A Balanced Food Plate

Don't know what a balanced food plate contains? Read this to know about proper food intake requirements during the pregnancy period for a healthy baby.

Foods to take:

• A variety of foods is the key to wholesome nourishment.

• A daily food plate should contain about six to ten servings of whole grains and breads; two to four servings of fresh fruits; at least four servings of vegetables; three servings of protein foods such as nuts, pulses, and legumes; three servings of iron foods; and four servings of dairy foods.

• There must be fiber-rich foods like whole grain breads, pasta, rice, cereals, fruits, and vegetables in your diet.

• Don’t forget to add a sufficient amount of minerals and vitamins to your daily plate.

• There must be just trace amounts of sweets and fats.

• Calcium-rich foods should find a good place on your food plate.

• You should get about 1000-1300 mg of calcium daily.

• You should get about 27 mg of iron daily.

• You need about 70 mg of Vitamin C daily. You can get it from grapefruits, oranges, papaya, strawberries, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, honeydew, tomatoes, mustard greens, and green peppers.

• Folic acid is a must. Eat at least one source of folic acid daily. It may be either a serving of dark green leafy vegetables, legumes like black beans, lima beans, chickpeas, and black-eyed peas. If you get less than 0.4 mg of folic acid daily, your baby may be at risk of developing neural tube defects like spina bifida. (The very name sounds scary. I would better eat my greens than worry about that sort of thing!)

• Don't forget vitamin A! At least one source of this vitamin daily on your plate is sufficient. You may choose from carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, pumpkins, beet greens, turnip greens, water squash, apricots, or cantaloupe. But, beware of excess vitamin A - More than 10,000 IU/ Day may lead to fetal malformations.

Foods to avoid are:

• Alcohol. If you wish to have a premature delivery, birth defects in your baby, a mentally retarded or underweight baby, you can imbibe often!

• Cigarettes. Forget smoking. Care for your unborn.

• Caffeine. Restrict the intake to about 300 mg or less per day. How do you calculate that? Well, the amount of caffeine depends on the type of leaves or beans used. Black tea has about 80 mg of caffeine while an 8 oz cup of coffee contains 150 mg. Caffeinated soda in a 12-ounce glass has 30-60 mg of caffeine. Don’t have more than two cups of coffee and three cups of black tea every day.

• Chocolates have caffeine too. Surprise, surprise! One typical chocolate bar amounts to one-fourth cup of coffee.

• Saccharin. It may get retained in fetal tissues, causing problems. You can consume artificial sweeteners recommended by FDA in moderate quantities. These sweeteners include aspartame, sucralose, and acesulfame-K.

• Fatty foods. Your fat intake should be about 30 percent or less than your daily calorie intake. If you take 2000 calories daily, your fat intake should be 65 grams or less.

• Restrict cholesterol to about 300 mg or less daily.

• Fish, oysters, and clams. They have high mercury levels.

• Soft cheeses. They are often unpasteurized and may lead to a Listeria infection. You can have hard and processed cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese, and yogurt.