Nadia’s Nutrition Nibbles
I had the pleasure of working with Nadia Shaw, resident nutritionist at Lotus Health and Psychology to look at what nutritional swaps you can make which don’t require re-organizing everything in our meal plan.
Nadia recommends preparing for pregnancy with good weight control and following gestational weight guidelines. In this blog post, Nadia has provided some great examples on how to make ‘small swaps, big gains’. She has specifically looked at increasing your fibre, omega 3, and protein intake during your pregnancy.
Increasing dietary fibre
Dietary fibre will bind to fats and lower the absorption of glucose through delaying gastric emptying. This means that glucose from our food won’t spike as fast in our bloodstream after meals, rather it will absorb at a more stable pace that is easier on our bodies to process and metabolise (8).
Ensure that you are following the 5 veg and 2 fruit rule and add in the chia/flaxseeds into puddings and smoothies and this should improve bowel regulation.
Here are a few swaps and easy additions Nadia proposes we can make to our diet:
Small Swap: Try meals based on cooked quinoa (this can be made like rice)
Add 1 cup of quinoa grains to a pot, add two cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring this to a heavy boil. Put the lid on once at this stage and turn the heat to the lowest heat on the stove. Leave it for appx 30min.
This absorption method should cook a nice pot of steamy quinoa. Essentially you can stir fry protein/veg and then add the quinoa (like rice) to it and it’s very delicious and nutritious.
Feel free to add any of your favourite hearty vegetables like leak, mushrooms, carrots, sweet potatoes.
Another way to incorporate quinoa is with vegetable stews - added cooked quinoa, tofu, lentils, and some warming spices like ginger.
Small Swap: Pasta dishes are fabulous all year round for lunch or dinner. You can look for pasta’s that are made on lentils i.e., red lentil pasta to make a small swap which helps increase your fibre intake.
Easy Adds: Roasted vegetables are a quick way to increase veg serves. These should include a long-cooking items tray with potatoes, sweet potatoes. And then on a separate tray with shorter cooking items such as cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, onions, garlic, and lather it all in olive oil/sea salt and roast in an oven at 180 degrees.
Easy Adds: Increase high fibre fruits to your smoothies: blueberries, raspberries, black berries.
Check out some other food swaps put together by Diabetes Australia, the peak body for all diabetes related information: https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/managing-diabetes/gestational-diabetes-diet/#diet
Increase Omega 3 Status.
Increase omega 3 status (6): GDM increases inflammation and omega 3 fatty acids significantly decrease inflammation.
The omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are orthomolecular nutrients that play a key role in the prevention and treatment of many conditions related to poor health and well-being. However, majority of our diets are unfortunately low in these important fatty acids. Essential fatty acids need to be gained from diet and supplementation.
Omega 3 fatty acids have an anti-inflammatory and vasodilatory effect and supplementation is associated with reduced risk of increased blood pressure (hypertension) in pregnancy. Omega 3 fatty acids can also be beneficial to postnatal mood.
In addition to EFAs, fish contains a good source of protein as well as micronutrients such as selenium and zinc. Some recommendations are in the list below. To minimise mercury exposure, stick to 2-3 serves a week of a palm size portion (150mg) of the following fish: cod, barramundi, salmon, sardines.
Avoid large fish like catfish/shark as they are too high in mercury and avoid smoked salmon, uncooked seafood, sushi, and precooked prawns as can contain listeria.
This resource explains safe fish consumption as per government guidelines in Australia and New Zealand: mif brochure.pdf (foodstandards.gov.au)
Easy Add: Chia seeds and flaxseeds are a wonderful source of essential fatty acids, minerals, and dietary fibre. Chia pudding recipes are easily found online, and they are also very easy to customise to include your favourite smoothy ingredients.
Increasing Protein.
Protein is essential for supporting your pregnancy and baby’s growth. The proteins which are needed here can come from your diet. The need for additional protein consistently increases as the pregnancy increases, with one-third of weight gain occurring in the second trimester and two-thirds in the third trimester.
Nadia notes good dietary sources of protein can include:
whey protein isolate
collagen
eggs
fish
chicken
meat
As your requirements for protein increase with each trimester, it is essential to understand your protein requirements at every stage. Increasing your protein intake may include finding different ways to enjoy protein throughout the day, trying different recipes for snacks, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Working with a nutritionist will help to navigate requirements for this and other key nutrients over the trimesters and into lactation setting you and baby up for success in health and wellbeing (1). Come talk to Nadia about your specific nutritional requirements during your pregnancy.
References:
1. Hechtman, L (2021) Advanced Clinical Naturopathic Medicine.
2. Guidance for Healthy Weight Gain in Pregnancy (ranzcog.edu.au)
https://ranzcog.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Guidance-for-Healthy-Weight-Gain-in-Pregnancy.pdf
3. Weight Gain During Pregnancy | ACOG
4. Schoenaker DA, Mishra GD, Callaway LK, Soedamah-Muthu SS. The Role of Energy, Nutrients, Foods, and Dietary Patterns in the Development of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies. Diabetes Care. 2016 Jan;39(1):16-23. doi: 10.2337/dc15-0540. PMID: 26696657.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25747955/
7. Oral magnesium for relief in pregnancy‐induced leg cramps: a randomised controlled trial (wiley.com)
Sarris & Wardle, (2014) Clinical Naturopath (2e): An evidence-based guide to practice