Maintaining a healthy diet during pregnancy aids in both the health of the mother and infant. Healthy eating can improve the babies brain development, maintain a healthy birth weight, enhance their immune system, gut health, and decrease the overall risk of birth defects. 

 So what nutrients are most important during pregnancy?  

Nutrition is key in all stages of life, most importantly in the early stages as infants develop at a quick rate. During this time, good nutrition is essential as it builds the child’s immune system, ensures proper growth and development, enhances cognitive function and reduces risk of disease later in life. 

As we get older our metabolism changes, as does our ability to retain nutrients. This means that altering our diet to involve less energy dense foods (such as cakes, chips and biscuits) and increasing food which are more nutritious will prove more beneficial and alleviate the likelihood of becoming deficient in anything. Some common deficiencies include Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D and protein.  So, how can we mitigate this and what are some recommendations? 

Protein essentially provides us with the building blocks for our cells. We need it to build muscle, retain muscle strength, maintain hormone balance, aid in bone mass retention and reduces appetite. The amount of protein you should consume depends largely on your physical activity levels, age, body size and health status.