12 Superfoods to Eat During Pregnancy

Now that you’re pregnant, there’s more pressure than ever for your body to feel refreshed and ready to grow your baby. Here’s a list of superfoods to eat during pregnancy.

Dried apricots

This is a great snack and one handful of dried apricots contains 10% of your daily iron intake. As well as providing iron, they’re also great for providing calcium, potassium, folic acid and magnesium.

Cereal

Fortified cereal is rich in vitamins and folic acid. If you’re experiencing an energy slump in the middle of the day, a bowl of cereal with milk is a great superfood to eat during pregnancy.

Bananas

A great source for potassium, bananas are also excellent for reducing fluid retention and helping you to maintain a healthy fluid balance whilst pregnant. As well as being a great energy booster, they can also help to promote sleep.

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Yoghurt

Low fat yoghurt is a great superfood to eat during pregnancy and contains a good array of vital nutrients – a great alternative if you’re not a big fan of drinking milk.

Sweet potato

Packed with calcium, vitamin C and vitamin A, sweet potato can be steamed or mashed to provide an excellent energy boosting snack and is important for skin and eye development.

Strawberries

If you’re a fan of strawberries, then eating them throughout your pregnancy will help you get all the vitamin C you need, as well as being a great source for folic acid and potassium. Additionally, if you eat strawberries after a meal rich with iron they will help to boost your iron absorption as well.

Broccoli

As a great superfood to eat during pregnancy, broccoli is a great source for calcium, magnesium and also folic acid. Steaming them as opposed to boiling will help to preserve those nutrients too.

Eggs

Provided they’re not raw, eggs are a great source of iron, protein and also vitamin B12 which is essential in growing cells.

Chickpeas

As well as being a great source of protein, chickpeas are rich in magnesium, calcium, zinc and folic acid.

Sunflower seeds

Not only are sunflower seeds a source of vitamin A, B, D,E and K, they also contain magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron and zinc, making them the ultimate superfood to eat during pregnancy.

Tuna

A great source of omega-3 fatty acids, tuna is also rich in selenium (an antioxidant mineral) that can protect you against cancer. Although this is a great source of protein, you shouldn’t eat more than three portions a week due to small levels of mercury which can actually cause damage to your baby’s nervous system.

Salmon

Salmon is another great source of omega-3 and it can help to protect you from preterm labour and postpartum depression. Ensuring you include salmon or other seafood in your diet is vital to your baby’s development and can help with the growth of their brain, central nervous system and their eyes.

Resources:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/11/02/top-pregnancy-foods.aspx
http://www.madeformums.com/pregnancy/top-20-pregnancy-superfoods/33280.html
https://www.fitpregnancy.com/nutrition/prenatal-nutrition/5-pregnancy-superfoods-eat-now