If you're hoping to conceive soon, eating a healthy diet can go a long way toward creating and sustaining a healthy pregnancy. The best diet for conception is one that focuses on a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods from every food group. However, there are also foods you'll want to exclude from your menu in order to avoid any potential dangers in early pregnancy.
Whole Grains
If your daily diet is heavy in refined grains like white bread, rice, pasta and crackers, swap these foods for their whole-grain counterparts. According to BabyCenter, during the refining process, grains lose several nutrients that can boost fertility, including antioxidants, B vitamins and iron. Try to eat 6 oz. of whole grains per day from sources such as brown rice, oatmeal, whole-grain bread and cereal and whole-wheat pasta.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are a concentrated source of hundreds of vitamins and minerals that your body needs from the first moments of conception. They're also packed with antioxidants and phytochemicals which fight the free radicals that can damage sperm, eggs and reproductive organs. To get the greatest variety of nutrients, choose organic produce in every color of the rainbow, and opt for the brightest-colored fruits and vegetables you can find.
Lean Protein
Protein plays an important role in a healthy pregnancy, but many popular protein sources are packed with saturated fat. Try to eat four to six 3-oz. servings of protein each day from lean foods, like white-meat poultry, lean beef, low-fat dairy, beans, nuts and seafood. Just be sure to stick to low-mercury seafood like shrimp, salmon, catfish and canned light tuna, and limit yourself to 12 oz. per week.
Folic Acid
Folic acid is one of your body's most critical nutrients starting from the very beginning of pregnancy. In fact, taking folic acid for a month before conception and throughout the first trimester can reduce your baby's risk of developing a neural tube defect by 50 to 70 percent, according to nutritionist Martha Belury. Foods like leafy greens, avocados, peanuts and fortified cereal, bread and juice are rich in folic acid -- but you can ensure you're always getting plenty of this nutrient by taking a prenatal vitamin with at least 400 mcg of folic acid as soon as you know you'd like to become pregnant.
What to Avoid
Just as some foods can help you conceive and nourish a healthy pregnancy, others can complicate matters. Avoid eating any raw or undercooked meat, seafood or eggs, liver or pate and high-mercury seafood. Another concern during this period is listeria, a type of bacteria that may be present in soft cheeses, ready-to-eat meats and unpasteurized dairy products. To stay safe, avoid these foods altogether, or heat them until they're steaming.
