10 Superfoods every pregnant women should include in her diet

What you eat during your pregnancy has a direct effect on the growth and development of your baby. So it is crucial that you include the healthiest and the best foods to boost your baby’s growth and to keep yourself healthy to face all the stress and strains of pregnancy and labour. Here are some pregnancy superfoods that you can’t afford to miss for the sake of your baby’s well-being.

Milk and dairy products
Adequate calcium intake during pregnancy is crucial. Apart from strengthening your bones and taking care of your teeth it also contributes towards the overall skeletal development of your baby. So gulp down that glass full of milk daily and make sure you also indulge in other dairy products like cheese, cottage cheese (paneer), yoghurt, buttermilk, etc., to meet your calcium requirements. Be regular with your calcium supplements too, as it could help you meet the required daily levels of the same in case your diet lacks in providing you with the requisite amount.

Spinach and fenugreek
Leafy green vegetables, especially spinach and fenugreek, are rich sources of folic acid or folate. Folic acid is an important nutrient for your unborn baby. It helps in fetal brain development and also saves your baby from birth defects like spina bifida a congenital disorder caused due to incomplete closure of the embryonic neural tube. It also reduces risks of preterm labour and prevents preeclampsia in the mother. Apart from this, these leafy green vegetables also have traces of vital vitamins, minerals and calcium that can do you a great deal of good.

Broccoli
Till about a few years ago this vegetable was considered exotic. But now you can find broccoli in almost all the leading supermarkets. You have enough reasons to include it in your shopping cart, especially when you are pregnant. Broccoli is packed with an adequate amounts of calcium, manganese and potassium and contributes towards stronger bone development in the fetus.

Eggs and meat

Eggs are the best source of first class proteins, low in calories and packed with high-quality omega-3 fatty acids. They are also a good source of folic acid, choline and iron and help to keep your amniotic membranes strong while preventing birth defects in the fetus. Remember to have your eggs with the yolk so that you don’t miss out on choline.

Meat, on the other hand, is rich in animal protein that helps in cell and muscle development in the baby. Having adequate quantity of protein through diet can also help an expectant mother fight pregnancy induced fatigue. Opt for lean meat as they are the best source of high-quality protein sans the fats.

Fish

Intake of fish during pregnancy has always been a bit controversial because of the high mercury content in them, especially the seawater ones. However, fish is packed with good quality protein and omega-3 fatty acids that contribute towards the brain and eye development of the baby. To be on the safer side limit your fish intake to twice-a-week. Make sure you cook your fish thoroughly before consuming it and avoid having raw fish as it can increase your chances of an infection and harm your baby.

Pulses and legumes

They are the best source of plant-based proteins, fibre and other nutrients like zinc, iron and folate. Sprouted beans, on the other hand, are also a rich source of vitamin B 12 that helps in brain and liver development of the baby and also the mother. Include a variety of pulses and legumes in your diet to reap their nutritional benefits.

Tofu

Apart from being a rich source of calcium, tofu is also packed with iron, manganese vitamin A and K. It is also a rich source of folic acid and can be an excellent snack or a salad ingredient for an expectant mum.

Fruits and vegetables

Of course, you cannot miss eating them. But don’t limit your options when it comes to fruits and vegetables. Other than having the staple fruits like apple, banana and pear, opt for more colourful varieties. Ideally it is recommended that one should have five portions of fruits a day during pregnancy. Have foods rich in antioxidants like musk melons, strawberries, grapes, etc. Oranges are rich in vitamin C and would help in the absorption of iron while apples can help relieve constipation a common pregnancy woe, being fibre-rich. Eat more berries as they are packed with antioxidants that help to prevent birth defects and up the circulation. 

When it comes to vegetables, apply the same rule, more the colour the better. Shop for a variety of vegetables and ensure that you bring with you a vegetable basket that’s a riot of colours. Opt for bell peppers, pumpkins, eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes, cauliflower along with your green vegetables to make your diet wholesome. The antioxidants, minerals and vitamins in them would do your baby a whole deal of good.  

Water

You don’t need any explanation on why you should have water during pregnancy. This will not only help your body get rid of internal toxic build-up, but will also save you from urinary tract infections which are common during pregnancy. Sipping on coconut water or fresh orange juice would also help. 

Breakfast cereals and grains

They are a great source of carbohydrate and fibre and act as a storehouse of energy. Fibre in your diet will also help you from fighting constipation that is common during pregnancy. Including good carbs in your diet will ensure that you give each cell of your body adequate energy for proper functioning and maintain an overall healthy body to take on the stress of pregnancy and labour.

Eat banana to reduce risk of stroke, death after menopause

A new study has found that post-menopausal women who consume potassium-rich foods like banana face lesser risk of stroke and death. Senior author Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, Ph.D., from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, said that previous studies had shown that potassium consumption may lower blood pressure.

The findings give women another reason to eat their fruits and vegetables for they are good sources of potassium, which not only lowers post-menopausal women’s risk of stroke, but also death. Researchers studied 90,137 post-menopausal women, ages 50 to 79, for an average 11 years. They looked at how much potassium the women consumed, as well as if they had strokes, including ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, or died during the study period.

Women in the study were stroke-free at the start and their average dietary potassium intake was 2,611 mg/day. Results of this study are based on potassium from food, not supplements. The researchers found: Women who ate the most potassium were 12 percent less likely to suffer stroke in general and 16 percent less likely to suffer an ischemic stroke than women who ate the least.

Women who ate the most potassium were 10 percent less likely to die than those who ate the least. Among women who did not have hypertension (whose blood pressure was normal and they were not on any medications for high blood pressure), those who ate the most potassium had a 27 percent lower ischemic stroke risk and 21 percent reduced risk for all stroke types, compared to women who ate the least potassium in their daily diets. Among women with hypertension (whose blood pressure was high or they were taking drugs for high blood pressure), those who ate the most potassium had a lower risk of death, but potassium intake did not lower their stroke risk.

Researchers suggested that higher dietary potassium intake might be more beneficial before high blood pressure develops. They also said there was no evidence of any association between potassium intake and hemorrhagic stroke, which could be related to the low number of hemorrhagic strokes in the study. The findings suggested that women needed to eat more potassium-rich foods.

You won’t find high potassium in junk food. Some foods high in potassium include bananas, white and sweet potatoes, and white beans. While increasing potassium intake is probably a good idea for most older women, it could be dangerous to the heart for people who had too much potassium in their blood. The study was observational and included only post-menopausal women. Researchers also did not take sodium intake into consideration, so the potential importance of a balance between sodium and potassium is not among the findings. 

Other health benefits of bananas 

Relieves muscle cramps

Bananas are a great way of dealing with muscle cramps. The high magnesium and potassium content, bananas are the best way to make up for the minerals in your body. It eases out  the muscles and protects you from any further chances of such dreadful cramps.

Keeps blood pressure in check

Bananas, are rich in potassium and very low in sodium thus help in managing blood pressure better. They help maintain water balance in the body and detoxify the body to protect you against heart attacks. 

 Prevents acidity 

Bananas are very effective antacids and coat the inner lining of the stomach and suppress acid secretion. This  protects the stomach from ulcers and acidity.

Beat constipation

Both the fruit and stem are rich in fibre and  pectin which helps assist bowel motility and eases out constipation. Alternatively  you can even drink the juice prepared from the banana plant stem.

This Summer Fruits and Veggies to the rescue to keep you active

Summers are synonyms with laziness. The Soaring temperatures make people lazy, so it's time to make some dietary changes to stay fit during summer. Experts suggest that adding selective fruits and vegetables to everyday diet can show up great results.

Let me list some of those vital summer foods that will work wonders for your body. It took me sometime to research these, but I manage to put up an impressive list here:

* Strawberries: Strawberries are packed full of health benefits. Compared to other fruits such as apples and bananas, strawberries have more nutrients, and are known to burn stores fat (the anthocyanins stimulate the burning of stored fat), and are good for weight loss.

* Spring onions: Spring onions contain allicin, which may keep you from overeating by stimulating satiety in the brain. Spring onion has a milder, sweeter taste than the dried white bulbs you buy later in the season. Enjoy it diced on a salad for a fat-fighting side or lunch.

* Asparagus: One of the first foods that signals the start of spring is the appearance of fresh asparagus at local farmers’ markets. Asparagus is a good source of fibre and protein, both essential for good digestion and immunity. It also contains a unique carb called inulin, which remains undigested until it raches the large intestine, where it helps to absorb nutrients better.

* Fennel: Most often associated with Italian cooking, be sure to add fennel to your selection of fresh vegetables in early spring when it is readily available and at its best. Just an ounce of the bulb in your salads adds a gram of fibre for only nine calories. Fennel bulb is also a very good source of vitamin C, folate and potassium.

* Lettuce: Lettuce has been called ‘the perfect weight loss food’ because it contains fibre and cellulose. Besides filling up, fibre improves your digestion. Improving your digestion is important for long-term weight control. Fibre also helps remove bile salts from the body. When the body replaces these salts it breaks down cholesterol to do so.

* Broccoli: Love it or hate it, broccoli is great for you! It is known as a smart carb and is high in fibre, which aids digestion, prevents constipation, maintains low blood sugar, and curbs overeating. Furthermore, a cup broccoli has as much protein as a cup of rice or corn with half the calories.