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Nutrition Times Two

5 Tips for Healthy Eating While You're Expecting

By Gina Roberts-Grey

Pregnancy often leads many women to peruse cookbooks and search for recipes that are both appealing and nutritious. The combination of nausea, vitamins and need to feed your growing baby can be stressful for expectant mothers. Trying to count calories, learn about the significance of different nutrients, balance food groups and find foods that are as appealing as they are healthy all at once doesn't have to leave you looking for ways to cook up an easier way to eat.

"Pregnant women should look at pregnancy as a time to begin eating healthy," says Rachel Brandeis, of Alpharetta, Ga., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Proper nutrition is important during pregnancy. When you understand what you and your baby's nutritional needs are, you'll be able to satisfy your taste buds and caloric needs nutritiously. You'll also ensure you enjoy what you eat when you're expecting." Here are 5 tips to get you started:

"Moms-to-be shouldn't think that they are eating for two," says Dr. Randy Wittman, an OB/GYN in Crystal Lake, Ill. Moms-to-be should approach eating as though they need to eat 'a little extra' in order to consume the required additional 300 calories a day that adult pregnant women require.

The flip side to eating for two is contemplating dieting during pregnancy. The recent trend of fad diets is often alluring to women who are watching their waistlines. These diets are not recommended for expectant and nursing women because they do not allow for consuming calories from balanced sources. "An expectant woman and her baby need nourishment from all food groups," says Brandeis. "For example, restricting carbohydrates limits folic acid intake and iron. This can lead to anemia or neural tube disease."

Want to see more?

• Wheel of Color: Mixing and Matching for Good Nutrition
• Pregnancy Nutrition From A to Z: A Comprehensive List of Nutrition Issues for Moms-to-be
• Two of Everything, Please: Debunking the Myth
  of Eating for Two
• Talk about it!

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