When you get pregnant, there are a flood of books that offer help and advice and it can seem a bit daunting to know what advice one should take, especially when it comes to food. My friend, Jonny Bowden has written a new book entitled “The 100 Healthiest Foods to Eat During Pregnancy.” This book is user-friendly and laid out in such a way that you don’t have to read it cover to cover, but it can become a great reference book for you. The book is full of information about pregnancy in general, and takes you through a nutritional map trimester by trimester. What follows are some paraphrased useful tips from Jonny’s book that I particularly liked:
Good nutrition begins in the womb: Did you know that mothers who eat a junk food diet have children that have weaker muscle strength and are less capable of exercising as they age, thus increasing the risk of the child becoming obese? This suggestion from a study by The European Journal of Nutrition in 2008. As Jonny says, it may seem like a no brainer to avoid junk food, but honestly how many bags of chips, pretzels and cookies live in your pantry. The think about junk food is, that old Lays Potato Chip commercial was right: “Bet you can’t eat just one.” Junk food is addictive and can have some health consequences for mom and baby.
Say No to Lunch Meat: There are good reasons to avoid deli meats during pregnancy. They have a higher risk than other foods of being contaminated with harmful bacteria, like Listeria. Plus they are loaded with fat and sodium that have been added, meaning you are going to get too much. Added fat can definitely contribute to feeling queasy during pregnancy, so avoiding lunch meats/deli meats are a good idea. Roasting a turkey breast and slicing that for sandwiches is a much healthier idea. If you are not sure how to roast a turkey breast, ask the guy at the meat counter. They usually have cooking times down. And in this age of internet, you can always Google how to cook a turkey breast. It’s not difficult.
Artificial Sweeteners: The name artificial sweetener already suggests that you should be avoiding these types of products at all cost! And don’t forget to look for products that contain artificial sweetners. You need to be aware of products like soft drinks (not a good pregnancy food anyway), yogurt, desserts, fruit spreads, chewing gums, salad dressings and candy. You need to become a label reader. Aspartame, Cyclamates, Sucralose and Saccharin. While I suggest avoiding all of these, Jonny does point out that the government considers aspartame safe for pregnant women but recommends that Saccharin and Cyclamates be avoided. This is probably more than just one time that I don’t agree with our government. I don’t think you need chemical cocktails in any food during pregnancy or otherwise. If you can’t spell it, can’t pronounce it, never heard of it, leave it alone! Fortunately there are yogurts and salad dressings, fruit spreads and chewing gums on the market that do not contain these artificial sweeteners.
“The 100 Healthiest Foods to Eat During Pregnancy” has foods lists foods and their nutritional values as well as foods to be avoided (really good idea). Jonny’s Tasty Tips will help you to find easy, delicious snacks and meals no matter what trimester. The Fast Facts in this book address everything from fatigue, anemia and Omega 3’s with simple ideas and solutions for your pregnancy eating. This book is so much more than just 100 foods, it is the ideal pregnancy companion when it comes to eating for two! And it’s a great start for the New Year, the New Decade and a New Pregnancy!
Visit Jonny Bowden’s web site at www.jonnybowden.com and purchase his book there or from Amazon. Happy and Healthy Eating for a Happy and Healthy New Year!
