|
Studies have shown that iodine should be an essential part of your healthy pregnancy nutrition to ensure the development of your baby's brain and nervous system. Iodine helps to regulate your thyroid gland and your metabolism. Deficiencies of this essential mineral during pregnancy can impact on your baby's IQ - researchers from Surrey and Bristol Universities recently revealed that children born to mothers deficient in iodine have lower than average scores in reading and verbal ability. Severe iodine deficiency has been associated with miscarriages and congenital abnormalities. A healthy pregnancy diet should contain around 220 mcg a day - but you can aim for this as an average over the course of a few days or a week. Dairy products are a good source of iodine - in addition to all the other nutritional benefits of milk, one cup of the white stuff will provide 56 mcg of iodine (about a quarter of your recommended intake). A cup of plain yogurt will have a similar quantity. If you are lactose intolerant or have an allergy to milk, other foods which are rich in iodine are: Baked potatoes - make sure you eat the skin which also contains lots of valuable dietary fibre, vitamins and potassium White fish such as cod - a 100g serving will supply 99mcg of iodine as well as useful protein, calcium, magnesium and potassium Shellfish (properly cooked) contain about 90 mcg of iodine for every 100g Cranberries are rich in iodine - just 30 grams will contain about 100 mcg. Try and avoid over sweetened cranberry juice and check the sugar content on dried cranberries too. Seaweeds, such as kelp have an abundance of iodine - almost too much in fact! A tablespoon of kelp has around 2000mcg but it's important to avoid excessive levels, especially when you're pregnant - so good easy on seaweed! Chilled Cucumber and Mint soup This soup recipe contains delicious natural yogurt, perfect to boost your Iodine in take! Soups are great when you just don't feel much like eating during pregnancy - this one is great for hot summer days! The combination of mint and cucumber is delicious, especially if your stomach is feeling a little unsettled. Better still it doesn't need any cooking - you simply blend all the ingredients together. I cucumber peeled and chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 300 ml of low fat yogurt 3 tablespoons crème fraiche 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh mint 1 teaspoon ground coriander Salt and pepper to taste. Simply whizz all the ingredients up together and chill before serving. So easy! Alexandra McCabe is a founder of FittaMamma, the healthy pregnancy experts. FittaMamma is a free resource to help women enjoy an active pregnancy with workout videos, recipes and step by step yoga guides. Read here for tips on what to eat when you're pregnant and how to enjoy a healthy prenatal diet with all your important pregnancy vitamins
Related Articles -
iodine in pregnancy, what to eat when pregnant, nbspwhat should eat when pregnant, nbsppregnancy diet, nbspeating for pregnancy, nbsppregnancy nutrition, nb,
| 
