Pregnancy Diet Chart for First Time Parents

When your baby is your womb, all his/her nourishment comes from you. It comes from everything that you intake. It can be the food, water or the polluted air you breathe in. All these get processed in your body before going to the baby through your umbilical cord. That’s why a pregnancy diet chart is important. It will provide the baby’s nutrition that he/she needs.

You can imagine your cord acting as a bridge between you and your unborn cutie. Transporting all the nutrients, oxygen, antibodies, minerals and vitamins. It also helps to eliminate carbon dioxide and other waste products. Your cord also acts as a shield to protect your baby from certain harmful germs, viruses and chemicals that are sometimes found in your blood.

Let us take a look at what should a healthy pregnancy diet chart contain and how does it benefit both you and your baby.

Healthy Pregnancy Diet Chart

Assuming you are currently consuming 1600 to 1800 calories per day, your body may need an extra 500 calories per day. Go for foods high vitamins and nutrients which includes vegetables, nuts and fruits. Ensure that you take in a wide variety of foods so that you can get all the nutrients required.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates will help to produce sufficient energy for the body. Foods high in carbohydrates include cereals, rice, pasta, bread, veggies and fruits. Opt for whole-grain carbohydrates whenever possible.

Calcium

This is crucial to develop strong bones and teeth for your little one. Calcium intake is very important during pregnancy as your baby demands a high supply of it.

Besides helping to form your baby’s healthy bones, calcium helps to conduct nerve impulses, which are vitally important for your baby’s developing heart and muscles. Food high in calcium includes yoghurt, dark green leafy vegetables, legumes, milk, cheese, sardines, and salmon with bones.

Protein

During your pregnancy, protein helps in the development of your unborn baby.  They encourage cell growth by growing and repairing of new and damaged tissues.  They also help to create antibodies, hormones and enzymes. Foods rich in protein include tofu, lean meat, fish, peanuts, poultry and egg

Iron

When iron levels are low, the red blood cells are unable to carry oxygen to the body’s tissues which may cause premature birth or low birth weight. It is crucial to ensure sufficient iron to produce red blood cells and prevent anemia. Good sources of iron include spinach, cereals, lean red meat and iron-fortified whole-grain bread.

Vitamins

There are many functions of vitamins that are useful for your baby during pregnancy. They act as antioxidants to help prevent birth defects. Even more, they aid in tooth and bone development, help the body to use calcium and form red blood cells. Here are the key vitamins you should consume and their sources.

• Vitamin A: carrots, dark leafy greens and sweet potatoes
• B Vitamins (vitamin B1/thiamine, B2/riboflavin, B3/niacin, B5/pantothenic acid, B6/pyridoxine, B7/biotin, B9/folic acid and B12/cobalamins) : tuna, oats, turkey, nuts, bananas, potatoes, avocados and legumes
• Vitamin C: citrus fruits, broccoli, kiwis, strawberries, tomatoes, cantaloupe and pineapple.
• Vitamin D: nonfat milk, ready to eat cereals, eggs, salmon, tuna, sardines, liver and swiss cheese

Folate and Folic acid

Taking folate and folic acid helps prevent birth defects of your baby’s brain and spinal cord. Sources include fortified breakfast cereals, dark leafy vegetables such as green peas, broccoli, avocados, lettuce, spinach and asparagus, rice, tomato juice and orange juice.

Vegan diet for pregnancy

A vegan diet is completely healthy for you and your baby during pregnancy as long as you make sure you’re eating properly. You need to consume enough protein, iron, calcium, B vitamins, vitamin D and zinc. The challenge is many of these nutrients are more easily found in animal products than in plants. Here are a few ways to get them from vegan sources.

Iron

Iron-rich foods include fortified cereals, whole grains and rice bran. Your health care provider may recommend an iron supplement if he or she thinks you are not getting enough in your diet

Soybeans 

Great source of high-quality protein. If you eat it in the form of tofu, you will also be getting calcium.

Vitamin D

Found in fortified soy milk but also plentiful from the sunlight. Take a walk outside your house during the day and soak up some sunshine for fifteen minutes a day.

Calcium

Among vegan sources, calcium found in fortified soymilk and other nondairy drinks as well as dark green leafy vegetables and legumes

Organic vs Conventional food 

Although the term ‘organic’ on a label implies that the product is a healthy choice, this may not always be the case. Most stores now have sections devoted to organic products, including fruits, vegetables, meat, packaged food, frozen food and health-care products. 

What does organic mean? What is the difference between organic fruits and non-organic ones? As a first-time parent wanting to make the best food choice, you will need to know what does organic means and when will it make sense to go for organic instead of conventional food.

To be considered organic, produce, meat, poultry, dairy must not be treated with antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic produce must also avoid using any conventional pesticides.

In the United States, the US Department of Agriculture(USDA) control which farm is term organic or not. According to USDA, Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used. (Source)

The good news is that plenty of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables have low levels of pesticides. If you are on a budget, rather than buying organic food, choose foods that generally have lower levels of chemicals.

The FDA has a pesticide residue monitoring program which is a compliance program used to monitor the level of pesticide chemical residues in domestic and imported foods to ensure that they do not exceed the EPA limits or tolerances.

FDA monitors a broad range of foods samples (over 7000 in the fiscal year 2016), using a multi-residue method that analyzes approximately 700 different pesticide chemical residues in a single analysis and selective residue methods that detect pesticide chemical residues not covered by the multi-residue method. (Source)

According to the Environmental Working Group(EWG), the following produce have the most and least pesticides in 2019. (Source)

Suicide Pesticide List 2019

1. Strawberries
2. Kale
3. Spinach
4. Grapes 
5. Apples
6. Nectarines
7. Cherries
8. Pears
9. Peaches
10.  Celery
11.  Potatoes
12.  Tomatoes
13.  Hot Peppers

Squeaky Clean Pesticide List 2019

1. Sweet Corn
2. Pineapples
3. Avocados
4. Papayas
5. Sweet Peas Frozen
6. Onions
7. Eggplants
8. Kiwis
9. Asparagus
10.  Cabbages
11. Cauliflower
12.  Cantaloupes
13.  Mushrooms
14.  Broccoli
15.  Honeydew Melons

Final Tip on Pregnancy Diet Chart

Pregnant women will start to have some wide range of cravings ranging from sourish food to spicy food. It can also be food that you are not keen to eat in the past. This is just indications of what nutrients your body feel is lacking.  Listen to what your cravings might be trying to tell you. What is the pregnancy diet chart you used? Drop a comment below.

You may also like to check out when do pregnancy craving start and guide for getting a suitable pregnancy pillow to sleep better.