Pregnancy is a tough journey and one is required to take extreme care of whatever they do or eat during those crucial nine months. Good nutrition is essential for delivering a healthy baby. However, it becomes confusing to know what food or nutrients to go for when you are bombarded with so much information concerning the best superfoods from people around you.
With that being said, it is hard to figure which foods to take and have your quota for the vitamins and nutrients completed for the day. To make the task of selecting the best diet for pregnancy easier for you, below are the top 7 foods that are a must to include in the diet of a pregnant woman.
1:- Legumes
Legumes are the healthiest, best superfoods option to be included in your pregnancy diet as they help to lower the risk of severe diseases. The word legumes involve a wide range of foods such as chickpeas, lentils, and all types of beans. It is common for a pregnant woman to experience iron deficiency, but having legumes every day is a natural boost for your immune health and helps with iron deficiency as well. These veggies, lentils, and beans should be eaten in alterately and you would get enough calcium, protein, fiber, iron, zinc, manganese, and vitamin B9 that is needed to support a healthy pregnancy. Consuming legumes is also excellent for the heart and eliminates the risk of major heart problems since your body becomes quite susceptible to other health issues if you do not stick to a good diet.
2:- Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are packed with different vitamins and minerals. They contain vitamin A in high amounts, which helps with the growth and repair of various cells and tissues in the body. This way it assists in the development of the baby, especially during the initial stage of your pregnancy. It is advisable for a pregnant woman to increase her vitamin A consumption and sweet potatoes are considered the perfect source. High Vitamin A in sweet potatoes is attributed to the carotenoids that give this food its orange color. These carotenoids, when entering our body, get converted into vitamin A. Besides vitamin A, pregnant women can also get manganese, fiber, copper, biotin, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6 by eating sweet potatoes consistently.
3:- Whole-grain foods
Eating whole grains during pregnancy offer you adequate calories, fiber, iron, magnesium, a range of B vitamins, folic acid, selenium, and other essential nutrients. The best superfoods such as cereals, popcorn, oats, brown rice, quinoa, and barley can be included in your diet to increase your fiber intake. Bloating and constipation are the most common problems faced by pregnant women. By adding whole grains, your body would get enough fiber that would constipation and other abdominal issues at bay. Whole-grain foods are also excellent for blood circulation, help in lowering cholesterol levels, and boost overall health during pregnancy. Including all the whole-grain foods can be a bit overwhelming, so for starters, begin your morning breakfast with whole wheat bread.
4:- Eggs
Eggs are one of the major sources of protein and protein is a key nutrient to have a healthy pregnancy. It is not just the protein, eggs provide you with all other essential nutrients that your body requires in order to function well during pregnancy. Even consuming a single egg in a day gives you a good amount of calories, protein, and fat. Choline is a nutrient found in the egg yolk and is believed to help with the effective development of the brain and bones of your baby. Eggs contain a lot of vitamins and minerals and including them in your diet can prevent any birth defect that a child may have.
5:- Berries
Berries are an essential fruit to be incorporated into your ultimate pregnancy food list. They are one of the best superfoods loaded with antioxidants that help boost your immune health and overall system. This antioxidant-rich keeps the free radicals under control and also helps improve your blood sugar levels. It is natural for a woman to feel lethargic and consuming berries offer her the energy you need to do your everyday menial tasks. They also contain folic acid that promotes fetal development and prevents the risk of fetal malformation.
6:- Walnuts
Walnuts are a great nut and a rich source of antioxidants, omega-3s, fiber, protein, and magnesium. The richness of omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts is immensely beneficial for the health of a pregnant woman and the life growing inside her. The fatty acids lower the risk of the baby developing certain birth defects and conditions such as asthma, eczema, etc. Get a fistful of walnuts every day and add it to your salad or any other meal you are having. You can also add other nuts into your diets such as almonds, pistachios, and cashews to get more vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to keep your health at its best while you endure the downside of pregnancy.
7:- Avocado
Avocado fruit is another important food amongst the best superfoods to support a healthy pregnancy and baby. They are loaded with vitamins and minerals such as fiber, vitamin E, C, and K, folate, potassium, and monounsaturated fatty acids. You can eat the avocados or add the avocado between two flat whole wheat loaves of bread. They taste amazing either way. Avocados also contain an adequate amount of fat that is important for the growth of the baby, their brain, tissues, and healthy skin. It is crucial for the pregnant woman to ingest a good amount of healthy fats so as to reduce the risk of brain and spinal cord defects in the baby to be born. The high concentration of magnesium in avocados also helps ease the pain and cramping during pregnancy.
Closing words
For the development of the baby inside you, your best superfood diet has to be abundant in vegetables, fruits, proteins, fibers, whole grains, and it should also be fat-free. The key is to stick to one set of advice and get a diet that includes all the nutrients you need to have a healthy pregnancy.
