Take care of yourself during pregnancy to take care of your baby

Being pregnant and becoming a mum are two of the most important moments in a woman’s life, but it can also be a time of great uncertainty. One doubt that you may be confronted with is the diet that you should follow. During this time, you should eat adequate amounts of food that give your body and your baby’s body enough energy. Below is a list of important nutrients that you should include in your pregnancy diet:

• Fruits and vegetables: five servings a day, which you can get by eating green salads, fruit salads and juices.
• Potatoes, rice, bread and other carbohydrates: two or three times a week. Whole grains are best because you need more fibre during pregnancy. A delicious way to eat whole grains, for example, is to prepare toast with Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain for breakfast a few times a week.
• Fish, lean meat, chicken, eggs and legumes: you should consume these sources of iron and fibre at least once a day. Legumes can be paired with a carbohydrate, such as lentils and rice. Shellfish is also a source of protein and reduces anxiety during pregnancy. In this case, you could opt for a shellfish soup or grilled shrimp.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain and nuts: they give you the healthy fats that your body needs and should represent a maximum of 30% of your diet’s total calories. A diet full of unhealthy fats during pregnancy increases the risk of foetal death, as has been shown in some studies.
• Dairy: three servings a day of calcium should be consumed during pregnancy, which you can get not only from milk, but also from cheese and yogurt.

While breast-feeding:

Once you have given birth to your little one, it’s likely that you’ll start breast-feeding. This is an important time because whatever you ingest is transmitted to your baby through the milk. As such, you should avoid the following foods while breast-feeding:

• Garlic, onion, cauliflower, cabbage, radish, spices and sausages, among others, which give your milk too strong of a flavour, sometimes even making it unpleasant.
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol as well as tobacco.
• Also avoid carbonated drinks because they don’t provide anything beneficial for you or for you baby, only empty calories.
• You should consult with your doctor about any medication that you are taking because this can influence the quality of your milk.

As you can see, Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain is a product that helps you take care of yourself and your baby throughout all the stages of life.