Protein Powders During Pregnancy: A Mother's Best Friend
Pregnant women get A LOT of advice – from the unsolicited horror stories about birth to style tips, nursing tips, and so much more. Not all of it’s useful--after all, no two pregnancies are ever alike. But there are some bona fide gems out there, like this one: Protein powders may become your BFF food choice, especially early in pregnancy.
Protein is key during pregnancy. Women need to up their intake by about 10-15 grams. But as many women know, especially in those first few months, hardly anything is appetizing. Even favorite foods bring with them an air of nausea. A heightened sense of smell can only exacerbate the loss of appetite. What’s a woman to do?
When the nausea strikes, many women turn to the BRAT diet – banana, rice, applesauce and toast. The bland foods don’t upset the stomach and they can help stave off that incessant hunger too. But if you’re worried that you’re not meeting your protein needs during pregnancy, protein powders can help, a lot.
For example, you can take that applesauce and banana—even the rice too!—and plop them into a blender with a mild protein powder such as organic whey protein like our mustHave protein powder. Add a milk of choice, maybe a touch of honey and – voila! – you now have a protein enhanced but still rather mild potable meal.
Once the nausea wears off (usually around the beginning of the fourth month), you may find your appetite has returned. You can amp up your protein smoothie with leafy greens, fruits and even nut or seed butter for even more protein.
Protein powders also come in handy towards the end of the pregnancy when you may have quite an appetite but with baby growing so big inside, not much room to eat decent sized meals.
And once the baby has arrived, especially if you’re breastfeeding, you’re going to need to maintain a higher calorie load throughout the day. Protein packed smoothies are easy to consume while nursing or if you’re too tired to prepare a full on meal.
Image: Louise Vance
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