3. The Pregnancy Food Guide Pyramid
Eating a variety of foods from all
of the food groups is the best way to ensure you are getting the
calories and nutrients you need. The USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid is a good
guideline for pregnant women; it ensures you consume the following
minimum number of servings in each food group (about 2,500 calories):
• 9 servings from the bread,
cereal, rice, and pasta group. Examples of a single serving from this
group include a slice of whole-wheat bread, ½ cup cooked cereal, half a
bagel, or ½ cup of pasta. Be sure to include whole-grain and whole-wheat
starches as well as other starches higher in fiber.
• 4 servings from the vegetable
group. Examples of a single serving from this group include 1 cup of raw
leafy vegetables, ½ cup of other vegetables, raw or cooked, or ¾ cup
vegetable juice. Choose a variety of vegetables—the darker the color,
the more nutrients a vegetable has.
• 3 servings from the fruit group.
Examples of a single serving from this group include a medium apple, a
small banana, a small orange, ½ cup chopped fruit, or ¾ cup fruit juice.
Choose a variety of fruits daily, as raw fruits are higher in fiber
than juices.
• 3–4 servings from the milk,
yogurt, and cheese group. Examples of a single serving from this group
include 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 1.5 ounces natural cheese, or 2 ounces
processed cheese. Use fat-free or low-fat milk, nonfat or low-fat
yogurt, and low-fat cheese.
• 6–7 ounces (2–3 servings) from the
meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts group. Examples of a
single serving from this group include 3 ounces poultry, fish, or lean
meat; 1 ounce meat = ½ cup cooked dried beans, a whole egg, ½ cup tofu, 
cup nuts, or 2 tablespoons peanut butter. Choose lean meats and trim
fat from meat before cooking. With poultry, remove skin. Include cooked
dry beans often as the main dish in meals.
A common pitfall to the healthy diet
is skipping breakfast. When you skip breakfast, you are forcing your
body to go ten to twelve hours without food—and going that long without
nourishing your baby. When you are famished, it is easy to choose the
wrong foods and eat too much of them, so skipping breakfast may cause
you to eat more calories than you intended.
Carving Up the Calories
The calories
in all the healthy foods that make up the USDA Food Guide Pyramid are
made up of three basic nutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat. These
three nutrients are known as the macronutrients because we need them in
larger amounts. Even though each macronutrient has a particular
function in the body, they work together in partnership for good health
and for a healthy pregnancy. During pregnancy, the required amounts of
some of these nutrients change only slightly.
4. Count on Carbohydrates
You can count on carbohydrates to be
your body’s main source of energy, especially for the brain and nervous
system. Carbohydrates quickly and efficiently convert to energy for mom
and baby. Carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, dairy
products, starches, and foods in the meat group such as beans and soy
products. The only foods in which they are not found are meat, poultry,
and fish. Fiber is also considered a carbohydrate and is important to
health. However, fiber is not considered a nutrient because most of it
is not digested or absorbed into the body.
Comprehending Carbs
Carbohydrates are classified into two
different categories: simple carbohydrates, or sugars, and complex
carbohydrates, or starches. Sugars are carbohydrates in their simplest
form. Refined sugars are found in foods such as table sugar, honey,
jams, candy, syrup, and soft drinks. Refined sugars provide calories,
but they lack nutrients like vitamins and minerals, and fiber. Some
simple sugars, such as those that occur naturally, are found in more
nutritious foods, such as the fructose found in fruit or the lactose
that is part of dairy products. Complex carbohydrates are basically
formed of many simple sugars linked together. They are found in foods
such as grains, pasta, rice, vegetables, breads, legumes, nuts, and
seeds. Complex carbohydrates are much more nutrient-rich than simple
sugars.
Before complex or simple
carbohydrates can be used as energy, they must be broken down into
glucose, or blood sugar. Glucose is carried through your bloodstream to
your body’s cells, where it is converted to energy. Since simple
carbohydrates or sugars are already in their simplest form, they go
straight into the bloodstream. Complex carbohydrates must be broken down
into glucose. Some glucose is used as energy, and some is stored. The
hormone insulin helps to regulate your blood sugar.
How Many Carbs?
On average, women should get
approximately 45 to 65 percent of their calories from carbohydrates.
Since pregnancy increases calorie needs, more calories must be ingested
from carbohydrates. The key is to increase your calories by eating more
complex carbohydrates and not more sugar. Take in more complex
carbohydrates by eating more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, rice,
breads, and cereals. Try adding more beans, lentils, and peas to your
daily meals.
To figure how many grams of carbohydrates you need, follow these steps:
1. Calculate your estimated calorie need, as described on page 33.
2. Multiply your total by .45 (at
the low end of recommended carb intake) to up to .65 (at the high end).
The result is the number of calories you should get from carbohydrates.
3. Calculate the number of grams of
carbohydrates you need to eat as follows. Take the number of
carbohydrate calories (from step 2) and divide by 4. Carbohydrates
contain 4 calories per gram, so the result of this step is the total
grams of carbohydrates you should eat daily.
Following
the Food Guide Pyramid and eating the suggested number of servings from
each food group during pregnancy will ensure you are consuming the
amount of carbohydrates your body needs for a healthy pregnancy and a
healthy baby. Even though carbohydrates are extremely important, they
need to be balanced with the other two macronutrients: protein and fat.
