Originally published September 6 2005
Healthy eating habits are good for expectant mothers
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Although pregnant women need about 300 extra calories a day while they're pregnany, those calories should come from nutritious foods so they can contribute to your baby's growth and development.
To eat well during pregnancy you must do more than simply increase how much you eat.
You must also consider what you eat.
Although you need about 300 extra calories a day - especially later in your pregnancy, when your baby grows quickly - those calories should come from nutritious foods so they can contribute to your baby's growth and development.
Why It's Important to Eat Well When You're Pregnant Do you wonder how it's reasonable to gain 25 to 35 pounds (on average) during your pregnancy when a newborn baby weighs only a fraction of that?
When you're pregnant, what you eat and drink is the main source of nourishment for your baby.
In fact, the link between what you consume and the health of your baby is much stronger than once thought.
The extra food you eat shouldn't just be empty calories - it should provide the nutrients your growing baby needs.
For example, calcium helps make and keep bones and teeth strong.
While you're pregnant, you still need calcium for your body, plus extra calcium for your developing baby.
The letters RDA, which you find on food labeling, stand for recommended daily allowance, or the amount of a nutrient recommended for your daily diet.
For example, recent research shows that folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects (including spina bifida) from occurring during the earliest stages of fetal development - so it's important for you to consume plenty of it before you become pregnant and during the early weeks of your pregnancy.
Because your growing baby's calcium demands are high, you should increase your calcium consumption to prevent a loss of calcium from your own bones.
Your doctor will also likely prescribe prenatal vitamins for you, which contain some extra calcium.
Your best food sources of calcium are milk and other dairy products.
However, if you have lactose intolerance or dislike milk and milk products, ask your doctor about a calcium supplement.
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