Nutrition and Pregnancy

I was catching up on my reading this morning and came across this article. I did notice a lot of people around me are either pregnant, open to the idea, have a newborn already, or plan on having second. So I've decided to share this with you. This is for you women of child-bearing ages... (From Journal of American Dietetic Association, Vol.108:3, pg553-561)

A. Nutrition and Health before pregnancy
- Consume an adequate amount (400 mcg) of folic acid from fortified foods or supplements. FYI: One A Day for Women has exactly 400 mcg of folic acid.
- If you have iron-deficiency anemia, eat foods high in iron along with vitamin C rich foods to help with absorption. Keep it up now, because you'll need more iron during pregnancy.
- Maintain regular physical activity, at least 30 min a day of moderate activity to reduce the risk of chronic disease, up to 90 min a day to manage body weight and promote weight loss.
- Stop alcohol, smoking, and substance use.

B. Weight Gain during Pregnancy
First, calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI).
BMI = weight (lb) / height (in) / height (in) x 703

BMI < 19.8           28-40 lb
BMI 19.8-26         25-35 lb
BMI >26-29         15-25 lb
BMI >29               15 lb
Twin prgnancies     35-45 lb

C. Food and Physical Activity during Pregnancy
- Engergy: Same as your normal intake during first trimester. Extra 340 calories in the second trimester. Extra 452 calories in the third trimester.
- Drink 8-10 cups of fluids a day (including water, milk, juice, water in fruits and veggies, etc.).
- Eat plenty of fruit, veggies, whole grains to help alleviate constipation- a common complaint during pregnancy.
- Iron supplement should be taken to meet increased needs during pregnancy. 
- Refer to "MyPyramid for Moms" to achieve healthy balanced diet.
- Physical Activity: 30 min moderate activity. Avoid scuba diving and activities with high risk of falling and abdominal trauma.

D. Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation
- Pregnancy women should consume 600 mcg synthetic folic acid from fortified foods or supplements.
- Supplementation with 27 mg iron daily during pregnancy is recommended.
- Multi-vitamin is recommended for women with iron deficiency anemia, poor-quality diets, those who consume no or small amout of animal products, and those carrying two or more fetuses. 

E. Guidance on Other Substance during Pregnancy
- Alcohol: Don't even think of it. Associated with major neurological and developmental brith defects.
- Caffeine: Avoid intake above 300 mg/day (about 3 cups of 8 oz coffee). Associated with delayed conception, spontaneous miscarriage, and low birth weight.
- Smoking: NO. Associated with greater risk of spontaneous abortion, ectopic pregnancy, placenta previa, placental abruption, preterm birth, fetal growth retardation, and sudden infant death syndrome.
- Illicit Drugs: Duh.
- Sweeteners: Safe to use during pregnancy.

F. Avoid Foodborne Illness during Pregnancy
- Avoid soft cheeses not made with pasteurized milk, cold smoked fish, and cold deli salads.
- Eat only deli meats, luncheon meats, bologna, and frankfurters that have reheated to steaming hot.
- Do not eat or drink raw (unpasteurized) milk or milk products, raw or partially cooked eggs (or food containing raw eggs), new or undercooked meat and poultry, unpasteurized jucie, raw sprouts, and raw or undercooked fish or shellfish.
- Do not clean cat litter boxes or wear plastic gloves when cleanning litter boxes.
- Do you handle pets when preparing foods and keep them out of food preparation areas.
- Do not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish. Twelve ounces or less per week of fish and shellfish lower in mercury, such as shrimp, canned ligh tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish is safe; limit albacore tuna to 6 oz or less per week since this type of tuna contains more mercury than canned light tuna.
- Check local advisories about the safety of fish in local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, up to 6 oz a week of fish from local waters and no other fish during that week is considered safe.

Hope you find this information helpful!! Happy Pregnancy.

Camden Living

We'll be moving to this next month:

  

Taiwan Trip

Taiwan hair-cut! :) I donated it to Locks of Love.

Good and cheap Taiwanese food. Too many to post.

Happy Chinese New Year!!

My sister and I graduated at this elementary school
 

Grand Hotel in Taipei. You can stay there for $99/night.

Beach and mountain view in Taitung (Southern Taiwan, ~6 hr train ride).

Family farm house. My dad's family used to be rice farmers.
This is neighbor's boar. He is supposed to be killed for food on Chinese New Year.

Family of Green. Uncle, cousins, and sister.

The wild side.

Peace out! Haha. FOB sign.

Dole Plantation

We learned today that you can twist off the top of the pineapple (the crown), put it in water for the root to grow, then plant it and grow your own pineapples! Here are 3 main tips on how to pick a pineapple:

- Make sure the pineapple is firm. Soft means it is too ripe or has bruise spots.
- The eyes (the circular skin) of the pineapple should be the same size all through out. You don't want the eyes to get smaller toward the top of the pineapple, because that means it's not ripe enough.
- You don't want to pick a pineapple with a strong smell. That means the pineapple is starting to ferment.

We had lunch at Zippy's. It's kind of like Hawaii's fast food chain. I ordered a Zip Pac. It included one of each of Spam, teri beef, korean fried chicken, and fried mahi mahi plus rice with seaweed seasoning. We also had dessert at Bubbie's and ordered mochi ice cream. This is our 2nd time going back. So far, we've tried green tea, guava, passion fruit, sakura, chocolate espresso, strawberry dark chocolate chip, and blueberry pomegranate. Sooo good. Too bad I can't show you anymore pictures. Looks like I've hit my monthly upload limit. This our last day in Hawaii anyway. Tomorrow, we go off to Taiwan. More yummy food. :) 

Polynesian Cultural Center (Tuesday 1/22/08)

We stopped by Giovanni's shrimp truck for lunch on the way to PCC.

Polynesian Cultural Center - Lei greeting

A Longhorn outside Hawaiian's hut                         I got a fake tatoo in Tahiti

Duck w/ a funny hairdo

On the phone w/ Gordon and Vicky. Funny they both called at the same time.

Hawaiian food, poi (smushed taro goo), and roasting pig in a hole underground.
   

Luau