The Importance Of Protein To Your Diet During Pregnancy
One of the most common mistakes you can make with your diet during pregnancy is to neglect your protein intake. As you struggle with morning sickness and digestive upset, carbohydrates may seem more appetizing than protein. And as your pregnancy progresses, you may enjoy the convenience of eating a lot of refined carbohydrates.
But carbs can actually aggravate digestive issues and can contribute to weight gain. So keeping your protein intake high is actually a great idea, even though it seems counterintuitive at first.
Benefits of Proteins vs. Carbohydrates in Your Diet During Pregnancy
Protein provides nutrients that are essential to your baby’s
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health and wellbeing as she grows within you. It also helps to keep your blood sugar on an even keel, keeping your blood sugar levels from spiking and plummeting throughout the day. Finally, proteins also help you feel full for a longer period of time.
On the other hand, carbohydrates are digested quickly within your body, contributing to blood sugar highs and lows that can cause hunger pains, feelings of faintness, dizziness, and a host of other uncomfortable symptoms.
Some women can actually develop sensitivity to wheat and gluten, which causes bloating, water retention, and digestive upset. So if you are having these symptoms, eliminating gluten and wheat from your diet and replacing those items with other forms of complex carbohydrates can bring about relief.
Not All Proteins are Created Equal
You should aim to incorporate proteins at every meal. Having said that, though, you should know that not all protein sources are created equal. You should avoid proteins that are high in saturated fats, or that contain nitrates, or that contain high levels of mercury.
If you are wondering, “Can I eat shrimp while pregnant?” the answer is yes. Seafood, especially low-mercury types like shrimp, are excellent sources of lean protein during pregnancy. You can add them to your diet during pregnancy at the rate of twice a week.
As far as lunch meats go, it’s best to avoid them during pregnancy, as they contain high levels of sodium, nitrates, and fillers, which can lead to weight gain and other problems during pregnancy. So aim for other great sources of protein like raw nuts, nut butters, organic eggs, and lean organic cuts of meat such as beef or chicken.
How to Incorporate Protein into Each Meal
Now that you know you must incorporate protein into each meal, and know which healthy proteins are best for you and your baby during pregnancy, it’s important to understand how to incorporate them into each meal. For breakfast, you can enjoy organic eggs scrambled with a little organic butter, leftovers from lunch or dinner, or nut butters on sprouted grain bread.
If you are suffering from morning sickness, try a trail mix made from raw nuts and natural dried fruits. For lunch, you can try lean proteins such as beef, chicken, or seafood; or you can try nut butters spread on veggies, fruit, or sprouted grain bread. For snacks, rely on your own trail mix, hardboiled organic eggs, or leftovers from dinners and lunches.
Maintaining a Healthy Weight with Proteins
Lean proteins can be your best ally in the fight against too much weight gain during pregnancy. A healthy weight gain is estimated at around 20 to 30 pounds. So to stay within those parameters, rely on protein snacks and portions of healthy protein at meals to help you feel full and satiated.
Protein will also help keep your blood sugar stable, avoiding those crashes that can tempt you to eat too much of the wrong kinds of foods. Weight gain is an inevitable part of pregnancy, but you can keep yours within the healthy parameters by knowing how to mix protein and carbohydrates in your diet during pregnancy.
By: Isabel DeLosRios
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
Ready to learn about the best diet during pregnancy? Need advice on what to eat while pregnant? Visit whattoeatwhilepregnantcom for exercise recommendations and eating tips for a healthy pregnancy.
How To Reduce Pregnancy Weight Gain
One of the most important things that women worry about when they are pregnant is their baby’s health. After that, their second largest worry is pregnancy weight gain. Some women put more thought into this than others do, but this is something that your doctor will be worried about.
Plenty of times, women take the old proverb ‘eating for two’ a little too seriously and end up gaining loads more of weight than they should have. When a lady gains too much weight during pregnancy, there are a few issues that will happen.
Your doctor will be in a position to tell you what a safe pregnancy weight gain will be. Your body does need additional miner
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als and vitamins to help feed your growing baby in your stomach, but if you go over the top, your body will store everything as fat. If your pregnancy weight gain starts to get out of control, there are a few medical conditions that may result. If you find yourself worrying about your pregnancy weight gain, contact your doctor right now. If your next appointment is coming up, you can wait till then to discuss with them about it.
Tell them that you are concerned about your pregnancy weight gain and ask them if you are on the right track or not. In a few cases, you will just be sensitive about your weight. In other cases, you will have something to fret about.
It is always better to ask your doctor than to wonder. Remember that your pregnancy weight gain will not always leave after you have given birth. You could have seen models and actresses that may fit right back to their clothing a week or so after they give birth, but you must know this is not the standard.
You should expect that some of your pregnancy weight gain will stay with you for some months after you have given birth. If you opt to breast-feed, you can find the weight comes off quicker than you believe. However, if you are still having the same pregnancy weight gain after some months and have not lost a pound, you may need to talk to your doctor about the way to get those additional pounds off.
By: Thomas Choo
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com
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