Pregnancy - Know Nutrition Required In It!

During pregnancy, a woman needs to take care of her body and her baby. One of the most important parts of pregnancy is the level of nutrition and diet of the woman. This has a direct bearing on the growth of the baby as well as the progression of the pregnancy. Nutrition is a matter of deciding what kind of food one should eat and the kind of food that one should stay away from, at this point. Weight management and looking after your sugar and blood pressure levels is also a part of this nutrition plan that you will follow during your pregnancy.

In case you are confused about the diet and nutrition plan that you must follow during your pregnancy, then here is a plan that you can use. Do remember to consult your doctor so that it may be customised as per your body and specific conditions.

1. Grains: You will need to ingest at least seven to eight pounds of grains in a day. These may include wheat, rice, and other local grains like Ragi, Bajra, Jowar and other such grains. You must create a good balance of these grains. But do remember to find out if your doctor would recommend the use of grains, depending on the state of your health. You may also want to watch out for signs like constipation and loose motions in case your body is not able to tolerate excessive amounts of grains. You can also stick to cereal for breakfast and other grains for lunch and dinner. Try and create a mix of grains with which you can make rotis or flatbread to be had with vegetables.
2. Fruit: You will need to have at least two cups of fruit a day. In case you are diabetic or you are suffering from gestational diabetes or even a high level of sugar, you may want to consult your doctor about the amount of fruit that you can have during the day. This is also a good substitute when you are having sugar cravings during your pregnancy. Try and have plenty of fruit and mix up the colours as the fibre will also help in dealing with any constipation that you may be going through.
3. Vegetables: It is imperative to have at least three to four cups of vegetables a day when you are pregnant, as this will supply a lot of nutrients, minerals and vitamins to the growing baby. You may especially want to stick to vegetables like broccoli that have a high iron and folate content which can give a good amount of folic acid. This is usually required for good growth of the foetus. As with fruit, you will need to mix up the colours and have something from each colour group every day. You can combine this with some amount of meat as well.