How often should I eat while pregnant

“If you are pregnant, you should eat for two”: this is the phrase that every woman in condition will hear from her grandmothers, mother, friends, acquaintances, and even the neighbor. The truth is that yes, food during pregnancy is essential, but it does not suggest excess food to guarantee the health of the fetus and the mother; on the contrary, overeating and succumbing to all kinds of cravings can compromise the health of the woman and the baby.

Feeding during pregnancy is essential since the intake of nutrients that the mother ingests will be responsible for feeding the fetus during the nine months. It is likely that when you are pregnant, you will need to make changes in your diet and in your lifestyle to ensure that your pregnancy runs healthily and so that you can prevent gestational diabetes, which occurs when the mother has high blood sugar levels. If you are expecting a baby and don’t stop asking yourself how often you should eat while pregnant, in this FastlyHealarticle, you will find the answer.

Importance of diet during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a biological and natural process that causes many changes in the body, suggesting specific nutritional and food requirements. Why? Because the nutritional status of the mother will depend on the success of the pregnancy, to the point that the birth of premature children with low weight is related to women who were improperly fed during pregnancy or who are overweight.

What the woman eats during pregnancy is extremely important because her diet will be the supply of vitamins, proteins, and minerals that will also feed the fetus and that will allow it to form correctly, have a healthy weight, mature at the expected time, be born in at 40 weeks and have a robust immune system that allows you to be born healthy and protected from any bacteria, viruses or infections that may be present at the time of delivery. In other words, the baby’s health on the way depends mainly on the mother’s eating habits during pregnancy.

A good diet during pregnancy

The key to a healthy diet during pregnancy is in the variety of foods that the mother eats and, very importantly, in the amount of food she eats each day. Therefore, the diet should be based on the daily consumption of all the food groups: cereals, fruits, vegetables, proteins, eggs, and dairy products, since the absence of any of these components can generate some vitamin deficiency.

The consumption of abundant fruits, vegetables, and vegetables is significant since these foods offer the most nutrients to the body and allow both the mother and the fetus to obtain the optimal levels necessary for the vitamins and minerals that the body needs to maintain itself. Healthy.

Proteins can never be lacking either, as meats are responsible for muscle development, tissue formation, and the health of the immune system. Likewise, many women believe that it is healthy to reduce carbohydrate consumption during pregnancy so as not to gain weight, and the truth is that this food group is essential for the body’s energy and for the woman to feel vital during pregnancy.

The diet during pregnancy must be balanced, so it is not recommended to overeat or eliminate any food group. As long as there is a balance in everything we eat when we are pregnant, there will be a nutritional balance, and the body will not have any vitamin deficit that could compromise the health of the mother and the fetus. Remember the key: do not consume any food group more or less, but always maintain balance.

Foods to eat during pregnancy

• Vegetable fats: you get them through olive oil, and they help build cell membranes.
• Fatty acids: participate in the development of the brain of the fetus. Since they are obtained mainly through fish, and there is many fish with mercury that are not good for the body, it is best to consume fatty acids through supplements.
• Animal proteins: meat and eggs are essential for the growth of the fetus. It is recommended to consume 70 grams every day.
• Calcium: the pregnant woman needs 1200 mg of calcium per day. Calcium allows the formation of the baby’s bones and teeth and helps prevent high blood pressure levels. Milk, yogurt, cheese, and oranges are rich in calcium.
• Vitamins: folic acid and vitamin B are the most important in pregnancy as they allow healthy development and prevent conditions such as spina bifida. Spinach, lettuce, walnuts, avocado, cabbage, artichokes, eggs, oranges, bananas, rice, and corn are rich in these vitamins.
• Carbohydrates: potatoes, pasta, bread, or sweet potato are good carbohydrates that help have energy during the nine months.

Foods you should not eat during pregnancy.

• Unpasteurized cheeses: can contain a bacteria called listeria. Avoid eating very soft, blue, or moldy cheeses such as camembert.
• Raw Egg – Raw egg can have salmonella in it. Since eggs are one of the essential foods during pregnancy, make sure always to eat them well cooked. Also, avoid preparations that contain this raw ingredient, such as homemade mayonnaise, homemade hollandaise sauce, or carbonara pasta made with eggs instead of cream.
• Raw meat or fish: although raw beef is rich in iron, it can contain bacteria or parasites that can seriously compromise your health and the fetus. Therefore do not eat any raw meat or fish, including ceviche, carpaccio, tartare, uncured sausages, etc.
• Vitamin A: can cause malformations in the fetus, so it is not recommended to consume this vitamin in the first three months of pregnancy. The liver contains high levels of vitamin A.
• Fish rich in mercury: Fish with a high level of mercury can impair the normal development of the fetus and cause diseases. Avoid swordfish or emperor fish, bluefin tuna, grouper, or sea bass.

How often should I eat while pregnant?

As you may have realized, food is essential in pregnancy, so you must take care to offer your body the necessary nutrients through meals. But how often should I eat while pregnant? Very simple, being pregnant, you should eat like anyone who has a healthy diet: breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack.

Ideally, you should eat about every three hours, which will also help your metabolism stay active and prevent excessive weight gain. So that you can orient yourself and know what the ideal diet for a pregnant woman would be like, here we offer you the following menu:

Breakfast

• Cereal with skim milk with calcium and iron.
• + 2 toasts of bread with white cheese.
• + Natural orange juice.
• + Decaffeinated coffee.

Afternoon snack

• A banana or the fruit of your choice.

Lunch

• Green vegetable salad with olive oil.
• + Pasta with natural tomato sauce or meat sauce.
• + Fruit salad with yogurt.
• + Water.

Afternoon snack

• Bread toast with fruit jam and a glass of milk.

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• Vegetables steamed or baked with olive oil and pepper.
• + Baked or grilled chicken with baked potatoes.
• + Sorbet.
• + Fruit juice.

Afternoon snack

• Hot milk with natural cocoa.

This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to How often should I eat while pregnant , we recommend that you enter our Pregnancy and baby health category .