Q: Is there anything I really should (and shouldn't) be eating while I'm pregnant?
A: Now's the time to really start thinking about food as medicine (if you don't already). Everything you eat will be broken down into smaller molecules that will be transported from your blood to your baby's via the placenta. So, would you rather your child's blood be made of the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients found in whole foods, or the toxins, fat, and artificial junk that's masquerading as food and committing some of the worst health crimes the world's ever seen? We thought so.
It's smart to be aware of what your basic nutritional goals should be (though not to feel guilty if you don't hit them every day). You should strive for the following:
1. Nine or more servings (fistfuls) of fruits and vegetables
Good choices:
☑ Leafy green vegetables
☑ Cruciferous vegetables, such as cauliflower, broccoli, arugula, cabbage, and brussels sprouts (They help detoxify your liver so it can metabolize chemicals from the outside world.)
☑ Foods that contain flavonols, like broccoli, radishes, onions, tomatoes (Try this tasty vegetable satay.)
2. Three or more servings of whole-grain products
Good choices:
☑ Cereal grains
☑ Oats (Make easy overnight oatmeal.)
☑ Whole-grain wheat products
Bad choices:
☒ Refined bleached flour or non-100% whole grains
3. Three or more servings of lean protein
Good choices:
☑ Fish (especially salmon and trout)
☑ Lean poultry (skinned and nonfried)
☑ Lean meat (Meat that has less than 4 grams of saturated fat per serving; anything with loin in the name usually works.)
☑ Legumes (Cook up this slow-cooker lentil stew.)
☑ Beans (with Beano, to reduce accompanying gas cramps)
☑ Nuts (especially walnuts, which have more omega-3s than other nuts)
☑ Soy products (tofu, tempeh, edamame)
Bad choices:
☒ Bottom-feeding fish, such as shark, swordfish, tuna (higher risk of mercury)
☒ Saturated fats (from four-legged animals; palm and coconut oils)
4. Three or four servings of calcium-rich foods
Good choices:
☑ Low-fat yogurt and pasteurized cheese
☑ Organic skim milk (Watch calorie counts on alternative milks such as rice milk; you may choose to limit soymilk to one to two glasses daily because of phytoestrogens; there's concern about the feminization of the brain and other organs, including sex organs.)
5. Five or more grams of fat in the form of omega-3s (like walnuts, flax, or avocados); five grams of omega-9s (olive oil); and five grams of omega-6s (corn and nut oils).
Bad choices:
☒ Saturated fat (palm and coconut oils) and trans fat (anything "partially hydrogenated")
Other bad choices:
☒ Simple sugars
☒ Syrups
☒ High-fructose corn syrup
☒ Soda, carbonated drinks
☒ Foods that have any potential safety issues, like undercooked meats and eggs, and foods for which there is any question about refrigeration
☒ Alcohol
☒ More than 200 milligrams caffeine per day (1 cup of regular coffee or 2 cups of black tea)
While it is your job to provide a good nutritional environment for your growing baby, you don't have to feel bad if you occasionally stray from our recommendations. Forty weeks is a mighty long time, and if on some days you stray from the ideal, that's perfectly normal -- and perfectly okay. The important thing is to eat well most of the time.
