Posts Tagged ‘Pregnancy Nutrition’

First Trimester Nutrition: The 3 Diet Changes You Have To Make

First Trimester Nutrition

At Nine Naturals, we firmly believe that everything that goes on and in your body during pregnancy can impact your health and your baby’s health. We are excited to announce that we have teamed up with registered dietitian and nutrition expert Samantha Lynch to bring you a 3-part Pregnancy & Nutrition Series, focusing on nutrition for every trimester of pregnancy!

The first trimester is very important during pregnancy, both in terms of the baby’s development and how pregnancy can affect moms to be. During this crucial time, it’s important to:

Get Plenty Of Folic Acid: Ensure you are taking at least 400 mcg of folic acid to prevent neural tube birth defects including spina bifida, anencephaly and chiari malformation. These brain and spinal cord defects develop in the first 28 days after conception, long before many women know they are pregnant. Foods with folic acid and folate include:

  • Dark leafy greens
  • Asparagus
  • Fortified Grains including bread & crackers
  • Legumes

Eat Fiber-Rich Food: Suffering from constipation? You are not alone. It is common in pregnancy because hormones slow the rate of digestion, allowing for more nutrients to be absorbed by you and your baby. The following tips will help fight constipation:

  • Include fiber in each meal and snack:
  • Fruits during breakfast & as snacks
  • Vegetables during lunch & dinner
  • Whole Grains
  • Chia & Ground Flaxseeds
  • Stay hydrated and drink water between meals to keep things moving
  • Speaking of moving, exercise! It will aid the digestion process!

Alter Your Diet To Help Prevent Morning Sickness: If you are one of the unlucky women who suffer from morning sickness, aka “all day sickness” here are some nutrition tips to ease naseau and ensure that you are getting the proper nutrition for you and your little one:

  • Eat small frequent meals, rather than large meals many hours apart. The key is having something in your stomach at all times
  • Avoid spicy meals
  • Drink liquids between meals, rather than with meals
  • Drink small amounts of liquids throughout the day to avoid dehydration
  • Leave some saltines on your night table and munch on a few before getting out of bed
  • Lemon, ginger, watermelon has been known to help relieve the nausea
  • Try to rest and get enough sleep at night

Samantha LynchSamantha Lynch, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian who caters to everyone from engaged couples, pre-post natal woman, athletes, celebrities to students and stay-at-home moms. Based in Manhattan, she holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Nutrition from NYU. After graduating in 2009, she started her own nutrition counseling practice to fulfill her dream of helping people live longer, happier and more energetic lives without compromising their social schedule. Samantha has been featured as a nutrition expert in Cosmopolitan Magazine, Refinery29, Shape.com, The Daily Meal, & OK TV and was also featured as herself in a national Boost commercial airing in both the US and Canada. Samantha is an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Greater New York Dietetic Association. She lives in Manhattan’s Union Square with her husband Roger, 3 year old daughter Lucy, and is expecting Baby #2 in July 2014.

 

Essential Prenatal Nutrients & Vitamins During Pregnancy

Bundle Organics Prenatal VitaminsA healthy diet and good nutrition during pregnancy ensures that your baby gets the best start possible. After all, your intake is your baby’s main source of nutrition! Most women take a prenatal vitamin or mineral supplement during their pregnancy to make sure they are getting the right amount of crucial nutrients they need. This is particularly important for women with nausea who are vomiting during the first few months of pregnancy, or those certain dietary constraints, such as vegetarians, vegans, and those who are lactose-intolerant.

In addition to providing for your own health during pregnancy, you also need to take in extra amounts of minerals and vitamins that are required to grow a healthy baby. Here is why these nutrients are so important:

Folic Acid: Folic acid is a vitamin B-complex group and is important for baby’s cell division and blood formation. It has been shown to prevent spina bifida (also known as neural tube defects) and related birth defects that occur during early pregnancy. It is often recommended that women start taking 400 mg of folic acid at least two to three months before conception and 600 mg of folic acid throughout their pregnancy. There can be a considerable loss of vitamins due to oxidation when food has been stored for more than a few days, making it difficult to obtain a large amount of folic acid through food sources alone. Therefore, women should look into taking a folic acid supplement or drinking product like Bundle Organics to complement their nutrition.

Calcium: Calcium is necessary for the developing baby’s bones and teeth, and teeth, and is most needed in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy when bone formation occurs. A daily total of 1,200 mg re probably getting at least 150 to 200 mg of calcium, whereas, 8 oz. of skim milk provides about 300 mg of calcium. Therefore, many women end up having to take a separate calcium supplement or look to get calcium from other sources, such as broccoli and dark, leafy greens.

Vitamin D: Vitamin D works with calcium to help develop the baby’s bones and teeth and is essential for calcium to be absorbed into the body. It also plays a role in mineralizing the baby’s skeletal system. Exposure to sunlight activates vitamin D, but if you are pregnant during the winter months, this exposure is often limited and you may be advised to take a vitamin supplement or to increase your dietary intake. Women who are pregnant need 600 IUs of Vitamin D a day.

Iron: Iron is necessary for making hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the other cells. Many women are iron deficient, before, during and after they have children. Since blood is lost during childbirth and every month during menstruation, many women have reduced iron stores throughout their childbearing years. During your pregnancy, you need 27 mg of iron, which is double the amount of iron that a non-pregnant woman needs. This extra iron helps your body make more blood to supply oxygen to your baby. Some iron rich foods include lean red meat, poultry, fish, and dried beans and peas.

Essential Fatty Acids: Prenatal vitamins don’t usually contain essential fatty acids, such as Omega- 3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, which help develop the baby’s brain, nerve, and eye tissues. Fish is a good source of DHA and EPA, but you have to be careful about not eating too much fish that are high in mercury during your pregnancy.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and well-balanced diet is so important for expecting moms and their growing babies. That is why we created Bundle Organics, a line of prenatal juices made with USDA organic fruits and veggies and fortified with OBGYN-recommended nutrients that complement your daily prenatal vitamins. Our juices include just the right amount of nutrients that pregnant women are already getting from a prenatal vitamin, like folic acid, while also providing those that might be more difficult to obtain, such as calcium, iron, and vitamin D. For moms who are looking for ways to supplement their nutritional intake during pregnancy, we hope you’ll give Bundle Organics a try. All the nutrients we have in our juices are good for pre-conception and breastfeeding too!

 

KwanyLui Guest contributor: Kwany Lui is the co-founder of Bundle Organics, a new line of organic prenatal juices that are pasteurized and specially designed to address the unique nutritional needs of expecting and new moms. The juices are made with organic fruits and veggies, plus an extra bump of essential vitamins like iron, calcium, vitamin D, omega 3, and folic acid to support a baby’s healthy development. Bundle Organics is available at www.bundleorganics.com or www.amazon.com.

 

 

Foods to Love and Foods to Loathe During Pregnancy

We are very excited to have nutrition expert Sara Jane Mercer speaking to us about pregnancy nutrition. Certified as a Holistic Health and Wellness Coach by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Sara focuses on clean, pure and simple living and recipes that are 100% plant based (something we at Nine Naturals are very conscientious of as well!). Having recently been pregnant herself, Sara has both personal and professional experience on all the foods to loathe & love during pregnancy!

Sara Jane Mercer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growing a person inside your body is hard work! When you are pregnant what you eat is incredibly important to the health of your growing baby. Despite what you may have heard pregnancy is not a time to “eat for two.” In fact, during the first trimester there is no need to increase your food intake at all! For the second and third trimesters you should only be consuming about an extra 300 calories a day to feed your growing baby. As your your belly grows eating large amounts of food becomes difficult so every bite should be nutrient dense and health promoting. These foods to love and loathe lists will help you make sure your body, and your baby are getting the right type of nutrition all forty weeks!

Four to Loathe

Sugar: Sugar has no place in any healthy diet, and even less of one when you are pregnant. Sugar is highly toxic in our bodies and its consumption can lead to all sorts of illness. Don’t be fooled, agave, honey, and maple syrup may be “natural” but are still just as bad for you as processed white sugar. Have a sweet tooth? Reach for a piece of fruit instead. The natural sugar in fruit is ok in moderation-and most fruits are super hydrating which is an added bonus.

Soda: Soda is basically just liquid sugar mixed with chemicals and should be avoided by all persons always. Not only is it terribly unhealthy but also soda is actually quite dehydrating and pregnancy is a time when you need as much hydration as you can get and then some.

Alcohol: No amount of alcohol, not even one sip is safe when pregnant. As tempting as it may be to have “just a tiny bit,” the risk is just not worth it. After a month or so you won’t even miss your nightly glass of white wine. I promise!

High Mercury Seafood: If fish is part of your diet be very careful what type you eat while pregnant. As our oceans become more and more polluted, fish becomes less and less safe to eat. As a rule the larger the fish the riskier it is to eat. High mercury fish such as tuna and swordfish should be avoided while pregnant. In fact, it should be avoided when not pregnant as well!

Four to Love

Dark Greens: Dark leafy greens such, as spinach, kale, collards and chard should be eaten with abandon when pregnant. These nutrient dense powerhouses contain lots folate and iron both of which are vital to your baby’s development.

Avocados: Healthy, plant based fats are key when pregnant. Not only are avocados a great source of healthy fat but they are also a good source of vitamin K, C and folate all important for expectant mamas! Avocados also contain fiber, which can help fight pregnancy related constipation.

Nuts and Seeds: Nuts and seeds are a great source of healthy fats and protein for pregnancy. Flax seeds, chia seeds and walnuts are also a great source of Omega 3’s which are important for baby’s brain development as well as your health.

Pineapple: Fresh pineapple is a great source of vitamin C and fiber. As an added bonus pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain which has be known to be a cervical softener. While some caution that the bromelian in pineapple can bring along early labor, the quantities you would have to eat for this to happen are incredibly immense. So go ahead and eat a few slices of pineapple, just don’t eat seven whole pineapples!

Sara Jane Mercer is a Holistic Health and Wellness Coach, Vegetarian Chef and Food Writer and the vibrant, creative spirit behind her eponymous blog that is the go- to source for Clean, Pure and Simple living. After countless hours developing healthy recipes in her own kitchen and sharing them with friends around the world Sara realized that all people needed were the right tools, simple steps to follow and easy, quick recipes. Her mission was to educate and to simplify and thus the Clean, Pure and Simple way of life was born. Sara lives in New York City with her husband, baby daughter and dog and enjoys exploring all of the healthy hidden treasures the city has to offer from local food markets and vegetarian restaurants to natural beauty finds and fun new fitness classes. All of her favorites can be found on her website www.sarajanemercer.com.