Pregnancy Nutrition: Healthy Eating for You and Your Baby

I am thrilled to have a guest blogger today, the super-talented Melissa Schollaert of Real Nutritious Living. When she and I talked about doing a little blog trade, I asked her if she could fill me in on holistic nutrition for pregnancy. As soon as I got her post, I wondered why I didn’t ask earlier! Read on for Melissa’s great thoughts on keeping you and baby nourished through all three trimesters:

When you are pregnant, the food you eat matters more than ever. In each trimester your baby continually develops and it’s important to use specific and smart nutrition to ensure your healthiest possible pregnancy. Below are a few of my favorite go to tips to help you accomplish just that.

First Trimester: Your baby’s nervous system is forming in the first trimester and if you are not taking in enough calcium, your body will leach it from your bones in order to give it to your baby. It’s important to avoid that at all cost!

• Salt – Drink mineralized water; eat sea vegetables (kelp and dulce), Himalayan and Celtic sea salt daily.
• Calcium – Leafy greens and seeds, especially sesame seeds. It’s important to note that caution should be exercised with eating nuts. They should not be consumed daily as research shows this leads to a 50 percent increase in childhood asthma.
• Folic acid – 800mcgs in your prenatal vitamin and in asparagus, liver, lentils, broccoli and citrus.
• Protein – 80 grams/day.  Some research shows lower risk of pre-eclampsia and other complications with adequate protein, and some women report less morning sickness when they consume this much protein.

SECOND TRIMESTER: Your baby’s skin and bones are forming in the second trimester, and requiring much more magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin C and collagen than ever.

• Magnesium – Eat foods high in magnesium like buckwheat, millet, seeds, and everyone’s favorite, raw chocolate. If you are getting muscle cramps, foot cramps, and restless legs at night or headaches, then we suggest supplementing with high quality magnesium oil. I recommend not ingesting it; but doing a 20-minute foot soak at night with 2oz magnesium oil to 64 ounces hot water.
• Vitamin A – Shelf your current fish oil and switch to Green Pastures High Vitamin A Butter Oil.
• Vitamin C – Add lemon to your morning water and a food based C, like Premier Research Labs and eat C rich foods like bell peppers and berries.
• Collagen – My favorite food source of collagen is drinking 2 cups of bone broth daily. It will assist in collagen production. Here are instructions on how to make bone broth.

THIRD TRIMESTER: Baby’s brain is growing quickly in the third trimester, and taste buds are continuing to develop. This is the phase where baby will develop tastes for the foods you eat. The lungs are developing and baby is beginning to utilize their organs on their own as well as eliminate waste.

Foods that support lung function include lotus root and all antioxidants like turmeric, acai, cloves, apples and red, yellow and orange bell peppers.

The other food focus should be on pastured animal meats, high quality egg yolks, grass fed beef and wild fatty fish. This is the phase to add back high quality fish oil. We believe the best for baby and mama is fermented cod liver and butter oil (Green Pastures makes a great one.)

AVOID:

• Trans fatty acids (e.g., hydrogenated oils)
• Junk foods including commercial fried foods
• Sugar and sweeteners
• White flour
• Caffeine – including soft drinks and coffee
• Soy
• Fluoridated or chlorinated water

Melissa Schollaert is a Holistic Health & Nutrition Counselor and founder of Real Nutritious Living. She’s been an on-camera expert for ABC, NBC, and GoodDayLive, with her writing published on a number of healthy living and nutrition websites. Melissa also teaches cooking classes and workshops at Whole Foods and various other retail outlets. She’s an avid yogi, always improving surfer, and a firm believer in faith, love, and the healing power of green juice. She’s got a heart for helping others achieve their health goals to attain their healthiest, happiest life.

Visit her blog: www.RNLblog.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/realnutritiousliving

Twitter: @realnutritious