Month: August 2020

Are you really eating for two? While you are definitely providing nutrition for two, you do not need that many more calories during pregnancy than your normal intake. The first trimester does not require additional kilocalories – 340 kilocalories are required in the second trimester and 450 kilocalories are required in third trimester for those at a healthy pre-pregnancy weight/BMI (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2023).

When assessing nutritional needs during pregnancy, it is important to maintain a balanced plate in terms of macronutrients (protein, fat, and carbohydrates) but vary the macronutrients regularly to help ensure intake of various vitamins and minerals.

Macronutrients for pregnancy

You could get into percentage breakdowns, but the easiest way to plan your meals is by using the plate method. This assumes:

• ½ your plate is non-starchy vegetables
• ¼ of your plate is protein
• ¼ of your plate is carbohydrates

Where is the fat? Many foods play double (or triple) duty and fall under more than one category of macronutrients. Such is the case with fat. Your fat intake will generally be included with your protein source, cooking fat like butter or olive oil that is used in vegetable preparation, and dairy that may make up a portion of your carbohydrates.

While the plate method is the preferred and easiest way to track macronutrients in pregnancy, it is important to note that many women drastically underestimate their protein needs. If you’re counting or weighing, 71g of protein per day is a good guide for the first half of pregnancy while increased need does not occur until second and third trimesters. Protein needs depend on weight — 1.1 g/kg of body weight, so some women may need more than 71 grams. If you’re struggling with protein due to meat aversions, see the below list of good sources of protein for alternatives (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2023).

Food Serving Size Protein Content

Lean beef: 3 ounces, 22 grams.

Chicken breast: 3 ounces, 26 grams

Salmon: 3 ounces, 22 grams.

Eggs: 2 eggs, 12 grams.

Milk: 1 cup, 8 grams.

Greek yogurt: 6 ounces, container 16 grams.

Northern beans: ½ cup, 6 grams

Peanut butter: 2 tablespoons, 7 grams

Meeting protein needs in pregnancy is relatively easy. Good sources include lean beef, chicken, seafood, dairy foods, beans and nuts. Keep in mind that a 3 ounce portion of meat is only about the size of a deck of cards, or the palm of a woman’s hand (FoodData Central, 2023)

Good sources of macronutrients

Protein

– Eggs

– Lean meat

– Greek yogurt

– Beans, peas, and lentils

– Chickpeas

– Nuts and nut butters

– Fish

– Protein powders

Fat

– Avocado

– Nuts and nut butters

– Pasteurized cheese

– Full fat yogurt

Carbohydrates

– Fruits and vegetables

– Sweet potatoes

– Rice

– Quinoa

– Dairy

– Whole grains

Casey Thomas-Hardesty, MS, NTP

Two Peas Wellness

Reviewed and edited by Heather Emerson-Payne, RD, PhD, 2023

References

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Nutrition Care Manual. Comparative Standards, Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. https://www-nutritioncaremanual-org.wku.idm.oclc.org/topic.cfm?ncm_category_id=1&lv1=5517&lv2=18188&lv3=273833&ncm_toc_id=273833&ncm_heading=Nutrition%20Care. Accessed July 12, 2023.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Nutrition Care Manual. Comparative Standards, Normal Pregnancy. https://www-nutritioncaremanual-org.wku.idm.oclc.org/topic.cfm?ncm_category_id=1&lv1=272980&lv2=26918&lv3=268758&ncm_toc_id=268758&ncm_heading=Nutrition%20Care. Accessed July 12, 2023.

FoodData Central. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov. Accessed August 14, 2023.

Institute of Medicine. 2005. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10490.

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It is important to adjust your nutrition as needed in order to support a healthy pregnancy. Below is a list of foods that are generally considered unsafe for pregnancy and are best to limit or avoid.

Avoid

• Alcohol – Alcohol can cross the placenta and can impact your growing baby’s development.
• Raw shellfish
• High mercury fish – The bigger the fish, the more mercury it will contain. Shark, swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel, big eye tuna, marlin, orange roughy should be avoided.
• Pre-cut fruits and vegetables – While there is no reason to limit or avoid fruits and vegetables as a whole, pre-cut fruits and vegetables have a higher risk of contamination with food borne illness. This does not apply to canned or frozen items. When purchasing fresh produce, it is important to follow food safety guidelines and wash and store them properly before consuming.
• Pre-made salads such as ham salad and chicken salad should not be consumed by pregnant women unless they are prepared at home.
• Toxoplamsa gondii is a parasite that is present in cat feces. Pregnant women should not change litter boxes for this reason.

Limit

• Caffeine – It is recommended to limit to 200mg of caffeine per day
• Sugar – Sugar does not directly cause gestational diabetes, but there are several things that increase risk, one of which is overweight/obesity prior to pregnancy. Eating too much added sugar can lead to eating too many kcal, which could lead to overweigh/obesity, which can in turn predispose someone to gestational diabetes (“Centers for Disease Control,” 2022).
• Artificial sweeteners – Research is suggesting that artificial sweeteners can interfere with our gut microbiome as well as increasing the likelihood of your child preferring sweet foods as they grow up (Ruiz-Ojeda et al., 2019).
• Deli meat – Deli meat and hot dogs should be heated until steaming hot. If you’re worried, heating deli meats to 165F greatly reduces the risk of listeria contamination.(“U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” 2022).
• Good choices rich in omega3 fatty acids, but lower in mercury include salmon, shrimp, tilapia, flounder, canned light tuna (includes skipjack tuna) but albacore tuna and yellowfin tuna should be limited to 4 ounces per week (“United States Environmental Protection Agency,” 2022).

Casey Thomas-Hardesty, MS, NTP

Two Peas Wellness

 Reviewed and edited by Heather Emerson-Payne, RD, PhD, 2023

References

Centers for Disease Control. (2022). Diabetes Risk Factors. Updated, April 5, 2022. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/risk-factors.html

Ruiz-Ojeda, F. J., Plaza-Díaz, J., Sáez-Lara, M. J., & Gil, A. (2019). Effects of Sweeteners on the Gut Microbiota: A Review of Experimental Studies and Clinical Trials. Adv Nutr, 10(suppl_1), S31-S48. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmy037. Erratum in: Adv Nutr. 2020 Mar 1;11(2):468. PMID: 30721958; PMCID: PMC6363527.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2022). Food Safety for Pregnant Women, Their Unborn Babies and Children Under Five. Pages 1-3. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://www.fda.gov/media/83740/download?attachment

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2022). EPA-FDA Advice about Eating Fish and Shellfish. Updated November 3, 2022. Accessed July 12, 2023. EPA-FDA Advice about Eating Fish and Shellfish | US EPA

© WKU {2022} All rights reserved.