In general, foods that are healthy when you're not pregnant are healthy when you are pregnant, but there are some dietary recommendations that most obstetricians suggest you take into account when formulating a pregnancy diet. Typically, the healthiest foods for pregnancy are those high in nutrients and low in added fats and sugars. Furthermore, the majority of foods you consume during pregnancy should have a relatively low glycemic index.
Dietary Needs
During pregnancy, your nutrient needs increase significantly. Your developing baby needs vitamins, minerals, and lots of proteins and other cellular building blocks in order to grow and develop. All in all, this means you need to take in a bit more energy than you normally do -- about 300 extra calories each day, explain Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz in their book "You: Having A Baby." You also need significantly higher quantities of vitamins and minerals than you usually do.
Recommendations
Most obstetricians recommend that in order to ensure that you're taking in plenty of nutrition without taking in too many calories -- which can result in excess weight gain and pregnancy complications -- you should consume foods with a high nutrient-to-calorie ratio. Such foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean sources of protein and plant-based fats, explains Dr. Miriam Stoppard in her book "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth." You also might need to take a prenatal vitamin to ensure that you're getting all your vitamins and minerals.
Glycemic Index
One indication that a food is of higher nutritional value is that it has a low glycemic index. A food's glycemic index is a measure of how rapidly the glucose, or sugar, from the food enters your bloodstream. Foods with a high glycemic index increase your blood sugar quickly. This causes a "sugar high," which then causes the pancreas to release very large quantities of the hormone insulin. Insulin causes the cells to take up glucose, explains Dr. Lauralee Sherwood in her book "Human Physiology," but too much insulin can cause cells to take up too much glucose, leading to excess fat storage.
Healthy Foods
It can be quite difficult to keep track of the glycemic index of all foods you eat, especially during pregnancy, when you might be fatigued or have nausea and food aversions. Furthermore, a low glycemic index isn't always an indication that a food is healthy. Pizza, for instance, has a low glycemic index but is very high in fat. As such, your best bet for healthy pregnancy eating is to eat primarily whole foods -- fresh produce, whole grains, lean meats and the like -- without added fats and sugars.
References
- "You: Having A Baby"; Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.; 2009
- "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth"; Miriam Stoppard, M.D.; 2008
- "Human Physiology"; Lauralee Sherwood, Ph.D.; 2004
