Pregnancy is an extremely special time of a woman’s life. It’s filled with changes and new experiences. Your body is charged with hormones and there’s new life developing inside you. Given all the transformations that are taking place, the subject of what to eat, and also what not to eat get’s a whole new meaning.
Food and dietary matters is all important for pregnant women, as they are eating for two (or perhaps more). Yet, it can often become a somewhat murky area. There’s so much misinformation floating around out there that the facts become confused with the myths. Yet, despite all the mystery surrounding food and pregnancy, experts suggest that drastic changes aren’t necessary.
When it comes down to it, according to doctors and nutritionists, it’s best to take a healthy approach. Choose wisely. While this may seem like very common knowledge, getting down into the precise points of what you can and can’t eat, it does get very perplexing. Often the matter is made too complicated.
Family members are eager to dish out advice. Strangers even will offer you their supposed tried and true tips when it comes to diet and babies and giving birth, etc. All this often unsolicited information can be frustrating and confusing all at once. It doesn’t help that those extra hormones make you delicately testy and moody.
Nor does it help that every day a new article seems to come out suggesting that such and such a food is dangerous or that alternatively, it’s actually not so dangerous and that it does have some good effect. One day your favorite food is on the dangerous to eat list, and the next day it’s not. All this information ends up boggling the mind.
When all is said and done, all this information flying around is hard to wrap your head around. Rather than giving you answers, you just have a headache.
The question of what one can eat and what one shouldn’t eat when pregnant can be boiled down to a few basic guidelines. The thing to remember is that you should be smart. Eat in moderation and put your common sense to work. Don’t over indulge.
According to the experts, when pregnant, you don’t actually have to alter your diet drastically. In fact they offer guidelines which are in line with what you should eat when you’re not pregnant, with a few alterations, of course.
Always wash fruits and vegetables before you eat them. This includes produce with thicker rinds, such as watermelon; bacteria can be transferred from the rind to the flesh when you cut into it.
Always cook food carefully. This rule applies especially to poultry, meats and eggs. Play it safe and go for well done.
When handling meat and poultry products, don’t forget to wash your hands.
Try not to eat junk food all the time. It’s better to eat high fat food in moderation, despite the odd cravings.
According to the FDA women who are or may be pregnant and nursing should stay away from fatty fish such as swordfish and mackerel. These are known to contain toxic amounts of mercury.
Canned and shell fish are safer options.
The consumption of alcohol should be avoided.
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