Why Omega 3’s Are Essential for a Healthy Diet During Pregnancy

Why Omega 3’s Are Essential for a Healthy Diet During Pregnancy

When you become pregnant, you will hear that your body needs all kinds of nutritional help- a diet rich in omega 3’s tops that list. This could be because most prenatal vitamins don’t have Omega 3’s in them. Nonetheless, they are incredibly important to the development of your baby and should be included daily in your diet.

Omega 3’s are fatty acids that are sometimes called simply, essential fatty acids. The reason that Omega 3’s are considered “essential” is that it is impoassible for your body to produce it on its own, and you can only derive it from other food sources or supplementation.

This is why it is very important that you make sure to include it in your diet, you won’t be able to get it to your growing baby otherwise.

What do Omega 3’s do for a Healthy Pregnancy Diet?

Certain studies have shown that infants who are exposed to higher levels of docosahexaenoic acid, (DHA) an omega-3 fatty acid, were found to have advanced attention spans for their age, well into their second year of life.

Also, during the first six months of living, these babies were two months ahead, developmentally, than babies who had lower or non-existent levels of DHa in their blood.

Giving your baby a leg up in the brain department is important for any of us. If you can give your baby this brain-making fatty acid in the womb to boost their ease into personal growth, it makes perfect sense to do so.

But your baby being advanced beyond his years isn’t the only benefit for including omega-3’s in your pregnancy diet.

How do Omega-3’s help my Baby and Myself During my Pregnancy Diet?

Having a diet rich in essential fatty acids can also help your fetus’s brain build exponentially better and more efficiently. It also helps form the retinas successfully, giving yoru child the best chance possible at having great eyesight.
Diet During Pregnancy

Diet During Pregnancy
They also aid in developing the nervous system. From the brain, to the eyes, to the nervous system, omega-3’s pretty much run the gamut when it comes to benefits for your baby.

For you, getting enough omega-3’scan help reduce your risk for post partum depression, minimize your chance or a pre-term baby, and even reduce your chance of developing preeclampsia. So invest in some flaxseed oil or organic eggs, your baby will thank you!

Your Pregnancy and Diet: Steps to Take to Keep from Gaining Too Much Weight

Pregnancy is not the time to be concerned with your weight, but your pregnancy and diet plans do have the positive power to make your term more bearable, your labor easier and your post partum recovery faster. The recommended weight gain is anywhere between 20 and 35 pounds, but be sure to check with your practitioner about what is recommend for you.

What is so Magical about the 20-35 lb Weight Gain During Pregnancy Diet Plan?

Gaining too much weight during your term can result in some very negative side effects for you and baby. During your pregnancy, too much rapid weight gain can result in gestational diabetes as well as make it that much harder for your body to recover to its original state once the baby is born. Also, studies have shown that too much weight gain could attribute to childhood obesity and even obesity in adults.

Losing the baby weight should be a natural process. On the day of your baby’s birth, you will experience the largest weight loss you’ve ever had in one day. From that moment amidst the changes in your uterus’s size, lochia loss, as well as breastfeeding, you will find that your body will rapidly recover. So if you stay within the recommended weight gain range, you shouldn’t have trouble losing what you’ve gained during pregnancy.

What Are some Ways to Gain the Right Amount of Weight from a Healthy Diet in Pregnancy?

Too much sugar intake is the biggest blunder that many pregnant women don’t realize they make. The truth is that while your body may be craving calories and energy to keep your growing body progressing healthily, sugar isn’t the ticket. Be sure that the weight you are gaining is being put on from healthy calories, like lean proteins, veggies and complex carbohydrates and not excess fat and sugar.

Tip: Stay away from high sugar juices – unless they are natural or in the raw – this is one secret source of sugar that many pregnant moms-to-be don’t realize they are indulging in.

In addition to regulating sugar, be sure that you are skipping on refined carbohydrates; white bread, packaged muffins, bagels, etc. These may claim to be healthy or even claim to have whole wheat, but you need to check the packaging carefully. You want to eat foods the closest to their natural state as possible to load up on fiber and the calories that your body can use as great baby making fuel.