What are Special Foods? Diet Advice for Pregnant Women

When we say special foods, we are referring to anything that is not artificial – it has no preservatives or additives and is in sync with nature. Times are changing and most people have little or no time to cook complete meals. They prefer fast foods and do not mind if they are frozen or non-seasonal. All this has an adverse impact on our health in the long run.

Plenty of fresh air, sunshine, exercise, rest, a well balanced diet, pure water and emotionally nurturing relationships, coupled with a scrupulous understanding of what the body can or is not able to accept – this is the prescription for a long life free of chronic disease and disorders.

Rules to remember

• Avoid mixing raw and cooked food. Either consume raw vegetables such as cabbage, carrot, cauliflower in the form of a salad or cooked food.
• Have plenty of fruits and vegetables.
• Do not mix cereals. If you are taking wheat, avoid rice and vice versa.
• Drink a minimum of 12 glasses of water everyday.
• Avoid stimulants such as tea, coffee, aerated drinks, alcohol, and cigarettes, especially during the monsoons. This is the time when there are many bacteria in the air.
• Avoid pungent and spicy food. If you are fond of spicy foods, green chillies are better than red chillies. And tamarind is a far superior souring agent than the synthetic variety available in the market.
• Avoid drinking water along with meals. Either have it one hour before or after.
• Avoid frequent intake of gas-forming foods like yam, ladyfinger, brinjals and cauliflower.
• Include broccoli, fish and processed cheeses in your diet.
• Avoid preserved pickles. Make your own by sprinkling lots of lemon juice over ginger, green chillies, mint and the Indian gooseberry (amla).
• Add grated amla to warm water and you have a drink that is a natural purifier.
• Eat seasonal foods and vegetables only. Frozen foods are unhealthy as they are non seasonal and have preservatives and additives to make them last long. This in turn takes away their nutritional quality.
• Avoid too hot or too cold foods as it becomes difficult for the body to keep up with the difference in food temperatures.
• Avoid white salt, have plenty of rock salt or ‘saindha namak’.
• Eat four to five small meals rather than three large meals.
• Use plenty of fresh juices and salads as fillers instead of tea and coffee.