Archive for May, 2010
Dejan Kupnik, M.D.
Centre for Emergency Medicine – Prehospital Unit, Maribor/Slovenia, Europe
(certified Yoga in Daily Life teacher)
The time before pregnancy
A healthy and balanced nutritional intake by the mother-to-be prepares her body for the conception and development of a new human being. It is good for her to establish an optimal body weight because the body’s normal energy balance works best when the body weight is in the range of 10 percent above or below the optimal body weight. It is also good not to use oral contraceptives some months before planned conception because it can disturb the normal processing of diverse vitamins and minerals in the mother’s body. The following principles should also be observed:
- Drinking alcohol depletes the body of thiamine (B1 vitamin), B6 and folic acid
- Drugs used against epilepsy lower the storages of vitamins D, K and folic acid
- Lipid-lowering drugs also lower the storages of vitamins A, D, E, K and the mineral iron
- Corticosteroids lower the body contents of vitamin D, calcium, zinc and kalium
- Diuretics lower levels of kalium and zinc
- Tuberculostatic can cause insufficiency of B6 vitamin
- Oral contraceptives and estrogens are in connection with vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid depletion.
Alcohol, black coffee and other caffeine containing drinks should be excluded from every-day drinking habits because they weaken the absorption of some vital nutrients which are found in food.
A pregnant woman encounters increased needs for proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins (especially folic acid), minerals (especially iron) and dietary fibres. If her diet is well planned and balanced she and her future baby will not be lacking any nutrients.
Hot topic: what about protein?
Proteins are not just an energy source. They are essential in cell division and growth, growth of body tissues, enzyme production and so on. A sufficient amount of proteins is assured with diets containing milk products, pulses, cereals, seeds and nuts.
A combination of these kinds of food eaten over various meals in one day is the best way to give the body what it needs. Proteins from plant sources (beans, soya, peas, and cereals) contain sufficient amounts of all essential amino acids which are the basic constituents of proteins. A future mother should also drink at least a half to one litre of milk per day. With that she will receive lots of calcium and proteins. It is also important to consider that the body of a younger pregnant woman (aging 18 or less) will need even more essential nutrients because her body is still in development.
The basic elements of proteins are amino acids, some of which are essential and others nonessential. The former are those which can not be synthesized by the body but can be received through a well planned diet. It is not true that they can only be found in the form of meat products; however it is true that they can not be found in all plant based food products. Essential amino acids missing in one meal can be provided by eating different vegetarian food sources in the next meal or by combining various types of food in one meal. In this way the requirements of the body of a pregnant woman, a lactating woman