It’s funny how pregnancy affects your diet. Foods you’ve loved your whole life suddenly make you sick to your stomach, and instead, you crave the weirdest food combinations. While you’re going through these culinary adventures, consider adding some of the food we recommend on this list and staying away from the ones we discourage.
Foods you should eat
- Smoothies with dark leafy greens
Smoothies are delicious and refreshing. Add in a vegetable like spinach or kale to get in those necessary vitamins and nutrients. These veggies contain vitamin A which helps create the cells that compose your baby’s organs. It’s also good for healthy skin, bones, and eyes. As if that’s not enough reason to get some veggies on your plate, they also contain folic acid, a B vitamin that is used to produce the extra blood you and baby need as well as aiding in the function of some enzymes. - Hard-boiled eggs
If you aren’t a fan of boiled eggs, try them scrambled, over-easy, just about however you want them, just get them in. Eggs are great because they are a healthy source of protein, which consists of the amino acids that feed your baby. - Brown rice
As long as your rice is a non-bleached whole grain, you’ve made a good choice. Healthy carbs give you the energy you need to carry that bundle of joy. Complex carbs are also a good source of fiber and vitamin E. - Guacamole
Avocado is a superstar. Eating it while pregnant is vital for healthy fats which not only give you energy but also help you metabolize vitamins A, D, E, and K. - Yogurt
Greek yogurt, in particular, is full of probiotics, protein, and calcium. You need calcium to keep your bones strong and your baby needs it to grow healthy ones.
Foods to avoid:
- Sushi
Any time you eat raw meat or fish you are taking a risk. While you’re pregnant your chances of suffering from food poisoning are increased and can even affect your baby.Unpasteurized cheese - Raw milk cheeses are so unpopular in the US, it’s very unlikely you will be consuming any of this but it doesn’t hurt to check the label to ensure it says “pasteurized.”
- Cookie dough
Although sugar isn’t the best thing to eat while pregnant, it’s the raw egg in cookie dough you need to avoid. Because any raw food runs a risk of containing salmonella, ensure you eat only food that is cooked. - Coffee
If you are a moderate coffee drinker, fear not, your cappuccinos are safe! If you’re a gal who drinks cup after cup a’ joe every day, you probably need to cut back. Although you would have to be drinking quite a bit, large amounts of caffeine consumption has been linked to miscarriage, premature birth and withdrawal symptoms in infants. - Deli Meat
The problem with deli meats is that that they have been known to be contaminated with listeria. Listeria can infect your baby and even cause a miscarriage.
