Is Your Diet Good for Your Pregnancy?

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Source: @gpswallow

Golden Penny Swallows Support Healthy Pregnancy

 Again, let’s share more facts about pregnant women. While discussing pregnancy miscarriage last time, we noted that chromosomal issues are the main cause of miscarriage and that miscarriages are nature’s response to abnormalities in the development of the cells of the baby in the womb. ICYMI visit: https://www.citizencomfort.com/2024/08/27/wherefrom-miscarriage/

Now, let’s examine how diets can support pregnancy from conception to term

Eating better food is one of the best things you can do during pregnancy. Good nutrition helps you handle the extra demands on your body as your pregnancy progresses. You do not need to eat double because you are carrying a baby inside your womb, what you need is to eat enough nutrients that will support you and the fetus for healthy growth and a healthy weight.

Sources across the web say if you are pregnant with one fetus, you need an extra 340 calories per day, especially in the second trimester and a bit more in the third trimester. You need 600 and 900 additional calories daily for confirmed twins and triplets fetuses.

Calories

A calorie is a unit of energy. In nutrition, calories refer to the energy people get from the food and drink they consume and the energy they use in physical activity. Medical experts and journals say the human body needs calories to survive. Without energy, the cells in the body would die, the heart and lungs would stop, and the organs would not be able to carry out the basic processes needed for living.

If people consumed the required number of calories every day, they would live healthily. Calorie consumption that is too low or too high will eventually lead to health problems.

Daily calorie intake estimates for each person depend on age, sex, and activity level. Experts say people assigned males at birth need more calories than females because their bodies are larger. More active people need more calories than less active people, while senior citizens need fewer calories due to changes in their metabolism.

Depending on your lifestyle, you can use the calorie intake chart below to estimate your calorie needs.

So, if you are pregnant and active within the age bracket 19-31+, you need about 2740 calories for you and the fetus to be healthy. In the case of twins and triple fetuses estimated calories are 3040 and 3640 respectively.

 Empty Calories Foods

You probably would think they are calorie-free foods. No, every food or drink provides energy/calories for the body. But when the energy/calories of the food outweigh the nutrients it provides, dieticians and nutritionists affirm such calories as empty. Examples of empty-calorie foods and drinks are soft drinks, energy drinks, alcohol, junk, and fast food, candies, and donuts. As “empty” as these foods and drinks are, they are the most craved by pregnant mothers.

PRO PREGNANCY DIETS

The craving for empty-calorie foods by pregnant women is not only dangerous for the health of the mothers but also deprives the baby in the womb of the nutrients for healthy growth. According to experts, empty-calorie food provides no nutrients for the baby’s needs. As a result, the growing fetus gets the vitamins and minerals it needs from the mother’s own body. Thereby putting the health of the mother and the baby in the womb in danger.

Pregnant mothers must prefer a balanced, healthy diet to empty-calorie food to prevent mother & baby complications like:

Too much weight gain

Gestational diabetes

C-section

Anemia and infections in the mother

Poor healing

Premature birth

Low birth-weight baby

Healthy Diets for Mother & Child

Nutritious diets are what we all need for healthy living, but there are some key nutrients for healthy growth and development of the baby in the womb as well as the health of the pregnant woman. See pro-pregnancy diets below, and what they do for the mother and the baby in the womb.

  1. Diets rich in folic acid and other vitamin B:

-Prevents congenital malformation on the baby- spina bifida (incomplete closing of the spinal column), anencephaly (defect of the brain), cleft palate, cleft lip, heart defects, and other birth defects.

  1. Diets rich in iron:

   – Helps pregnant mothers fight infections.

–  Blood booster for pregnant mothers.

– Alleviate fatigue of pregnant mothers.

– Prevent premature birth.

– Prevent low birth weight.

  1. Diets rich in calcium:

   –Helps in the development of baby’s bones, teeth, muscles, heart, and nerves.

-Maintains bone density for pregnant mothers

-Lowers pregnant mothers’ risk of hypertension and preeclampsia.

-Helps baby to clot blood properly

Experts say pregnant mothers above 18 need 1000 milligrams of calcium per day while 18 and below need 1300. And that if pregnant mothers don’t get enough calcium from diets, the body takes it from the mother’s bones and gives it to the baby in the womb. This, according to experts can cause health conditions, such as osteoporosis (a disease that causes bones to become thin and break easily), later in life.

  1. Diets rich in Omega3 (polyunsaturated fat)

    –Reduces pregnant mother’s risk for premature birth

-Support pregnant mother’s mental health by reducing perinatal depression

-Promote mother’s heart health

-Supports fetal brain and nervous system

-Supports fetal retina & overall visual acuity development

-Support healthy birth weight

  1. High protein diets

-Support increased blood supply to the mother. This is crucial for delivering nutrients and oxygen to the fetus

-Promotes tissue growth including uterus and breast essential for healthy pregnancy and breastfeeding

-Provides energy and repairs tissue which is important as the body undergoes significant changes during pregnancy

-Essential for proper growth of tissue and organ development of the fetus

-Support fetal brain and nervous system

-Support healthy birth weight

  1. Low Sugar Diets

    –Reduces risk of gestational diabetes for the mother

-Helps maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy which reduces the risk of complications like preeclampsia and CS delivery

-Improves the energy level of the mother.

-Reduces nausea and morning sickness.

-Maintains fetal healthy weight which reduces the risk of macrosomia (large baby) which can complicate delivery

-Ensure baby’s sugar level remains stable which reduces the risk of neonatal hypoglycemia

-Support overall fetal development including brain and organ development.

How Golden Penny Swallows Promote Healthy Pregnancy

 Now you know the nutritional requirements for a healthy pregnancy. So, how do you access them? Our focus here is on Golden Penny’s swallow foods, from the stables of the foremost stakeholder in Nigeria’s food sector, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. The Golden Penny food brands are micronutrient fortification certified. Each pack of the Golden Penny Swallows, especially semo and semolina, is packed full of the pro-pregnancy nutrients listed above. GP semolina foods, with 1.2 grams of sugar per 100 grams make them relatively low in sugar. In addition, they are high in dietary fiber and magnesium which predisposes them to help regulate fetal and mother sugar levels.

So, if you are pregnant, or your wife or any of your loved ones are pregnant, the starting point to achieving a healthy gestation experience is to ensure Golden Penny Swallows is high on your daily menu plan.

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 Source: Dare Agbeluyi, Chief Publisher.

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Dare Agbeluyi is a 1985 graduate of Mass Communication, University of Lagos. And Master of Arts, Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan, 1988. A very experienced media practitioner since 1986. He has worked in both print and broadcast media. A prolific writer; He became a columnist with The Punch where he pioneered the automobile column known as Automart, now metamorphosed to Transport column published every Wednesday, while still working officially as senior Advertorial Coordinator, in charge of supplements. He is an all-around media practitioner. In 1996, Dare started media brokerage, interfacing between agencies and media, leveraging on his media experience to buy bulk and sell cheaper. A versatile media man, who has a knack for creative writing. He is also a prolific scriptwriter. Dare is an independent content provider for radio, print and digital. Dare Agbeluyi is in the full membership category of the Advertising Regulation Council of Nigeria (ARCON).

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