Pregnancy demands good nourishment for the health of the baby and mother. Well planned meals made with fresh ingredients provide all the nutrients required. The basic principles of a healthy diet remain the same, which means each meal should provide macro nutrients like - Proteins, Carbohydrates, and fats and micronutrients including vitamins and minerals in adequate amounts.

Some of the definite must haves for a healthy pregnancy are:

1. Proteins: Proteins are essential for the healthy growth of the foetus and to maintain the mother’s health. Proteins form the building blocks for blood, bones, organs, muscles and tissues. Inadequate protein intake can lead to severe malnourishment. Your daily diet should have an additional 0.5g of proteins in the first trimester, 6.9g in the second and 22.7g in the third trimester. So you need about 78g of proteins in the third trimester.

2. Folic acid or Folate: Folic Acid is very essential for preventing neural tube defect, serious abnormalities of the spinal cord and brain. It is also helpful in increasing birth weight, synthesis of haemoglobin and reducing the incidence of pre-mature births. The recommended allowance is 500micro g/day

3. Iron: In the form of haemoglobin, Iron is essential to carry oxygen in our blood. During pregnancy the body needs to increase the blood volume to meet the demands of the growing foetus, hence more Iron in the diet is essential. Anemia is one of the leading causes of premature birth and low birth weight. Indian women need 35mg/d of Iron during pregnancy.

Non vegetarian sources are considered better as the iron absorption is more enhanced. To improve iron absorption from vegetarian sources, adding a Vitamin C source helps. So squeezing some lemon on the food, or adding a tomato salad or just an amla improves absorption.

4. Calcium: Calcium is needed to build healthy bones and teeth of the baby and for the production of calcium rich breast milk and prevention of osteoporosis in the mother. ICMR has listed the daily Calcium requirement for pregnant women at 1200mg. An important factor in choosing the source of calcium is its bioavailability- Milk is one of the best sources of biologically available calcium.

5. Vitamin A is required for healthy vision, immune function and foetal growth and development. Mothers are susceptible to Vitamin A deficiency particularly in the third trimester because of rapid foetal development and an increase in the blood volume. Including Vitamin A containing foods like animal sources such as milk, butter, egg and fish or Beta carotene rich vegetarian sources in daily diet can help achieve the daily requirement of 800µg of Vitamin A or 6400µg of beta carotene.

Pregnancy could prove to be an overwhelming time for some. It is natural to be confused understanding your body's demands during this time. If it is your first time, it gets all the more baffling. Your diet is suddenly under the radar. When it comes to pregnancy, everyone seems to have a tip or two. It is very essential to be able to tell myths from facts and pay heed to advices only from trustworthy sources. Eating a balanced diet that's rich in vitamins and minerals is the best way to support a growing baby say experts. Healthy breakfasts are a must too; make sure it is a good mix of protein, vitamins and fibre. Folate, or folic acid, is a B-group vitamin essential for the healthy development of the foetus in early stage of pregnancy.

Experts say that a pregnant woman need not make drastic changes to her diet in the first trimester; no additional intake is particularly advised. From the second trimester onwards, an additional 350 calories are recommended to be consumed. Nutrient dense foods like whole grains and millets are good to be included in decent quantities around this time; leafy greens veggies and antioxidant rich fruits are also a must. Pregnant women should steer clear of junk and oily food; they are concentrated sources of unhealthy fat, which may cause gastric problems and nausea.

Pregnant women need to be very mindful of the nutrients they are taking. Health Practitioner and Macrobiotic Nutritionist, Shilpa Arora ND tells us, "It is important to load up on nutrients and micro-nutrients during pregnancy like calcium and iron for strength and energy, vitamin D for bone health. Protein from lentils and eggs, and fibre from complex grains like ragi, jowar and amaranth are also required. It is also important to nourish yourself with healthy fats you find in nuts and seeds. Loading up on fruits and a variety of veggies is important to derive micro-nutrients. Keep yourself hydrated at all times, be it with water, coconut water or chaach. Caffeinated drinks and alcohol are also not very advisable."

Dr. Mohita Goyal, Consultant - Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Motherhood Hospital, Pune, also hands out some dietary dos and don'ts to ensure during pregnancy:


Dos That Every Pregnant Woman Must Ensure

1. Have frequent and small portions in meals. Make sure your small meals are filled with ample nutrients.
2. Eat fibre-rich diet like whole cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables to avoid constipation.
3. Consume extra protein and calcium-rich foods like dairy products, legumes, egg, sweet potato etc.
4. Drink plenty of water to wash away the toxins and prevent urinary tract infections.


Don'ts That Every Pregnant Woman Must Ensure

1. Avoid foods that are high on fats/sugar/salt/oil.
2. Avoid alcohol/lots of caffeine.
3. Avoid high mercury fish, under cooked meat, raw sprouts and raw eggs.
4. Avoid unpasteurised milk, cheese and fruit juice.

Dr. Anu Sridhar, MBBS, MD (Obstetrics and Gynaecology) Consultant Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road says, "Even after birth, a mother's diet is equally important. A good nutritional diet helps a mother in her body recovery phase and gives her the energy she needs to take care of her baby. To ensure that the baby is well nourished, it is important for the mother to drink an adequate amount of fluids and eat a balanced normal diet."

Lean meat, lentils, amaranth, brown rice and whole grains are some foods that pregnant women are often advised to include in their diet. However, every mother's body is different. If something is not suiting you or is causing even a minor discomfort, you must consult your gynaecologist.

Known for adding a tarty flavour to curries, rice, beverages, salads and even puddings, lemons are a blessing in disguise and are one of the healthiest citrus fruits. Often used as garnishing, lemons can be juiced, cut into wedges, rounds or grated to make lemon zest. These delights, according to the book Healing Foods by DK Publishing, come power-packed with vitamin C that helps reduce the risk of heart-diseases, kidney stones, and infections of all kinds. It also helps boost digestion and have alkalising and detoxifying properties. Moreover, lemons are super low in calories; so you can add them everywhere without having to worry about adding kilos to your body. Let's look at how many calories are there in lemon along with its numerous health benefits and some recipes to make your day!

Calories in Lemon

According to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), calories in lemon are just 29 in about 100 grams. Lemon provides non-fat, low-sodium and low-calorie flavours to various delicacies and beverages. Basically, the calorie intake from lemons is negligible because a small amount of lemon juice is used as opposed to eating the whole fruit, considering it is sour. The calories in lemon come from one gram of carbohydrate.

According to the American Diabetes Association, lemon contains six percent of your daily value of vitamin C based on a 2,000 calorie diet. The juice has about three milligrams of sodium per tablespoon.

Benefits of Lemon

Here are a few reasons why you should definitely add lemons to your daily diet:

According to the book Healing Foods, use the peel as it is full of antioxidants and has a high concentration of the fruit's limonoids. Modern science shows citrus peels fight free radicals, balances blood sugar levels, and supports thyroid health.

The vitamin C in citrus fruits helps the body absorb non-heme iron, a form of iron from plant sources, like vegetables.

Lemon juice helps clear out toxins from the body.
Lemons are alkaline in nature, reducing acidity, pain and inflammation.

Lemon juice helps in preventing the formation of kidney stones.

It has anti-ageing and anti-inflammatory properties.

When applied to skin and hair, lemon juice can manage skin disorders, acne, tan, blemishes and dandruff.

Lemons help in controlling blood pressure as they are rich in potassium.

The vitamin C in lemons is an immunity booster.
Mixed with hot water, lemon juice can relieve heartburn, nausea, acid indigestion and stomach aches.

Protein is said to be a building block for the body. That being said, a high protein diet can either have some great results to show, or some terrible consequences. As long as a person is willing to learn more about it, only the former will appear!

When a person thinks of a diet which is high in protein, the automatic association is with the famed Atkins diet. This is a diet which is not only high in the amount of protein consumed but is low in the relative amount of carbohydrate.

Who is it For?

A high protein diet is a way to go, if a person is looking to build a little muscle and does not consume enough protein in his or her current or normal diet. However, studies have found that only professional endurance athletes showed any benefits from a hike in their consumption levels of protein and that too, they could have received these benefits by just eating more food. So, it is fair to say that the normal person is not likely to need more protein than what he or she already gets by the way of his or her run of the mill diet.

It can be bad too, in addition to this, if a person has an amount of protein which is beyond what is good for him or her according to the activity level, it can be quite bad. This is because a lot of the sources of protein which most people receive their protein from also happen to be quite high in terms of the saturated fat content, which can put the heart at a great amount of risk. Moreover, gout can also occur and it is something that is not curable, but can only be managed. A person who is considering the prospect of going on a high protein diet should take these possible side effects into due account prior to making his or her decision regarding the same.


Small is Big A, modest increase in the protein part of a person’s diet can be good and there are a variety of ways a person can go about this including by having some simple munch foods such as almonds. Things like these can serve well as snacks and can go a long way in preventing a person from bingeing on something less healthy just due to his or her being ravenously hungry. Another option is Greek yogurt, as is chia seeds, which can be added to almost anything!

With growing digitalisation, the types of weight management consultations, which are offered online are also increasing at a rapid rate. These consultatios range from being generic and applicable to all to specialised ones designed to suit your body type and lifestyle only.

Availing them online instead of availing them in person comes with a number of benefits as listed below:


Designed to suit your convenience: These particular weight loss programs are available online which is why they are designed in a way to conform to your convenience. You can refer to them at any time when you feel is right, which makes them flexible and more comfortable to avail.

They come with a variety of features: The online weight management courses come with a variety of features to suit your needs. Almost all programmes offer goal setting/target and a daily/weekly planner and tracker. Some also give you the liberty of choosing a free trial, weight loss buddy or interacting with the nutritionists privately in a separate chat room.

Personalised help: Certain weight loss programmes give you the option of availing of personalised services of expert nutritionists via chat rooms or telephone and e-mail. These nutritionists aim to understand the composition of your body and design plans to suit your requirements accordingly. These plans are designed according to adhere to your comfort level and lifestyle which makes it a conducive choice.

Opportunity to learn from a diverse group of instructors: Because these programs are based online, the instructors, advisors and nutritionists who apprise you are versatile in terms of their specialisation, diet planning, country of origin etc. They might have specialised in different forms of planning; for instance, a nutritionist based in Morocco will help you whip up healthy middle-eastern delicacies while someone else who specialises in functional training will be able to explain the various exercises which will help you lose weight.