You feel heavier and heavier with each passing week. This is normal: pregnant women very often suffer from constipation, especially in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The constipation problem is made worse if your doctor prescribes iron supplements to prevent anemia.

The best way to deal withconstipation in pregnancyis to follow adietthat is high in dietary fiber and is high in fluid. Nutritionists recommend providing the body with 30 g of fiber during the day - this is an amount that is also recommended for all adults.

Dietary fiber helps prevent constipation

Fiber is an indigestible ingredient derived from plant products. Its sources are, for example, groats, whole grain bread, paddy rice, oatmeal, bran, corn flakes, and above all vegetables and fruit (especially dried). The diet of our ancestors was much richer in fiber: people ate bread made of coarsely ground flour, more groats, and in winter - sauerkraut and dried fruit. We eat highly processed products - e.g. white wheat rolls instead of wholemeal, bars and candies instead of fruit - in which there is much less fiber. And yet it is necessary for the proper functioning of the digestive system. Fiber stimulates the so-called worming movement of the intestines, causing the body to remove those parts of the food that have not been digested, and by the way - toxic waste products. Therefore, during pregnancy, when the intestines are "lazy" due to progesterone, you need to change your eating habits a bit and include more products containing this useful ingredient in your diet.

Important

Daily amount of fiber

You will get the daily amount of fiber if your diet includes the following products:

Example 1:

  • 3 potatoes (3 g fiber)
  • 1/2 liter frozen vegetable soup (12 g)
  • 4 tablespoons of spinach (6 g)
  • 2 bananas (9 g)

Example 2:

  • 4 tablespoons of fruit muesli (4 g)
  • 3 tablespoons of buckwheat (4 g)
  • 1 graham bun (6 g)
  • 2 slices of rye bread (6 g)
  • 1/2 celery (7 g)
  • 2 mandarins (3 g)

If you have anemia, do not overdo the fiber in your diet

If so faryou only ate a small amount of high-fiber foods, be sure to introduce them slowly, gradually increasing the amount. Thanks to this, the digestive tract will have a chance to get used to greater amounts of dietary fiber and cope with them better. When increasing the amount of fiber, remember to drink more fluids - in order for fiber to do its job, you need to "soak" it well. So drink up to 2 liters a day. Still mineral water is the best. It is also worth reaching for natural vegetable and fruit juices, preferably unsweetened, freshly squeezed or bottled for one day. Note: women who suffer from anemia should not overdo the amount of dietary fiber, for example, using additional bran or fiber supplements. Fiber forms a gel in the digestive system that binds nutrients in its structure, incl. iron, thus limiting their absorption from food.

Probiotics have a beneficial effect on constipation

Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when consumed in appropriate amounts, have a beneficial effect on the human body, in addition to the obvious nutritional effect. Their anti-constipation effect is primarily based on improving the pace of intestinal transit (that is, waste products of metabolism stay in the intestines for a shorter time and are excreted faster). The most popular probiotic products are bio-yoghurt and acidophilic milk. In order for them to work effectively, you need to eat them regularly.

Important

  • Replace white fluffy buns and plain bread with coarse-grain bread (wholemeal) and bread with added grains.
  • Eat a portion of vegetables or fruit with each meal.
  • Replace white rice with brown rice (unshelled) and regular noodles for wholemeal noodles.
  • At least once or twice a week, serve up porridge for dinner instead of potatoes.
  • Eat nuts, almonds and fruit instead of sweet.
  • Choose mainly blackberries, currants, plums (also dried), pears, blueberries, apples, apricots and peaches.
  • Eat apples and pears with the peel (thoroughly washed).
  • Use legumes more often - they are a great source of fiber (unless your body tolerates them badly, reacting with, for example, flatulence - in this case, it is better to give them up and stick to other sources of dietary fiber).

    • How to counteract constipation?

    • Avoid fatty and heavy foods

    Fat adversely affects the activity of the bacterial flora of the large intestine, as a result of which digestion is less efficient, bloating andconstipation.

    • Avoid cocoa and chocolate as well as foods and products with them

    This is especially true of dark chocolate, which has more than 60 percent. cocoa and, therefore, works extremely "breathtaking".

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    Category:

    Gastrology