Importance of Protein and Carbohydrates in Pregnancy!
Pregnancy is considered to be the most important phase in a woman’s life. It is the foundation to future generations literally. When a woman is pregnant there is a lot of advice provided on what to eat and how much to eat and what’s good for the mum and baby and what’s not. Pregnant Moms need to eat every 2-3 hours which means six meals. Three would be main meals and three are considered as snacks. Let’s start with the basic concept of making a food plate. These would be your main meals. Each of your main meals must contain all the five food groups – Carbohydrates, Vegetables/Fruits, Protein, Milk Protein and Fats. All of these nutrients work in tandem with each other and hence there is maximum nutrient absorption
In this article we will look at the importance of carbohydrates in a pregnant mum’s diet.
Carbohydrates form the staple of all diets.. Carbohydrates are the base of any food pyramid and hence a must in your pregnancy diet as they contribute to building each and every part of the baby.
We need Carbohydrates as they provide energy and fibre and most of us end up consuming more than about 50% of our daily nutritional intake as carbohydrates. We need about 6-11 servings per day and the way to understand a serving is one 8″ roti or one slice of bread , one bowl of rice or ¾ cup of cereal is considered as one serving. It is important to remember that we choose Carbohydrates which are unrefined as most of the nutrients are maintained. Refined Carbohydrates may taste better but they are low in nutritional value and end up contributing more to the calorie intake than the nutritional intake. Carbohydrates during pregnancy specially will help to neutralise the acids in the stomach and hence will reduce the feeling of nausea and acidity. Having a small healthy carb every 2 to 3 hours can help a pregnant mom feel more comfortable. Choose from a wide range of grains like brown rice, wheat, jowar, bajra, nachni, oats etc to get your daily intake of this food group. Carbohydrates can also be found in smaller quantities in fruits, vegetables and pulses.