The importance of calcium in pregnancy
Calcium in pregnancy is essential to form the skeleton of the baby and strengthen that of the mother. Obtaining a diet rich in this mineral and in a natural way is an easy task: you should only follow a varied and balanced diet, abundant in dairy products.
The baby is in constant development, so you need calcium to have strong bones and teeth and a healthy heart, nerves and muscles. It also helps to develop a normal heart rate and coagulation capacity.
Benefits of calcium in pregnancy
Ensuring sufficient calcium intake not only helps the baby's development. Especially during the last 2 trimesters of pregnancy and the period of lactation, calcium intake should increase, because if the baby does not receive enough calcium for proper development from the diet, it will acquire it from the mother's bones. For this reason, it is important to protect the bone mass of the mother and thus prevent her from suffering from osteoporosis in the future.
Eating products with calcium helps the mother provide the baby with richer breast milk. Even several studies have shown that calcium consumption during pregnancy reduces the risk of postpartum depression.
Eat calcium-rich foods during pregnancy
The calcium needs of the pregnant woman are located around the 1,000 mg a day. To get to cover them:
- Take cow's milk and its derivatives. It is best to drink semi-skimmed milk, can keep all the calcium and helps control weight gain in pregnancy. In addition, dairy products are a rich source of phosphorus and magnesium, which help the body absorb and use calcium more effectively. Take a yogurt, 200 gr of fresh cheese or 50 gr of Emmental cheese, will help you meet these needs.
- Consume green vegetables. Artichokes, cabbage, spinach, broccoli Also, do not forget the fruits and cereals.
- Include in your diet the sardines in oil, salmon, cod, anchovies The first two, being blue fish, will bring us the benefits of Omega-3.
- Take nuts, legumes and vegetables, which in addition to being rich in calcium will provide Omega-3, vitamin E and copper.
- Finally, you can refresh yourselftaking mineral water rich in calcium.
On the contrary, the absorption of calcium will be hampered by high consumption of coffee, alcohol, lack of exercise or stress. All of them, as is already known, should be eradicated immediately in pregnancy.
Noelia de Santiago Monteserín
