tempting to just pop a prenatal vitamin and give in to the siren call of saltines and pickles. But while supplements are great for filling in the nutritional gaps, experts agree that healthy whole foods are just as critical for expecting moms. (At least, when they’re able to stomach them.)
While supplements are great for filling in the nutritional gaps, experts agree that healthy whole foods are just as critical for expecting moms.
“Taking a prenatal vitamin can help ensure that you get the nutrients that are important during pregnancy, but remember that it isn’t a substitute for eating a healthy diet,” says integrative nutritionist Jennie Miremadi, MS, CNS, LDN. “I recommend sitting down with your health care providers at the outset of your pregnancy and talking to them about what you’re eating. Together, you can determine the best supplements and diet for you.”
Luckily, there are certain foods that make it especially easy to get the vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients that moms and babies need during pregnancy. I asked Miremadi, along with other wellness experts, to outline some of the best—as well as the not-so-obvious foods that should be eaten in moderation (or avoided altogether).
Ready to make a grocery list? Here are the foods you should—and shouldn’t—be eating during pregnancy.
Pin ItLeafy greens
Salads are just about every healthy girl’s ride-or-die, but they become even more important during pregnancy because leafy greens are high in folate (AKA vitamin B9 or folic acid)—a super-important vitamin for a fetus’ developing nervous system and spinal cord.
“Folate is particularly critical during the first stages of pregnancy, when the baby’s neural tube is forming,” says Miramadi. But, if possible, it’s also important to load up on the nutrient before conception, says Marra Francis, MD, FACOG. “Women should ensure they have adequate levels of folic acid in their diet prior to pregnancy, because this vitamin is essential very early on—even before a woman knows she’s pregnant,” says Dr. Francis, medical director at home lab testing company EverlyWell. So if you’re still in the process of trying to conceive, definitely load up.
Spinach is a particularly solid choice. Not only will it contribute to your daily folate intake, but it’s also a good source of other important prenatal nutrients like iron, calcium, and vitamin A.
Pin ItGinger
Chinese medicine practitioner Dara Barr usually takes a personalized approach to prenatal diet when she’s consulting clients at New York City’s YinOva Center. But the one food she tends to recommend across the board is ginger, particularly for women in their first trimester, when so many women either feel low-grade queasy all the time…or spend a good part of their days throwing up. (Side note: If you’re having really severe morning sickness, definitely talk to your OB-GYN or midwife. It could be a sign of rare, but serious hyperemesis gravidarum.)
“Our biggest go-to for morning sickness is ginger,” she says. “It’s the most effective herb for nausea and warms the spleen energy to help regulate digestion.” You can drink it as a tea, snack on ginger candies, or add it to your meals, like holistic chef Minna Hughes. (Her favorite preparation: broccoli soup with fresh ginger.)
Pin ItOrange veggies
Farmers’ market staples like sweet potatoes and carrots are rich in vitamin A, which helps the baby’s cells differentiate and develop into healthy organs. It’s best to get this nutrient from whole, plant-based foods, says Miremadi, since it is possible to get too much of it.
“Vitamin A has two forms in food—preformed vitamin A, or retinol, and provitamin A carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A,” she explains. “Preformed vitamin A is found in animal products, whereas provitamin A carotenoids are primarily found in plant foods.”
She goes on to say that too much preformed vitamin A can lead to birth defects, so pregnant women should avoid using topical retinols on their skin, taking vitamin A supplements, or eating liver—and stay in the neighborhood of 770 mcg retinol activity equivalent (RAE) per day.
Pin ItEggs
If the thought of a morning omelet doesn’t make you queasy, eggs…
