Healthy Diet for Pregnancy

Maintaining a healthy diet for pregnancy is very important, not just for you but for your baby. Unlike the popular myth, your baby doesn’t just take what it needs from you. The nutrients in your bloodstream are most available to your baby, not nutrients being used by your body. For example, calcium circulating in your blood from food you just ate is much more available than calcium in your bones.

When you are pregnant, it is especially important to avoid consuming toxins in your diet. For that reason, we recommend that you only eat organic food. You should also avoid all processed and packaged foods as they contain unhealthy chemicals, including MSG, a neurotoxin, often labeled as “natural flavors”.

We recommend that you eat the following everyday

For information about why you should eat the following every day read Healthy Pregnancy Diet . To read more about how good nutrition during pregnancy can protect the your baby from diabetes, stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, and memory loss later in life read Vitamins for Fetal Development .

Protein

Consume 80-100 grams of complete protein per day. You should plan to have at least ONE protein food at every meal. Good sources of protein include organic free-range chicken, organic grass fed beef , organic grass fed lamb, organic pork, wild caught salmon from Alaska, organic raw whole milk or organic whole pasteurized (but not homogenized milk). For information about raw milk . Your protein intake should include:

• You should have at least ONE serving of beef or lamb every day
• Drink at least FOUR 8-ounce glasses of milk per day
• You should also consume TWO free-range, organic chicken eggs and TWO additional egg yolks
• You should have at least ONE serving of wild caught salmon from Alaska per week

Green Vegetables

• You should consume at least TWO servings of green vegetables every day as part of your healthy diet for pregnancy. Good choices include spinach, chard, broccoli, baby salad greens.
• You get extra credit for ONE serving of a lacto-fermented vegetable like sauerkraut and pickles each day.

Healthy Fats

In addition to the fats you consume eating protein as recommended above, your healthy diet for pregnancy should include the following additional healthy fats.

• FOUR tablespoons of butter per day, preferably from pasture-fed cows
• TWO tablespoons of expeller pressed organic coconut oil per day. Our favorites are Radiant Life True Virgin Coconut Oil and Artisana 100% Organic Raw Coconut Oil available at Whole Foods.
• TWO teaspoons of Cod Liver Oil per day. Our favorites are Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver Oil and Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver Oil and High Vitamin Butter Blend available at Radiant Life

Soaked or Sprouted Whole Grains

It is important that the grains you consume are properly prepared so that the antinutrients and enzyme inhibitors have been neutralized. For more information about this read Be Kind to Your Grains…And Your Grains Will Be Kind To You .

• ONE serving of Oatmeal using thick rolled or steel cut oats that have been soaked in water with a couple tablespoons of lemon juice overnight. For how to prepare healthy porridge get Nourishing Traditions , a great cookbook about how to prepare traditional foods.
• ONE serving of organic sprouted or sour dough whole grain bread with butter or cheese. Our favorite is Sprouted Organic 100% Whole Grain Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raison Bread (available at Whole Foods) lightly toasted, slathered with butter and organic peanut butter.

Fresh Fruit

Fresh Fruit is an important part of your healthy diet for pregnancy because it contains vitamin C. Be sure to choose organic as fruits are heavily sprayed.

• Eat ONE serving per day of a citrus fruit or other fruit high in vitamin c. Excellent choices include organic oranges, strawberries, and kiwi fruit.

Salt

Salt is an important part of a healthy diet for pregnancy. Salt your food to taste with natural sea salt throughout your pregnancy. Our favorite brand is Real Salt which we purchase at Whole Foods.

• Salt your food to taste.

Fluids

• Be sure to drink at least a QUART of filtered or spring water each day as part of your healthy diet for pregnancy.
• Bone Broths as prepared in Nourishing Traditions are a great source of nutrients and calcium, while also soothing for your stomach. During winter months in particular, we suggest you have soup made with homemade bone broth at least ONCE a week.

To Avoid at All Costs

Our healthy diet for pregnancy would not be complete without a discussion about what not to consume.

• Trans fatty acids (e.g. hydrogenated oils)
• Junk food
• Egg Substitutes
• Commercial fried foods
• Sugar
• White flour
• Soft drinks
• Caffeine
• Alcohol
• Cigarettes
• Drugs (even prescription drugs)

Struggling to Eat Healthy?

Check out Healthy Eating Simplified a website dedicated to making healthy eating possible, even when life gets crazy. They have tasty 30 minute meals, handy two-week meal planners, and quick tips that will help you eat well every day.

Check out this tasty kabob recipe to try for dinner tonight.

A Couple of Great Articles

Diet for Pregnant and Nursing Mothers (Weston A. Price)
Principles of Healthy Diets (Weston A. Price)

More Helpful Information

Read more about the Importance of a Healthy Diet, especially for unborn babies, children and nursing moms.

Read more about exactly what comprises a Healthy Pregnancy Diet .

Worried about weight gain? Weight Gain in Pregnancy is a huge concern for many women. Here's what you need to know and your doctor is unlikely to tell you.

Childbirth can be an endurance event. Read about a few important Pregnancy Exercises you should be doing to prepare your body for your baby's birth.

See some Healthy Crock Pot Recipes that can make meal preparation easy.

Visit our Natural Pregnancy Forum to read stories and ask questions of the community.

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