Mothers Health

What to eat for pregnant women:

Why are avocados fantastic for you and your unborn baby's health?

The right amount of vitamins and minerals are essential for pregnant women. And one of the most important vitamins is Folic Acid¹⁹. Luckily, avocados are packed full of them.

Why is Folic Acid (otherwise known as Folate), important for pregnant women?

It is important to know that your body's requirement for Folic Acid doubles during pregnancy from 400mcg to 800 mcg a day. There are many reasons why you should keep up your intake. During pregnancy, being deficient in Folic Acid can cause low birth weight and neural birth defects in your child.

Folic Acid helps by increasing the production of nucleic acids that are needed by the body during pregnancy. It's suggested that 50% of women who have children afflicted with Spinal Bifida or Anencephaly are found to be deficient in Folic Acid²¹. Folic Acid supplementation prevents Neural Tube defects in children in 100% of cases.

For the man in your life:

Folic Acid is not just important for women. Adding Folic Acid to your man's diet may help alleviate some causes of male infertility. Folic Acid deficiency is associated with low sperm counts and low sperm density.

How to add folic acid into your diet:

By simply adding 100gram of avocado to your diet you are getting 39% of your recommended daily allowance of Folic Acid. That could be as easy as adding avocado to your salad or sandwich each day.

A pregnant woman's diet:

A healthy diet is important for you and your unborn baby's health and vitality²⁰.

Your recommended daily diet should consist of:

• All fruit; avocado, berries, citrus, bananas
• All vegetables. Make sure they're washed well
• Nuts and seeds (all raw and unsalted)
• Legumes like lentil, chickpeas, kidney beans, mung beans
• Wholegrain or wholemeal breads and cereal with no added preservatives or sugar, wholegrain or wholemeal pastas or noodle, rice; brown, basmati or wild
• Low fat milk, hard cheese, yoghurt and ice cream
• Lean fish, meat, poultry and cooked eggs all cooked thoroughly.

Food you should avoid:

• Processed meats; sliced chicken and turkey, ham, salami, luncheon meats
• Raw meats; sashimi, raw meats, raw chicken or any other raw meat
• Pate or meat spreads
• Pre-cooked prawns or seafood and smoked seafood
• Cheese; brie, camembert, fetta, ricotta and blue cheese
• Unpasteurised cheese or milk
• Caffeine and caffeine added drinks
• Alcohol

Tips:

• If you are buying take-away foods they must be cooked all the way through and eaten straight away, not stored
• You can make home-made sushi without the raw fish. Try a sushi roll that's made with avocado and cucumber
• Avoid pasta or food that have uncooked fillings such as pastries with cheese in the middle
• Make sure you store all food in an airtight, clean container and keep for no longer than two days

Example: Recommended Daily Diet:

Breakfast:
Get two slices of wholegrain toast. Use avocado instead of butter, add a hard-boiled egg and tomato, then drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Snacks:
Raw and unsalted nuts and seeds such as almonds, cashews or sunflower seeds.

Lunch:
Home made vegetable and bean soup with freshly chopped herbs and a tablespoon of yoghurt.

Snacks:
Home made guacamole with vegetable sticks.

Dinner:
Wholemeal pasta with avocado, garlic, lemon juice and basil sauce. Serve with rocket, avocado and tomato salad. Drizzle with olive oil and apple cider vinegar dressing.

Liquids:
Make sure you are drinking 2L of water per day. Herbal tea, freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices are also fine.