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January 31, 2011

2010 Dietary Guidelines: What They Mean for Pregnant and Nursing Women

Filed under: General Information, Nutrition During Pregnancy, Preconception Nutrition and Fitness — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Elizabeth Ward @ 12:18 pm

Today, the United States Department of Agriculture released the 2010 Dietary Guidelines (DG) for Americans. The latest recommendations about what to eat have lots of advice for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and for women in their childbearing years who may become pregnant. Here are the highlights:

• Healthy weight: If you may become pregnant, and especially if you’re trying for a child, you should achieve a healthy weight before conception. Starting pregnancy at a healthy weight, and gaining the right number of pounds during pregnancy (which is based on your pre-pregnancy Body Mass Index), reduces your chance of pregnancy complications, and improves your health and your child’s, possibly for a lifetime.

• Iron: If you’re pregnant, take an iron supplement. Even if you’re not pregnant, choose foods rich in heme iron, the form of iron most easily absorbed by the body. Animal foods, such as lean beef, pork, and seafood, are rich in heme iron. Another DG recommendation: include foods with non-heme iron, such as cereal, bread, rice, and pasta, and consume foods with vitamin C, such as orange juice, mango, tomatoes, and strawberries, to increase the body’s absorption of non-heme iron.

• Folic acid: Women in their childbearing years who are capable of becoming pregnant should get 400 micrograms (ug) of folic acid daily. Folic acid is a man-made B vitamin that reduces the risk of certain birth defects that occur during the first month after conception. You should also include in your diet foods with folate, folic acid’s naturally-occurring counterpart. Beans, orange juice, and dark leafy greens provide folate.

• Fish: The latest DG recommend that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding consume 8 to 12 ounces of fish every week. Fish supplies omega-3 fats, which are touted as heart healthy. But when it comes to pregnancy and nursing, the most important omega-3 fat is docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA. Your baby’s body starts hoarding DHA around the 24th week of pregnancy because it’s vital for proper brain development and peak vision. Nursing moms need adequate DHA in their diet to pass on to their child through breast milk. (Many infant formulas contain DHA, too.)

The recommendation for fish comes with a caveat: choose a variety of lower-risk fish, such as salmon; limit white (albacore) tuna to 6 ounces a week; and avoid tile fish, shark, swordfish and king mackerel.

If you don’t think you can get as much fish as the DG recommend, supplement your diet with fortified foods, including eggs, such as Eggland’s Best, and fortified milk and yogurt. One of my favorite lunches when I was pregnant and even now is two Eggland’s Best eggs fried in a bit of olive oil on a whole wheat English muffin. Yum!

December 1, 2010

New Recommendations for Calcium and Vitamin D: Are You Getting Enough?

Filed under: Breastfeeding, General Information, Info for Dads, Nutrition During Pregnancy, Preconception Nutrition and Fitness — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Elizabeth Ward @ 9:54 pm

This week, the Institute of Medicine released their much-anticipated report about calcium and vitamin D, and how much we need. Like a lot of nutrition professionals, I had anticipated much higher recommendations for vitamin D, but that’s another story.

You’re pregnant or trying to be, or you’re nursing a baby, so here’s what you need to know. Pregnant and lactating women and others in their childbearing years need 1,000 milligrams of calcium daily, the equivalent of about three servings of dairy foods, such as 8 ounces of any type of milk, 8 ounces of yogurt, or 1 1/2 ounces of hard cheese, like cheddar. Fortified orange juice supplies as much calcium as milk, and other foods, like fortified cereals and dark green leafy vegetables provide calcium, too.

Vitamin D is a different story because it’s harder to get from food. It’s not called the sunshine vitamin for nothing;your body makes vitamin D in response to strong summer sunlight. According to Michael Holick, MD, a vitamin D expert at Boston University, if you live north of Atlanta, Georgia, you don’t make any vitamin D for six months a year. To make matters worse, very few foods are natural sources of vitamin D. Milk is fortified with vitamin D and so are many soy beverages, which, by the way, also contain added calcium. Fortified orange juice has as much vitamin D as milk.

For more on the calcium and vitamin D recommendations, and a list of vitamin D rich foods, check out this USA Today article.

Have you seen my other blog at USATODAY.com?  It features tips for feeding your family healthy foods, and recipes that I prepare with my children as part of Cooking With My Kids. 

September 14, 2010

Study: More Women Breastfeeding at Birth

Filed under: Breastfeeding, General Information — Tags: , , , — Elizabeth Ward @ 11:22 am

USATODAY.com is reporting the good news that more moms are choosing to breast feed at birth. Why is that good news? Because nursing infants tend to have fewer infections, diarrhea, and less colic. They are also less likely to become overweight later in life. Breastfeeding is economical and convenient. In addition, it helps mom’s body to return to it’s pre-pregnancy state faster.

As you can tell, I am a big fan of breastfeeding. However, I am also a very practical person and I understand that some women choose not to nurse their babies. No guilt trips here! You are the mother and you should choose what’s best for you and your family.

Still, if there’s any chance you’re interested in nursing your child, give it a try. The first week or so may be difficult (something nobody EVER told me), but it’s worth it.

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