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Sandra Bardsley

NUTRITION DURING PREGNANCY 

The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest (teach) his patients in the care of the human frame, diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease. 

Thomas Edison

 

Adequate nutrition during pregnancy is the single most important physical factor determining a healthy mother and baby. Tissues that must function at optimum level for a long period of time must have adequate amounts of essential nutrients.  The relationship between maternal and fetal wellbeing and maternal nutrition is well documented.  Good nutrition implies that all the essential nutrients are supplied in adequate amounts through whole foods.  

A whole foods diet consists of as much unprocessed food in its natural form as possible.

Whole grain flour (no white enriched flour or bread products), natural cheeses (no processed cheese products), real eggs and not egg substitute, real vegetables and fruits, ripe and natural (not processed or canned), beans in all varieties, nuts, dairy products and unprocessed protein foods (meats, poultry, some fish).  Healthy oils are also important. 

Nutritional supplements, such as prenatal vitamins, often give a mixed message concerning health.   Women mistakenly think that by taking a prenatal vitamin, all the nutrients the body needs will be supplied.  This may not be the case as many nutritional studies indicate.  Often the body cannot absorb the necessary vitamins without the presence of whole foods.  Nutritional supplements, taken in the presence of whole foods, are better absorbed.  The best supplement is one that supplies additional whole foods; fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. 

There are basically five kinds of nutritional substances found in whole foods:

proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.  Each group provides a different sense of taste.  Your sense of taste is stimulated when you eat a variety of foods that

stimulate all of the taste buds.  There are six predominant tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent.   A few examples of them are listed below. 

Sweet               Whole grain breads, rice, pasta, milk, cream, yogurt, kefir, butter, poultry,        

                        Fish, meat, honey, molasses, maple syrup, corn syrup, brown and white

                        Sugars, jam, jelly, fruit, some vegetables, nuts and nut butters

Sour                 Lemons, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, buttermilk, kefir, some fruits

Salty                 Sea salt, soy sauce, miso, seaweed, Brags amino acid liquid

Bitter                Green leafy vegetables, spinach, broccoli, some oils, Tahini

Pungent            Most spices, mustard, horseradish, red peppers, black pepper,

                        Jalapeno pepper

Astringent         Beans, lentils, seeds, nuts 

In American society many of us focus mainly on only three of the six taste sensations: sweet, sour, and salty.  Fast food is a classic example.  Many folks think that fries with catsup equals a vegetable and that a burger on a white bun, with processed cheese on it, constitutes sufficient protein and carbohydrates.  The soda is thought to be an adequate liquid intake.  As a result of this eating routine the body becomes nutritionally deprived.  You feel unsatisfied and may overeat the wrong foods in an attempt to compensate for the tastes that you are missing.  You eat more instead of eating better.  You lose your ability to listen to internal cues and instead may respond to external messages such as advertising, time constraints, and peer-group pressure.  

In your daily diet, experience all of the six tastes in whole foods.   Your body becomes balanced, you have fewer cravings, and less stress because your baby and you are being well nourished.  Treat yourself daily to the six tastes---sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent---and you will get rid of many of your cravings during pregnancy and eat the amount of whole food your body really needs.  

Call (916) 685-5359 to make a nutritional consultation, concerning your pregnancy, with Sandra Bardsley, RN (www.joyfulbirthclasses.com)

 

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