Nutrition

I know I can't avoid it for much longer but I've been dreading doing a write up on nutrition. I suppose because I've been less than perfect with mine of late and feel pretty disappointed in myself. At the beginning of this pregnancy I had high hopes of remaining on my primal diet and thought I'd be able to resist the cravings that people associate with pregnancy. Truth be told I let my emotions rule what I put in my mouth. Instead of healthy snacking options I reached for the chocolate and ice cream. I've had so many conflicting emotions throughout his pregnancy and even though I know better than to medicate emotions with food it still happened.

I don't buy into the whole 'eating for two' scenario either. I mean seriously, no one in the world pregnant or not 'needs' to eat gherkins or pickles at 2 in the morning or 'just has to' consume 2 litters of ice cream because of cravings. It's also been amazing to me the amount of people that condone this sort of behavior too. So many people say 'but your pregnant you should just have it!' What the? So because I'm pregnant I should just eat crap because I've got an open pass to eat anything now? So crazy!

This is a time that you should be extra careful of what your eating as your literally building a person. Everything I eat goes directly to the baby. Within 2 hours she's eating exactly what I ate. Amazing huh. So I thought I'd do a write up of how I should of been eating instead of how I have been. This is based on my own research only. Always do your own in order to come to a conclusion. So here goes...




Firstly a bit of info on the type of nutrition that I follow...the paleo or caveman diet;

In a nutshell, the Paleolithic diet, sometimes called the Caveman diet, is a style of eating that most closely mimics the ancient diet of our hunter-gatherer ancestors.  It consists solely of whole, unprocessed foods, such as meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

Grains, legumes, dairy, salt, refined sugars and refined oils are generally eschewed, though some Paleo adherents will still consume small amounts of dairy (such as butter, cream or yoghurt) from grass-fed mammals.

The Paleo diet is based on the premise that human genetics have changed very little over the past 10,000 years; thus, we are much better adapted to eat the diet that our human ancestors ate for 2.5 million years than we are to the predominantly grain-based diet that has developed since the Agricultural Revolution.

But is the Paleo diet safe during pregnancy?

From my research not only is it safe, it may even help to prevent such pregnancy-related conditions as gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and excessive weight gain.  Paleo-compliant foods, such as meat, seafood and produce, are considerably more nutritionally dense than the grain and sugar-laden mainstays of the standard diet, meaning that calorie for calorie, a pregnant woman following the Paleo diet is much more likely to meet all of her nutritional needs without the requirement for supplementation.

Are there any modifications that should be made for pregnant women?

Possibly.  It all depends on how you were eating pre-pregnancy.

Protein.  Depending on how much protein you normally consume, you may need to reduce your protein intake.  Many Paleo adherents, especially those following a demanding athletic training regimen, consume between 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.  Professor Loren Cordain, one of the foremost experts on the Paleo diet, explains, “Because of metabolic changes that occur in the liver during pregnancy, women cannot tolerate as high protein levels as they normally could. This issue has been documented in both the anthropological and clinical literature. Hence fattier meats, higher fat vegetable foods and more carbs are required.”

I actually found that I instinctively reduced my high protein intake as I couldn't tolerate the taste of meats or even the smell of meats cooking in my house. I simply was not as hungry for large servings of meat as I had previously been.  Pre-pregnancy, meats were my staple and maybe this is where in found it difficult to consume good calories in lieu of protein. I just ate more carbs which left me feeling less than satisfied, cause as we know eating a diet high in carbs creates a need for more carbs. A vicious cycle develops. Not good.

Carbohydrate.  My research has suggested that a pregnant woman should increase her carbohydrate consumption to 150 grams per day on average. This is more than double my pre pregnancy carb intake. Research also shows that the average woman consumes close to 300 grams of carbs daily so they should, in essence be reducing their carb intake during pregnancy. Go figure :)

So, ideally try to steer clear of starchy carbohydrates and instead consume more vegetables and a little more fruit although fruits too high in sugar will cause blood sugar fluctuations which are less than ideal. I personally have developed a taste for oranges, where as previously I ate an orange very rarely. I tried to limit my consumption to 1 a day and that worked ok for me. Also loving cherries right now which are a better option so opted for these. Yum!

 Calcium.  The Paleo diet has received some criticism for its lack of calcium-containing dairy products, but because of the absence of gut-irritating grains, and the increased levels of dietary magnesium (from fish, vegetables and nuts), calcium absorption is greatly improved; thus, intake requirements are reduced.  During pregnancy, however, a woman’s calcium requirements are considerably higher, and as such, it might be prudent to add a calcium supplement and/or a small amount of organic, grass-fed dairy in order to meet these increased needs.

I personally have never gone totally dairy free. I consume small amounts of dairy including Cleo's milk (raw milk), kefir (a probiotic yoghurt), cream, and if I do have cheese I try to ensure its at least organic. By consuming yoghurts I hope to avoid one of pregnancies most common ailments of yeast infections.

 Timing.  Many followers of the Paleo diet eat only two large meals per day, as the higher levels of dietary protein and fat lead to increased satiety, while the low glycemic load of vegetable and fruit-based carbohydrates mediates the hormonal fluctuations that cause hunger.  I've never been able to do this and have always preferred 5 small meals evenly spaced throughout the day. Conventional pregnancy nutrition recommendations suggest that women should eat immediately upon waking, then every two to three hours thereafter, in order to prevent nausea/crankiness/fatigue/etc. and in order to ensure a steady supply of nutrients to the placenta. 

One thing I have read though is that within normal parameters (i.e. not being in a famine situation), there is no correlation whatsoever between frequency of meals and the amount of nutrients being supplied to the growing fetus.  The human body is amazingly well-adapted to prioritize the baby’s needs, so as long as you are eating when you’re hungry, and eating nutritionally-dense Paleo foods, it is perfectly safe to go without food for as many hours as it takes before you become hungry again. So really do what works best for you.