Vital Foods

A healthy pregnancy diet is important for both mom and baby, as what a woman eats and drinks during pregnancy is her baby's main source of nourishment. Experts recommend that a mother-to-be's diet should include a variety of healthy foods and beverages to provide the important nutrients a baby needs for growth and development.

A pregnant woman needs more calcium, folic acid, iron and protein than a woman who is not expecting, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

Also known as folate when the nutrient is found in foods, folic acid is a B vitamin (vitamin B9) and is crucial in helping to prevent birth defects in the baby's brain and spinal cord, known as neural tube defects.

It is difficult to get the recommended amount of folic acid from diet alone. For that reason the March of Dimes, an organization dedicated to preventing birth defects, recommends that women who are trying to have a baby take a vitamin supplement containing 400 micrograms of folic acid per day for at least one month before becoming pregnant. During pregnancy, the organization advises women to increase the amount of folic acid to 600 micrograms (mcg) per day - an amount commonly found in daily prenatal vitamins. This is echoed by the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements. Pregnant women who took a 400-microgram folic acid supplement reduced the risk of neural tube defects in their babies by 50%, according to a 2019 paper in the journal Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Reproductive Medicine.

This mineral is used to build a baby's bones and teeth. If a pregnant woman does not consume enough calcium, the mineral will be drawn from the mother's stores in her bones and given to the baby to meet the extra demands of pregnancy, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Many dairy products are also fortified with vitamin D, another nutrient that works with calcium to develop a baby's bones and teeth. Pregnant women ages 19 and over need 1,000 milligrams (mg) of calcium a day; pregnant teens, ages 14 to 18, need 1,300 milligrams daily, according to ACOG. A full-term baby's skeleton has about 1 ounce (30 grams) of calcium in it, three-quarters of which accumulates during the last trimester of pregnancy, according to a 2021 article published in journal Nutrients. In addition to a healthy diet, pregnant women also need to take a daily prenatal vitamin to obtain some of the nutrients that are hard to get from foods alone, such as folic acid and iron, according to ACOG.

The abundance of holiday food might tempt you to disregard your healthy eating habits until January 1st. Dont set yourself back by a couple of months! There are things you can do to have a delicious holiday, but still maintain your diet decorum. After all, there always seems to be an excuse - no matter what season it is-to stray from the foods you know you should be eating 90% of the time. And that's not just for weight loss, but also for your overall health. The easiest way to conserve some calories for your favorite holiday food is to watch what you're eating away from the parties and big dinners. Make sure you always have whole fruits and vegetables on hand to snack on if the urge strikes you. During the busy holiday season, it's much better for your health to keep a Ziploc bag of raw almonds with you. Dont catch yourself in a low blood sugar fervor while at the mall and oh-so-close to the coffee shop with big chocolate chip cookies in a case by the register. Do yourself and your family a favor and keep chopped-up vegetables, raw nuts and low-sugar fruits like apples and berries on hand for quick snacks. Nut butters are easy to eat with celery or carrot sticks, but limit yourself to a tablespoon at a time because the fat count really adds up. (Even if they are from good fats, calories still matter!) That's why we advise you to snack on unprocessed plant foods. Have you ever noticed that the less we mess with nature, the healthier a food seems to be for us to eat? Snacking healthfully will balance your blood sugar and make you less likely to pile everything on your plate at the office Christmas party.

The term “organic” refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. While the regulations vary from country to country, in the U.S., organic crops must be grown must be grown without the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers, or bioengineered genes (GMOs).

Organic livestock raised for meat, eggs, and dairy products must be raised in living conditions accommodating their natural behaviors (such as the ability to graze on pasture) and fed organic feed and forage. They may not be given antibiotics, growth hormones, or any animal by-products.

How your food is grown or raised can have a major impact on your mental and emotional health as well as the environment. Organic foods often have more beneficial nutrients, such as antioxidants, than their conventionally-grown counterparts and people with allergies to foods, chemicals, or preservatives may find their symptoms lessen or go away when they eat only organic foods.

Organic food is often fresher because it doesn’t contain preservatives that make it last longer. Organic produce is sometimes (but not always, so watch where it is from) produced on smaller farms nearer to where it is sold.

Organic farming tends to be better for the environment. Organic farming practices may reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy. Farming without synthetic pesticides is also better for nearby birds and animals as well as people who live close to farms.

Organically raised animals are NOT given antibiotics, growth hormones, or fed animal byproducts. Feeding livestock animal byproducts increases the risk of mad cow disease (BSE) and the use of antibiotics can create antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Organically-raised animals tend to be given more space to move around and access to the outdoors, which help to keep them healthy.

Organic meat and milk can be richer in certain nutrients. Results of a 2016 European study show that levels of certain nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, were up to 50 percent higher in organic meat and milk than in conventionally raised versions.

Eating a healthy diet is not about strict limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it's about feeling great, having more energy, improving your health, and boosting your mood. Healthy eating doesn't have to be overly complicated. If you feel overwhelmed by all the conflicting nutrition and diet advice out there, you're not alone. It seems that for every expert who tells you a certain food is good for you, you'll find another saying exactly the opposite. The truth is that while some specific foods or nutrients have been shown to have a beneficial effect on mood, it's your overall dietary pattern that is most important. The cornerstone of a healthy diet should be to replace processed food with real food whenever possible. Eating food that is as close as possible to the way nature made it can make a huge difference to the way you think, look, and feel.

While some extreme diets may suggest otherwise, we all need a balance of protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals in our diets to sustain a healthy body. You don't need to eliminate certain categories of food from your diet, but rather select the healthiest options from each category.

Switching to a healthy diet doesn't have to be an all or nothing proposition. You don't have to be perfect, you don't have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy, and you don't have to change everything all at once - that usually only leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. A better approach is to make a few small changes at a time. Keeping your goals modest can help you achieve more in the long term without feeling deprived or overwhelmed by a major diet overhaul. Think of planning a healthy diet as a number of small, manageable steps - like adding a salad to your diet once a day. As your small changes become habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices.