The 100 Healthiest Foods to Eat During Pregnancy

481 Pages·2009·4.91 MB·English

by  Jonny Bowden Ph.D. C.N.S.

The 100 Healthiest Foods to Eat During
Pregnancy
The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About Foods You
Should Be Eating During Pregnancy but Probably
Aren’t
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Allison Tannis, M.S., R.H.N.
dedication
To everyone who strives to give their baby the healthiest possible start.
—Jonny and Allison
For my little bundle of joy—may this help you grow big and strong.
—Allison
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION Eating Your Way to a Healthy Pregnancy
CHAPTER 1 Foods for a Healthy First Trimester
CHAPTER 2 Foods for a Healthy Second Trimester
CHAPTER 3 Foods for a Healthy Third Trimester
CHAPTER 4 Foods that Quiet Complaints
CHAPTER 5 Tricky Foods and Herbs
CHAPTER 6 Best Foods for Breast-Feeding
CHAPTER 7 Bite Back against Postpartum Depression
CHAPTER 8 Foods for Fertility and a Healthy Pregnancy from the Get-Go
AFTERWORD
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
INDEX OF THE 100 HEALTHIEST FOODS
GENERAL INDEX
Preface
WHY YOU (AND YOUR BABY) NEED THIS BOOK
Years ago, I asked my friend Robert Crayhon, M.S., the great nutrition educator
and director of the Boulderfest nutritional medicine conference, the following
question:
“If you could wave your hands and make one single dietary change that
would benefit the world the most, what would it be?”
Here’s what he said: “I’d put every pregnant woman on fish oil
supplements.”
Now, what’s interesting about this response is not just the fact that Crayhon
picked fish oil as the most important supplement for pregnancy (which it may
well be). What’s also interesting is the implication that a pregnant woman’s diet
has such a profound effect on the health and well-being of her baby that
multiplied many times over it might actually translate into betterment for the
whole planet.
That’s how important your diet during pregnancy and postpartum really is.
Look, I know I’m a guy and I’ve never experienced it, but hundreds of
women have told me that pregnancy and birth are the most life-altering,
profound experiences they’ve ever had. I believe profoundly that what you eat
influences everything you do and everything you experience, and that is never
more true than during pregnancy and postpartum. “Birthing a baby runs the
gamut from the intensity of the physical to the sublime of the spiritual, whether
it is your first baby or your fifth,” write my friends Dean Raffelock, D.C., L.Ac.,
C.C.N., DACBN, DIBAK, and Robert Rountree, M.D., authors of the terrific
Natural Guide to Pregnancy and Postpartum Health. Your diet (and lifestyle)
during pregnancy not only deeply affects your own experience but has a great
influence on your baby’s health, vitality, and well-being.
Hence this book.
In a previous book, The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, I discussed the
health and nutrition benefits of many foods that—not surprisingly—are also in
this book. After all, if a food benefits your health, it stands to reason it’s
probably good for your baby as well. But during pregnancy, your needs for
certain nutrients change—your need for iron, for example, doubles during
pregnancy, and that increased amount can’t really be met by diet (which is why
iron supplements are nearly always recommended during pregnancy). Your need
for protein is higher, as is your need for vitamin E, vitamin C, niacin, riboflavin,
thiamin, B6, B12, magnesium, iodine, zinc and selenium, and—most especially
— folate (folic acid).
Bottom line: Some foods (and supplements) are even more important during
pregnancy than they are at any other time of life.
There’s more. Pregnancy and birth may be a wonderful, exciting journey,
but it’s probably going to have more than a few bumps along the road. (Okay,
forget the “probably”—I was being gentle.) Morning sickness comes to mind, as
does the possibility of postpartum depression. Weird food cravings are common,
not to mention nausea.
To make matters worse, the amount of information about what to do about
all these things is overwhelming—and while some of the information out there is
high-quality stuff, much of it is not, some of it is really bad, and an awful lot of
it is just plain confusing. Just for fun, I looked on the Internet and “researched”
what advice was available on how to have a great pregnancy and a healthy baby.
Even this trial run left me feeling overwhelmed, and I’m not even pregnant! I
can only imagine how overwhelming and confusing it might be to someone who
really needs to act on the best information available but doesn’t know how to
separate the good stuff from the downright silly.
In The 100 Healthiest Foods to Eat During Pregnancy, we’ve broken it
down for you into manageable chunks of information that you can actually use.
You’ll discover the right foods for a number of common problems, from
morning sickness through postpartum depression. You’ll discover what’s
happening to your baby at each stage of pregnancy and how your food choices
can directly support his or her growth and development. Equally important,
you’ll learn what foods to avoid and why.
One of the things I’ve tried to do in all my writing is to cut through
confusion and misinformation and put to bed common myths about food and
nutrition that have actually hurt us more than they’ve helped us (like the
wholesale avoidance of fat, for example). And pregnancy and postpartum is an
area ripe for what my grandmother used to call “old wives’ tales.” Perfect
example: “You’re eating for two!” This “advice” has led more than a few
mothers to consume twice the calories they’d normally consume. Actually, the
truth is that you only need to eat about 300 extra calories a day to fuel your
truth is that you only need to eat about 300 extra calories a day to fuel your
baby’s growth, and that isn’t even till the second and third trimester! But
choosing those calories wisely—which is what this book is about—is of critical
importance. The payoff: a healthy mom, healthy baby, minimal weight gain, and
easy postpregnancy weight loss!
Choosing foods wisely also affects your ability to conceive, so if you’re
reading this in anticipation of becoming pregnant, you’ve come to the right
place! And choosing foods wisely can make a huge difference when it’s time to
bounce back from pregnancy and delivery. Even understanding your cravings
may help— for example, as you’ll learn in the book, that pickles-and-ice-cream
craving just might be your body’s way of telling you to get more calcium and
sodium in your diet!
Speaking of cravings, one concept you’ll find in the book that many people
have found particularly useful is the Art of the Nutrition Shift: healthy
substitutions for commonly craved foods (we’ll give you a ton of examples).
We’ll also tell you the results of the most up-to-date research regarding such
pregnancy dilemmas as how to get more omega-3s from fish in your diet while
avoiding mercury. Or how to stay properly hydrated when you’re feeling
nauseous and can’t face the thought of another glass of water (ice chips,
anyone?). We’ll give you tips on how to choose, store, and prepare each food we
discuss, as well as when and how much of it to eat!
Here’s what this book is not meant to be: a source of anxiety. As an
expectant mother, the last thing you need is a stern taskmaster telling you what
you must do if you want your pregnancy to be successful and your baby to be
healthy. We know you want those things—so do we. But we also know that each
person— and each pregnancy—is completely unique and that a perfect set of
“must-follow” rules does not exist. We want you to look at this book as a tool, a
partner in a collaboration that has you (and your baby) at the center. If some of
the information we present makes sense to you, please act on it. If some of it
doesn’t feel right, feel free to amend or adapt it.
Your body has its own innate wisdom, even if some of its messages tend to
get drowned out in a sea of noise. We want to help you listen for that innate
wisdom and to provide the nourishment needed to make that inner voice more
audible. Remember, women have been making babies since the beginning of
time. You don’t need us to tell you how to do it.
But if we can help you do it in a way that will increase the odds that this
journey will be an astonishing one and that you and your baby will have all the
raw materials you need for a fabulous experience together, then this book will
raw materials you need for a fabulous experience together, then this book will
have more than served its modest purpose.
Enjoy the journey.
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
Woodland Hills, California
Introduction: Eat Your Way to a Heathly Pregnancy
Eating for yourself and a baby can be more complicated than it sounds. But with
the right information, you can eat your way to and through a healthy pregnancy.
We all know that food and your health are tightly linked, but in pregnancy, what
you eat is more important than ever. It’s not so much “you are what you eat” but
“your baby is what you eat.”
Your baby relies entirely on you for nutrients, so what you choose to put on
your plate is now affecting two of you. And scientists have discovered that what
you choose to eat now can affect the health of your baby for years to come. So
grab a fork and let’s dive into these pages filled with the secrets of food for a
healthy, happy pregnancy.
WHAT’S FOOD GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Can you imagine being able to eat your way through pregnancy-related
complaints like morning sickness? Or that making the right choice from the
dinner menu may improve your chances of becoming pregnant in the first place?
It’s all true. What you eat has a profound effect on your body and how well it
will endure the adventure of motherhood. Certain nutrients that you can find in
foods can help your body with the various stages, discomforts, and joys of
pregnancy.
Luckily, becoming pregnant will not require you to stand on your head to
eat your food. The principles for a healthy diet during pregnancy are very similar
to the ones you’ve used for most of your life. In a nutshell, focus on natural
foods that are not processed and avoid foods that are covered with fat or salt. Eat
lots of leafy green vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, and fruit. And
particularly when you are pregnant, don’t forget to reach for the fish course and
a glass of milk to wash it all down.
During pregnancy, you need to focus on particular nutrients so you and your
baby can enjoy the best of health. Let’s look a little more closely at some of
these super-important pregnancy nutrients.
KEY NUTRIENTS
Many nutrients are of particular importance as you enter into pregnancy and
motherhood. You probably already know about folate and calcium. But many
motherhood. You probably already know about folate and calcium. But many
women aren’t aware of the importance of other nutrients like iron, DHA, and
vitamin B6. In fact, there are more than a dozen nutrients that you need more of
in your diet during pregnancy than you have ever needed before.
Some experts suggest that during pregnancy you’ll need 100 percent more
iron, 60 percent more vitamin A, 50 percent more vitamin B6 and folate (folic
acid), and 30 percent more vitamin C, niacin, vitamin B12, and vitamin B2.
Nutrients can do more than simply prevent deficiencies. Certain nutrients can
enhance fertility, ease nausea, boost your energy, relieve breast engorgement
pain, or prevent postpartum depression. Let’s see what these important
pregnancy nutrients have to offer.
To Eat or Not to Eat?
If you search for your favorite foods on the Internet, you’ll probably
find someone telling you why pregnant women shouldn’t eat them.
How do you know if it’s true or false? Get the facts. Here are two
simple “Do Eat” and “Don’t Eat” lists to get you started. Then just wait
till you read about all the fabulous foods you can enjoy during
pregnancy as you dig into the chapters ahead. You’ll find a buffet of
delicious meals with endless possibilities. For more on the bad guys,
check out chapter 5, beginning on page 210, where we take a detailed
look at those foods on the “Don’t Eat” list.
THE DO EAT LIST:
• WHOLE GRAINS
• FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
• LOW-FAT PROTEIN SOURCES
• GOOD FATS (PLANT OILS, FISH)
THE DON’T EAT LIST:
• TRANS FAT OR LOTS OF SATURATED FAT
• SWEETENED, CAFFEINATED, OR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
• CANDY AND OTHER SWEETS
• IMPROPERLY COOKED OR HIGH-RISK FOODS