Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Why Is Protein So Important During Pregnancy? - A guest post

When I was pregnant with my first son, I spent countless hours researching everything from what he looked like during the stages of development to what I should be eating. I'm excited to share the following guest post on why Protein is so important during pregnancy and ways to get enough!  If you have a guest post you'd like to share - email me!  I'd love to share everything from birth stories to tips for deliveries from moms!

Why Is Protein So Important During Pregnancy?


We all have heard about the importance of protein in our nutrition, but what makes it so important? Actually protein is made of amino acids and these are considered to be the building blocks of your body. This means that they also are the building blocks of the body of the little one.
You should really focus on the protein intake during the second and third trimester. This is because that is the period when the little one is developing at the fastest rate and so the demand of nutrients is at its peak.

 

How much?


Nutritional specialists say that during your pregnancy, your body requires about 70 grams of proteins on a daily basis. This is only 25 grams more than normally. The good news is that the majority of women consume more than they should, so most probably you won’t have problems with the protein intake.
Nonetheless in case you don’t have in your diet any meat, which is one of the major protein sources, you should make sure that you obtain the nutrient from another source.

 

Sources


There are numerous sources of protein, so you can make sure that you won’t get bored with eating the same thing all over again. These kinds of foods include beans, poultry, eggs, meat, milk, tofu, cheese and yogurt, among others. To make sure that you consume enough proteins daily, you should have 3-4 servings per day.

 

Nuts, beans and legumes


In order to get the amount of 20 grams of protein, you should consider consuming the following meals. One of these meals is made of tofu and you can eat about 1 cup of this protein source regardless that it is firm or soft. The same amount of nutrients can be found in 5-6 tablespoons of peanut butter or a handful of peanuts.
One and a half cups of cooked beans, the like of baked beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, refried beans, black beans, pinto beans or lentils. Another option you have is to drink three cups of vegan milk the likes of soy milk.

 

Dairy products


To get the 20 grams of protein per serving, consider consuming almost a cup of cottage cheese, two cups of yogurt, a few slices of cheddar, Swiss or other kinds of cheeses, 200 grams of parmesan cheese, three large eggs, or two and a half cups of milk. You should have these only in case the kind of diet that you have allows you to. As an example vegan people aren’t supposed to have any dairy products.

 

Fish and white or red meat


Having 3 oz. of meat, such as chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, veal or pork offers you the 20 grams of protein just like the servings that have been mentioned before. The same amount can be found in 3 oz. servings of trout, salmon and tilapia. You could also have 17 larger shrimps, or one and a half cups of baby shrimps. It is also healthy to have three and a half oz. of lobster, crab or thee oz. of canned clams. There are some fishes that you shouldn’t consume.


Author Bio: Liza is an avid blogger and freelance writer. She loves writing on health – women’s health and pregnancy, to be more specific. Don’t forget to check out her pregnancy week by week articles on ThePregnancyZone.com, where she writes on topics relating to preparing for pregnancy, pregnancy stages, labor & delivery, and pregnancy issues, among others.

1 comments:

eight weeks pregnant symptoms May 24, 2012 at 4:29 AM  

Not only proteins but a complete and healthy food is necessary during pregnancy.

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