Eating healthy while on holiday or when pregnant
June 3rd 2011 23:38
Another column written for a university newspaper.
In this column I cover topics such as staying healthy on holiday and eating well during pregnancy. Now I am aware that not too many university students are pregnant. However, I’m sure you will find it interesting and you can always pass this information onto anyone who is pregnant.
Staying healthy while on holiday
I have a few tips on staying healthy while on holiday. These may not work for everyone because we’re all different, and well, different things work for different people.
• Have a healthy eating buddy/support person. This sounds really lame but I find them helpful. You might find having one helpful too because, ideally, they encourage you to eat well, make good choices, support you when you think you are failing.
• Have an exercise buddy. Same reason as above. How about you combine the two?
• Fill up of fruit and vegetables. They’re low in energy and high in fibre, which will keep you full.
• Eat enough protein. Protein also keeps you full. Pick healthy sources of protein such as low fat dairy products, eggs, tofu, fish, nuts, legumes or skinless chicken. We need at least three serves per day.
• Have smaller serves of your favourite treats if you find it too hard to resist them.
• If you’re holidaying away from home and you don’t have access to the gym, walk instead of taking public transport or driving to the sights and shops. Do sit ups, press up, lunges and squats in your hotel or hostel room. Please check with your doctor before starting any exercise if you haven’t worked out in a while.
Eating well during pregnancy
In general, you should try to base your diet around the following guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health.
• Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit.
• Eat plenty wholegrain of breads and cereals.
• Have low fat milk products or milk alternative in your diet.
• Eat lean meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds or legumes.
• Prepare foods or choose pre-prepared foods, drinks and snacks: with minimal added fat, especially saturated fat that are low in salt (sodium); if using salt, choose iodised salt with little added sugar; limit your intake of high-sugar foods.
• Keep hydrated. Remember that water is best.
• Avoid alcohol as it can cause foetal alcohol syndrome.
• Make sure that you prepare and store your food safely, this will help prevent food borne illnesses, which can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, or illness or death of the newborn. Remember to keep hot food hot and cold food cold. When putting food away, make sure it covered. Don’t eat food after its use by date.
In saying all of this, there are few other nutrition issues should be aware of.
• Avoid eating too much deep sea fish such as school shark, marlin, swordfish and cardinal fish as well as trout. These fish should only be consumed up to once a fortnight during pregnancy. The reason for this is that these type of fish are quite high in mercury. High consumption of mercury during pregnancy can harm the foetus.
• Avoid consuming too much caffeine. High doses of caffeine may increase the risk abnormalities, pregnancy loss, low birthweight and behavioural problems.
• To avoid listeria poisoning, heat food until its piping hot (at least 70C), avoid eating raw eggs, raw fish, smoked fish, deli meats, pate, hummus, soft cheese and unpasteurised milk.
• Take folic acid tablets (0.8 mg) daily for four weeks before you might become pregnant through to 12 weeks after actually becoming pregnant. Women who increase their folic acid intake during and before pregnancy can reduce their chance of having a child with neural tube defects.
If you have any questions, then please email me at nutrition.advice@gmail.com or leave your questions here.
Krissi
In this column I cover topics such as staying healthy on holiday and eating well during pregnancy. Now I am aware that not too many university students are pregnant. However, I’m sure you will find it interesting and you can always pass this information onto anyone who is pregnant.
Staying healthy while on holiday
I have a few tips on staying healthy while on holiday. These may not work for everyone because we’re all different, and well, different things work for different people.
• Have a healthy eating buddy/support person. This sounds really lame but I find them helpful. You might find having one helpful too because, ideally, they encourage you to eat well, make good choices, support you when you think you are failing.
• Fill up of fruit and vegetables. They’re low in energy and high in fibre, which will keep you full.
• Eat enough protein. Protein also keeps you full. Pick healthy sources of protein such as low fat dairy products, eggs, tofu, fish, nuts, legumes or skinless chicken. We need at least three serves per day.
• Have smaller serves of your favourite treats if you find it too hard to resist them.
• If you’re holidaying away from home and you don’t have access to the gym, walk instead of taking public transport or driving to the sights and shops. Do sit ups, press up, lunges and squats in your hotel or hostel room. Please check with your doctor before starting any exercise if you haven’t worked out in a while.
Eating well during pregnancy
In general, you should try to base your diet around the following guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health.
• Eat plenty wholegrain of breads and cereals.
• Have low fat milk products or milk alternative in your diet.
• Eat lean meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds or legumes.
• Prepare foods or choose pre-prepared foods, drinks and snacks: with minimal added fat, especially saturated fat that are low in salt (sodium); if using salt, choose iodised salt with little added sugar; limit your intake of high-sugar foods.
• Keep hydrated. Remember that water is best.
• Avoid alcohol as it can cause foetal alcohol syndrome.
• Make sure that you prepare and store your food safely, this will help prevent food borne illnesses, which can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, or illness or death of the newborn. Remember to keep hot food hot and cold food cold. When putting food away, make sure it covered. Don’t eat food after its use by date.
In saying all of this, there are few other nutrition issues should be aware of.
• Avoid eating too much deep sea fish such as school shark, marlin, swordfish and cardinal fish as well as trout. These fish should only be consumed up to once a fortnight during pregnancy. The reason for this is that these type of fish are quite high in mercury. High consumption of mercury during pregnancy can harm the foetus.
• Avoid consuming too much caffeine. High doses of caffeine may increase the risk abnormalities, pregnancy loss, low birthweight and behavioural problems.
• To avoid listeria poisoning, heat food until its piping hot (at least 70C), avoid eating raw eggs, raw fish, smoked fish, deli meats, pate, hummus, soft cheese and unpasteurised milk.
• Take folic acid tablets (0.8 mg) daily for four weeks before you might become pregnant through to 12 weeks after actually becoming pregnant. Women who increase their folic acid intake during and before pregnancy can reduce their chance of having a child with neural tube defects.
If you have any questions, then please email me at nutrition.advice@gmail.com or leave your questions here.
Krissi
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