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Fast food or real food in pregnancy?
By Luciana Ayer
Good nutrition during pregnancy is one of the best gifts you can give to your baby – and to yourself!
The quality of nutrition during pregnancy is a determining factor in preventing physical weakness, birth complications and postpartum disorders such as depression. For the baby, besides helping in their formation, the quality of nutrition will have important implications for his future health and eating habits.
There is a whole process related to the modulation of baby’s taste as a result of the foods chosen by the mother.
While in the womb, all the information received by the baby during pregnancy serves as an imprint for its formation, growth, future choices, and health. For example, it is very common to hear from teenagers that fruits don’t have any taste. There has been a link between poor food choices and ability for teenagers to appreciate natural flavours when nutritionists check the food history of their mothers’ nutrition during pregnancy and also after birth.
Nutrition is recognized as one of the cornerstones of life. We are made up of trillions of cells that depend entirely on the nutritional raw material ingested in food. So what, in fact, is good nutrition?
With so many outlandish theories, let’s make it simple and remember the most important thing: eat real food: that which nature has given us in abundance. Not only should we eat real food, but also be aware that some claims of good nutrition can be misleading.
Processed products containing next to little nutrients can also carry chemical waste (dyes, preservatives, sweeteners, thickeners, flavour enhancers etc. – the list is endless). Our body is constantly working to find balance, so when it receives products that are foreign and unrecognizable to its physiology, the cells have to use energy to eliminate this waste instead of receiving nutrients.
This will cause a nutritional imbalance and permanent activation of the immune system in order to deal with these foreign agents, consequently developing inflammation, allergies and possibly may create auto immune disorders.
Remember: during pregnancy, your entire body, as well as your baby’s, will respond to all the information it receives. Why not try to put the best nutrition into your most valued possession – a strong and healthy body for yourself and your baby!
– Luciana Ayer is a Clinical Nutritionist from Brazil on behalf of Ideal Family.
