Diet

Pregnancy Diets: What to Eat When You're Expecting

Eat right to look -- and feel -- your best during these nine very important months of your life

by Robin Immerman Gruen

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Fill up on folate Essential for the rapid cell division that is going on with your growing baby, normal protein metabolism, and the development of new red blood cells that will be needed later, folate is ferociously important. Keep in mind: Your baby grows very rapidly, so getting an ample amount of this nutrient helps to maximize his/her health. Folate can be found in vitamin C-rich foods such as citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruits, lemons, tangerines), green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale), broccoli, and in whole grain breads or fortified cereals, dried beans or peas and some nuts (peanuts or sunflower seeds).

In addition to the benefits for growth purposes, folate also helps to reduce the incidence of some birth defects such as spina bifida. Aim to eat three to five servings a day, and mix up the ways you get it (to help it seem like less of a chore). Try whole grain cereal and a glass of grapefruit juice for breakfast; salad of sunflower seeds, kale and garbanzo beans for lunch; snack on trail mix; eat veggies with your dinner -- even if you top your burger with them.

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