General Diet Guide during pregnancy

Pregnant woman should eat foods high in nutrition and low in calories.

The caloric intake requirement is increased by about 15%, while, the nutritional intake requirements are increased by 50%.

1. 83% of body weight is blood. The total volume needed increases with growing fetus. Drink 8 to 10 cups of water per day.

2. Avoid 'combination foods' that combine dairy products, with grains and vegetables that are high in Phytates, and Oxalates. Example are: Paalak Paneer, Sarson ka Saag with heavy whipping cream. The combination foods reduce absorption of Calcium, Magnesium and Iron. Drink or eat dairy products 20 minutes before or 20 minutes after the meals.

3. Drink 4 to 6 cups of milk every day to meet needed Calcium and Vitamin B12 requirement. Preferably, the dairy products should be low fat or no fat to reduce caloric intake.

4. Eat pre-soaked or germinated grains, leafy and purple/vegetables for iron. If you are vegetarian see Dietary Iron intake guidelines for vegetarians. The same holds true for magnesium. Preferred products are Naan, Sprouted Moong beans, Aloo Paalak, Aloo Methi

5. You need omega-3 fatty acids during the third trimester, and while nursing. These fatty acids are the building blocks for the brain and form the retina of the eye of the baby.
Omega 3 (DHA): Primary source is Fish such as Salmon, Sardines
Omega 3 is also available in Walnuts, Flaxseed, and Canola oils, Dark green vegetables such as Spinach.
Avoid swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tile fish because of high levels of mercury.
Flax seed has the highest concentration of Omega 3 for vegetarians. Flax Seeds also help with constipation during pregnancy. Vegetarian women should consider taking Flaxseed oil supplements.

6. Avoid sugars, they only increase Caloric intake with minimum nutrition. Desserts like Rasgulla, and Rasmalai are acceptable with alternate juices such as Apple Rasmalai . Soft beverages such as Colas should be avoided.

7. Avoid fried foods such as Samosa and Pakora. They may cause heartburn.

8. Avoid saturated (Ghee, Butter) and trans-fats (Margarine, Dalda, Vanaspati). These are not heart healthy. Use Canola oil for cooking.

9. Avoid liver, or other foods high in Vitamin A. High amounts of vitamin A may be harmful to fetus.

10. If family members have a history of allergy (Asthma, hay fever, eczema), avoid peanuts and peanut by-products.

11. Avoid raw milk, soft cheeses (feta, brie), Mexican cheese (queso Blanco, queso fresco), Paneer. They may have Listeria leading to miscarriage.

12. Avoid raw eggs, or products that include raw eggs (Caesar salad dressing), undercooked meats (beef, lamb, pork) raw seafood. These may be infected with Salmonella, E.Coli etc.
13. Avoid Papaya. The latex on the papaya may be harmful to the fetus. If you want to eat Papaya, wash it thoroughly with warm water to remove all the white latex.

14. During pregnancy, the fetus is growing all the time. Therefore, you should spread your caloric intake over six periods such as breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack.

15. Cook at home. You know exactly what you are eating.

16. Avoid: Tea, Caffeine, Alcohol, Nicotine, Amphetamine, Cocaine, Heroin, Marijuana, and PCP.

17. Do not go on a diet to lose weight during pregnancy .

Source:Indian Curry