Pregnancy always needs planning. An unplanned pregnancy can lead to physical problems and efficiencies in the mother and the child.. Proper diet along with exercise and yoga are important for a healthy baby and a healthy mother. Diet charts play a crucial part during pregnancy. Proper intake of calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats, fibers etc are important. Carbohydrates happens to be the many source of energy in your diet and they are broken down into simple sugars in the form of glucose which go through the placenta, reach the baby and then provide the much needed energy to them. There are different types of carbohydrates that includes sugar, starches etc
During preconception, one should take calculated amount of calories in order to gain or reduce weight according to the body requirement. While during pregnancy, one should try to increase diet by 300 calories per day. An increased calorie value is also required for healthy breastfeeding.
Proteins are another essential nutrients for the body before and during the pregnancy. Protein should account for 12-20% of your daily calories. Approximately, a ratio of 0.8 gram of protein per kilogram of the body weight is recommended. At preconception, 40 grams of protein per day and during pregnancy 60 grams of the same constitute a healthy diet.
Next come the carbohydrates, you definitely need carbohydrates during pregnancy. These account for approximately 50-60% of your daily calories or to say more precisely a daily 9-12 serving of the same are necessary. Carbs contain phytonutrients, which act as antioxidants ,which in turn keep you healthy. Few woman also experience diabetes during pregnancy. Thus, they need to cut down their carb intake.
Usually, talking on a regular basis, we say that one should avoid fats, but on nutritional assessment we see that calculated amount of fats are equally important as any other nutrient. However, one should prefer eating monosaturated fats especially during pregnancy.
Fibers are important, both before and during pregnancy. They help avoid constipation, which is a common problem in pregnant woman.
Sodium intake for pregnant women should be kept same like any other normal person that is 3000 mg a day. This is as important as any other nutrient.
When we talk about iron, then a normal person between age 19-20 years need 18 mg of iron per day, while a pregnant woman’s body requires 27 mg per day, if they fail to consume this amount then they may suffer from anemia. Iron servings should be consumed 5 times a day.
For a healthy breastfeeding 12 mg of zinc per day is also important. Apart from all the Do’s one should also pay attention to the don’ts during pregnancy. Alcohol is strictly prohibited before or during pregnancy else it may lead to serious problems in future. One should take this precaution very seriously and not consume liquor at any level.
Thus, we jump to the conclusion that the carbohydrates needed during pregnancy along with all other nutrient form an essential part of the diet one consumes during pregnancy.
References: https://www.aptaclub.co.uk/article/why-are-carbohydrates-important
