Optimal diet before and during pregnancy?

Red Cortina

From reading this article: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/01/vitamin-k2-and-cranial-development.html I have learned about the importance of vitamin K2 MK-4 in the diet, especially before and during pregnancy. (Thanks to Temple for linking to this blog in previous posts BTW)

The Healthy Skeptic blog posted a link to http://perfecthealthdiet.com/ recently and on that blog they have an article posted http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?cat=46 where they recommend a 10% protein diet during pregnancy and seem to have data to back up their recommendations.

I really liked the Protein Power Lifeplan written by Drs Eades and so started to follow their blog. I have read from some of the comments on this article http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/ketones-and-ketosis/metabolism-and-ketosis/ that 'in the fetal brain most of the lipid synthesis is from glucose and to a smaller degree, lactate' and that therefore they recommend a moderate carbohydrate diet during pregnancy.

Reading all of this has got me thinking about what other important information I am missing out on with regards to an optimal diet both before and during pregnancy. Weston A Price noted that to ensure the proper development of their children, mothers should eat a diet rich in fat-soluble vitamins both before and during pregnancy and Stephen Guyenet has said in one of his articles that healthy traditional cultures often fed special foods rich in fat-soluble vitamins to women of childbearing age and expectant mothers. I am currently reading Nutrition and Physical Degeneration and I am becoming painfully aware of the fact that poor maternal nutrition results in a whole host of issues in the baby, some indicators of which would be a narrow face, narrow dental arch and crowded teeth (all of which I have).

So my questions to you folks are:
What are people's opinion with regard to having >10% protein diet during pregnancy esp wrt to the Paleo Diet and the other diets of this genre such as the Primal Blueprint etc?
What other nuggets of dietary information am I missing out on wrt pregnancy?
What is the optimal diet in preparation for pregnancy and during it?
Where can I get further information on an optimal diet for before and during pregnancy?

And BTW as a result of reading Nutrition and Physical Degeneration I can't seem to stop myself from looking at people's jaws!! Did that happen to anyone else???

El_Dangeroso

I look at peoples teeth and noses more for sure. I lucked out with straight teeth myself but they were (past tense) very cavity prone, you can't have everything I suppose!

Re: Protein restriction in pregnancy, that article looks very convincing, I'd definitely stay below 20%, but that's easy when you eat a decent amount of fat and carbs. A lot of the evidence cited in that article is related to protein supplements. Protein supplements =/= real food.

I tried low protein high fat though and it's so restrictive it's painful (and I'm not usually one to be adverse to a restrictive diet). I was starving all the time and could never ever eat outside my own house.

That's not to say it isn't a worthwhile endevour, just strikes me as a little hard during pregnancy when you probably have other things going on.

The best book I'm read on the subject of food and pregnancy is Nina Planck's Real Food for Mother and Baby.

Bottom line, eat real, unprocessed food paying particular attention to fat soluble vitamins and minerals and let the macronutrients land where they may.

Red Cortina

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

I look at peoples teeth and noses more for sure. I lucked out with straight teeth myself but they were (past tense) very cavity prone, you can't have everything I suppose!

The pain that I had to go through growing up getting many many fillings, extractions and braces was unreal! You are lucky to have had straight teeth!

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Re: Protein restriction in pregnancy, that article looks very convincing, I'd definitely stay below 20%, but that's easy when you eat a decent amount of fat and carbs. A lot of the evidence cited in that article is related to protein supplements. Protein supplements =/= real food.

Thanks for linking to that article which is very interesting, my protein intake is somewhere between 20 and 30% of my total calories. I think that it further cements my view that if/when I am lucky enough to get pregnant that a moderate carohydrate diet is the way to go and that the PWO protein shakes will have to be knocked on the head! The article written on the Perfect Health website sounded credible to me too, he even quotes some of Cordain’s stuff...

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

I tried low protein high fat though and it's so restrictive it's painful (and I'm not usually one to be adverse to a restrictive diet). I was starving all the time and could never ever eat outside my own house.

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

That's not to say it isn't a worthwhile endevour, just strikes me as a little hard during pregnancy when you probably have other things going on.

The best book I'm read on the subject of food and pregnancy is Nina Planck's Real Food for Mother and Baby.

Thanks for linking to that book also, it sounds exactly the type I thing I was looking for.

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Bottom line, eat real, unprocessed food paying particular attention to fat soluble vitamins and minerals and let the macronutrients land where they may.

That sounds like really solid advice to me. As someone who worshipped at the gods of Weight Watchers for many years avoiding the horrors of saturated fat and enjoying many of the treats avocated by Weight Watchers such as Pink and Whites, Special K Bars etc,:rolleyes: I wonder how long it would take to reverse that damage and restock my fat soluble vitamin stores?

What really is the ultimate killer for me is that I have discovered all this pregnancy related information only very recently; that a pregnant women’s dietary needs might not be met by adhering to all that is avocated in the likes of the Primal Blueprint or the Paleo Diet, which I have to say I have been following. Maybe it is because all these books are written by men that this particular aspect is not taken into consideration. Still though a women’s nutrition during that particular time of her life is so so important as it affects the future of her unborn child that I think it is remiss of them not to cover it....

Dotcomdolly

Folic acid before & during is very important, but I'm sure you know that one.

a spoon of linseeds every morning form 2nd trimester on is good too

My first pregnancy...I had been dieting for 6mths for my wedding, got pg on honeymoon and started lashing into everything I had deprived myself of previously (I reckon I was having 1000 cals for lunch) put on a shocking 3 stone :eek:

Red Cortina

Dotcomdolly wrote: »

Folic acid before & during is very important, but I'm sure you know that one.

a spoon of linseeds every morning form 2nd trimester on is good too

My first pregnancy...I had been dieting for 6mths for my wedding, got pg on honeymoon and started lashing into everything I had deprived myself of previously (I reckon I was having 1000 cals for lunch) put on a shocking 3 stone :eek:

I got my bloods done recently and my folic acid levels are on the higher end of the recommended range.

What nutrients are you gaining by taking the linseeds? Is it to do with preventing constipation or something?

I've been following your fitness log and I'm sure you are back to pre-pregnancy shape judging by all the hard work you are putting in:D

Dotcomdolly

The linseeds are for preventing constipation (and in turn haemorrhoids!)

I'm actually 7 lbs lighter now than I was on my wedding day Shape is way different thanks to 2 kids but hopefully I will weight-train my way back to a pre-kids belly & hips, I'll keep the bigger boobs though please

Red Cortina

Fair play to ya for being such a good example to your 2 kids:D

jam_mac_jam

make sure you are getting enough iron, but you sound like you would know that ay way. I had was anemic even though I took my tablets and it was really dreadful.