What are the best sources of iron during pregnancy?

Its best to get iron from a healthy diet that includes lots of dark green leafy vegetables, wholemeal bread, iron-fortified cereals, baked potatoes, lean red meat, pulses and dried fruit (see list below.)

Vitamin C helps your body to absorb the mineral. Drinking fresh orange juice and foods rich in vitamin C will help prevent you from becoming anaemic. Avoid caffeinated drinks, such as tea and coffee, during meal times as they can interfere with iron absorption.

To download a printable version of the cut out guide click on Natural Sources of Iron for Pregnancy

Where can I find vegetarian sources of iron during pregnancy?

• Spice up your meals because ground spices are excellent sources of iron, for example one teaspoon of ground ginger gives nearly 1 mg of iron, and curry powder slightly more.
• Add dried organic apricots to sweeten your porridge and a sprinkling of crushed pumpkin and sesame seeds.
• Use cast iron cooking utensils.
• Enjoy an organic baked potato in its skin with baked beans in tomato sauce for an easy lunch.
• Make sure you eat plenty of lentils, soya beans or mince, haricot beans, red kidney beans, cashew nuts, pot barley, couscous, dried apricots and leafy greens.

For information on which fruit and vegetables to buy organic see picking and choosing organic food.

How much Iron do I need?

According to the UK Food Standards agency an adult female requires 14.8 mg of iron each day. This is more than men who require 8.7 mg each day.  You should be able to get small amount of iron from the fruit, vegetables, grains and meats you eat every day. However, its worth checking that you are including the above foods in your diet.

Do I need to take an iron supplement during pregnancy?

Eating an iron rich diet is the best way to avoid iron deficiency anaemia during pregnancy and is preferable to taking iron supplements. Iron supplements can improve iron levels but also have unpleasant reactions such as; constipation, nausea, diarrhoea and tummy ache.

Sources:

FSA, Eat Well Be Well, When You Are Pregnant(Accessed 18/02/10) NHS Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) www.cks.library.nhs.uk (Accessed 18/02/10) Vegetarian Society Fact Sheet, Ironing out the Facts, 2008 (Accessed 18/02/10)

Photograph: Flickr

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Which foods do I need to buy organic and which do I not need to buy organic?

See list of fruit and vegetables with the highest and lowest levels of pesticides below.

Download How to Avoid Pesticides in Fruit and Vegetables, print & pin it to your fridge or cut out and keep it in your purse for when you go shopping.

The list is based on food sampled by the Pesticide Residue Committee and assessed by PAN UK for years 2000-05. The downloadable guide, includes sources and a review of the most recent PRC report to highlight where specific samples of food have higher or lower levels of pesticides since PAN UK’s initial analysis.

Why do I need to consider organic produce?

For Mindful Mums one of the key reasons for choosing organic fruit and vegetables is that they are as close as possible to being free of all chemical residues and potential toxins. Washing and peeling removes bacteria and can remove some residue but some pesticides are systemic which means they are within the fruit or vegetables.

Popular children’s fruit and vegetables such as apples, pears, oranges and carrots are regularly found to contain a cocktail of pesticide residues. In the 2009 Q2 report, 36 out of 39 pears sampled contained pesticide residues, 30 contained multiple residues and 2 samples had an intake of pesticides, Chlormequat, for the critical group (toddler) above the ARfD (Acute Reference Dose – the amount of a chemical that can be taken in at one meal or on one day without appreciable health risk of  health to the consumer.)

Other reasons for buying organic include: better taste,  more nutrients and concerns regarding the impact of intensive farming methods and chemicals on our wildlife and countryside.

Why do I need to eat 5 A Day?

5 A DAY is based on advice from the World Health Organization, which recommends eating a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables a day to lower the risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity.  The majority of fruit and vegetables count towards your 5 A DAY. However, potatoes and cassava don’t count because they mainly contribute starch to the diet.

Why do we use pesticides?

After the Second World War the use of chemicals in food production became standard. Pesticides were used to kill insects that damaged crops, herbicides to kill weeds that choked them, fungicides to cure diseases and fertilisers to help maintain the fertility of large scale farms. Supported by modern mechanisation the farming industry was able to produce plentiful and cheap food. These intensive farming methods became standard and by the 1980′s we were using hundreds of chemicals in not only the production of our food but also to preserve, transport and store food.

The drawbacks of using pesticides have become more apparent over the last 20 years. These include; contamination of potentially toxic chemicals in our food, the destruction of wildlife and pollution of rivers. Pesticides can’t tell the difference between bad insects and good insects such as bees which pollinate. Furthermore, it has been discovered that pests and diseases are becoming more resistant to the chemicals used. It can take as little as two years for a pest to develop resistance to a new chemical.

Sources:

5 A Day website www.nhs.uk Judith Wills, The Food Bible, 2007, p71 Pesticide Residue Committee, Reports 2009 www.pesticides.gov.uk Food Standards Agency, Chemical Safety, Pesticides in Food www.food.gov.uk Pesticide Action Network (PAN UK) Residues In Fruit and Vegetables 2000-2005,www.pan-uk.org Advisory Committee on Pesticides, www.pesticides.gov.uk Chemical Regulation Directorate (CRD), www.pesticides.gov.uk/ EC Maximum Residue Regulation (396/2005/EC),www.pesticides.gov.uk/prc.asp?id=2512

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You will find sweeteners in many diet ready meals, snacks, drinks and also in chewable vitamin supplements. Although research indicates that sweeteners are safe, some research on sugar substitutes is inconclusive and many Mindful Mum’s avoid the use of artificial sweeteners completely during pregnancy. In the UK the use of sweeteners is controlled by the Food Standards Agency which allow five licensed artifiical sweeteners:

Aspartame (E951)
Saccharin (E954)
Acesulfame potassium (acesulfame K or E950)
Cyclamate (cyclamic acid or E952)
Sucralose

Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Canderel)

Aspartame is around 200 times sweeter than sugar and is used in more than 4,000 products, including diet drinks, cereal bars, yogurt and chewing gum. It’s reportedly used in Diet Coke, Wrigley’s chewing gum and Candarel. Some people complain they develop headaches, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhoea and fatigue after eating food containing the chemical. The FSA called for volunteers to test the side-effects of aspartame in 2009. The study is expected to be completed in 2010 and will be published as a report to the FSA.

A spokesman for the agency said: “We know that aspartame can be consumed safely but some people consider that they react badly to it. We’ve commissioned this research because it’s important to increase our knowledge about what is happening. The study will address consumer concerns, including these anecdotal reports.”

The research is inconclusive and although some GPs may consider it harmless, others suggest pregnant women are cautions until more is known about this sweetner. Women with the rare inherited disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) or high levels of phenylalanine in their blood (a condition called hyperphenylalanine are advised never to use aspartame.

Saccharin (Sweetex, Sweet n’ Low and Natrena)

Animal studies show an increase in cancer in the offspring of pregnant animals who ingest large quantities of the chemical. Although humans are different from rats and similar risks to human remain unclear many cautious mum’s prefer to minimise or cut out saccharin usage completely during pregnancy. It was banned in Canada in 1997, until recently carried a warning label in the States and there are legal limits on the levels that may be used in soft drinks because it’s been linked with bladder cancer in laboratory experiments. The UK Government’s daily limit is just under half a gramme for an adult weighing 10-12st.

Acesulfame-K (or acesulfame potassium)

This is 200 times sweeter than sugar and is approved for use in baked goods, gelatin, desserts, chewing gum and soft drinks. It has been permitted for use in Europe since 1983 – has also troubled some scientists, who express concerns that in laboratory tests it produces tumours in animals. Again, the manufacturers’ response is that is has been repeatedly certified safe by regulators (including JECFA) for human consumption.

Cyclamate

Cyclamate is 30-50 times sweeter than sugar (depending on concentration; it is not a linear relationship), making it the least potent of the commercially used artificial sweeteners. Cyclamate has been linked with damage to fertility and the Food Standards Agency has advised parents to limit the consumption of drinks containing this. Found commonly in budget squashes and is often labelled as cyclamic acid or E952.

Sucralose (Splenda)

You can sweeten coffee or tea with sucralose, use it in cooking and baking. This newcomer, known as Splenda, is made from sugar through a chemical process that boosts the flavour by a staggering 600 per cent. It’s found in Ocean Spray cranberry drink. However, the product is relatively new with little long term research to confirm that it is safe, so use in moderation.

Natural Sweeteners

• Lactose is a milk sugar that is one sixth as sweet as table sugar. It is safe for mums that are not lactose intolerant.
• Honey is a good sugar substitute but it is not low calorie.
• Fruit juice concentrates are a safe alternative to sugar during pregnancy.

References:

References FSA, Eat well, be Well, Terms on Labels,
What are aspartame and saccharin? The Guardian, Aspartame Side Effects, FSA Calls on Volunteers, 2009 The Scotsman, Sweeteners that leave a sour taste,2008 WDDTY, Aspartame: some bitter truths

Photograph:

Flickr: Steve Snodgrass

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Why do I need vitamin C?
How much vitamin C do I need?
Do I need to take a supplement?
What are the best food sources of vitamin C?

Download Vitamin C Sources.

Why do I need vitamin C?

Vitamin C helps you and your baby to:

• repair tissue
• heal bones and wounds
• maintain health skin
• fight infection
• helps your body absorb iron

On top of the above benefits, Vitamin C helps your baby grow by:

• building strong bones and teeth
• acting as an agent to hold new cells together
• supporting various metabolic processes

How much Vitamin C do I need?

According to the UK Food Standards agency an adult only needs 40 mg of vitamin C a day. You can increase this t0 50 mg of vitamin C daily during pregnancy and 70 mg during breast feeding. Try to include a vitamin C-rich food with every meal to get the most iron out of the other foods you eat.

Do I need to take a supplement?

It’s best to get your daily requirement of vitamin C through your food. You probably don’t need supplements and you should avoid taking too much vitamin C to avoid wind and diarrhea.

What are the best food sources of vitamin C?

If you can, its best to get vitamin C from fresh sources such as the fruit and vegetables listed in the table below. Many mums to be and mums feeding their toddlers prefer to buy organic. To avoid pesticides see what to buy organic and what you don’t need to buy organic. Aim for three servings of fruit, vegetables or fruit juice from the list below each day.

Download Vitamin C Sources.

Sources:

Vitamin C supplementation in Pregnancy, NHS Library
UK Food Standards Agency , Risk Assessment of Vitamin C Food Standards Agency (FSA)and Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA) http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/evm_c.pdf

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