The 100 Healthiest Foods to Eat During Pregnancy: The Surprising Unbiased Truth about Foods You Should be Eating During Pregnancy but Probably Aren't

by Jonny Bowden Ph.D. C.N.S.

Eat the best foods for your baby’s development!   Nutrition is never more critical than during pregnancy. What you choose to put on your plate affects you and your baby’s health not just in utero but for years to come. However, many nutritional guidelines for pregnancy are complex, confusing, and offer an uninspiring list of things to eat for the next nine months.   Backed up by the latest nutritional research, this guide debunks pregnancy food myths and uncovers a number of surprising food choices that are superfoods for expectant mothers.     This one-of-a-kind nutrition reference guide is also packed with helpful quick-reference charts and sidebars, highlighting healthy (but no less delicious!) substitutes for commonly craved foods like ice cream and potato chips. You’ll also discover the most up-to-date research regarding pregnancy dilemmas, such as how to get more omega-3s from fish in your diet while avoiding mercury. It’s pregnancy nutrition made easy!  

Genres: Health, Parenting, Food, Nonfiction, Adult

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2009

Reviews

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I get sick of all the nitpicky little shit I'm supposed to remember (chickpeas in he first trimester? eggplant in the second? or was it the other way around? does it really freaking matter? probably not). That said, if your brain is temporarily MIA (or permanently? is this just what happens when you become a mom?), and all you can do with books these days is flip through the pretty pictures while quietly humming lullabies to yourself, this is as good a book as any to do it with. And I guess it's good for jogging your memory about other foods that exist, if you've been stuck on, say, burritos and chocolate soy milk for a month.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and easy reference. Marked for each stage of your pregnancy and for foods helpful for issues. Keep this handy to reference, it's a great book and helps keep you on track with eating healthy and giving your little one the best possible jump start :)

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a coincidence I read two books by Jonny Bowden in the past month. The first one was okay, but after reading this I have more admiration for his capacity to churn out glossy and captivating health books that sell like hotcakes than for his advice as a medical authority. Two examples from this book that rubbed me the wrong way:

1) At one point he says that pregnant women shouldn't worry about Vitamin A in their prenatal supplement because prenatal vitamins are naturally low in Vitamin A. Wait a second. How are synthetic supplements naturally low or high in anything? One of many cases where a little editing would have gone a long way.

2) Chocolate milk. Really? 100 "healthiest" foods for pregnancy and chocolate milk makes the list? We're not even talking about a cacao + date + milk of your choice shake. I get that he's trying to make suggestions for foods that are easily accessible and that pregnant women will actually enjoy, but I find it hard to believe that of all the foods to choose from, a high-sugar beverage made the list.

[Cayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would recommend choosing a different pregnancy book. There was a lot of repetition throughout the book. I think a simple list of 100 foods would have been as helpful as this book. Under each food, there are two pages explaining why the food is beneficial. This is where the repetition comes in. If a food is beneficial due to iron, for example, there is then a description of why iron is important. This same/similar description would always be included with each food with iron. By about the 20th food, I just read the food names and scanned through the rest of the book. There were also a few typos and a few questionable suggestions. Overall, I think you'd be better off just reading the nutrition section of one of the more comprehensive pregnancy books.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I'm not convinced you need to alter and focus your diet on various specific healthy choices during each trimester as much as this book suggests (rather than just make sensible, healthy choices throughout), I like how this book plainly, without intimidation, lays out a plan for you to succeed on a healthy path. It gets you thinking how you should truly eat during pregnancy and does so in an easy-to-read format. I will keep all the lists in mind through the remainder of my pregnancy and beyond.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The list format was an excellent idea, and this book definitely inspired me to add a few less familiar healthy foods to my repertoire. I liked the serving suggestions as well, though a few full recipes would have been nice too. The writing got a bit repetitive though, and I'm not sure about some of the advice (or classifications: since when is feta only a hard cheese?). It seems like a good resource as long as it isn't your only one.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun book about healthy things to eat while pregnant gifted to me by bestie Jane. I didn't change my approach to eating much while pregnant, other than eating more... and while the book was fun, I don't think I learned anything that made me do things very differently. I'm just trying to be balanced and eat a few more veggies and less sugar than I actually feel like eating :)

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really helpful, informative, and simple to browse and read. I feel better knowing I was eating a lot of the right stuff already, and I got some ideas of things i should try to incorporate into my diet.

[Brooke]

Just for the record...I'm not pregnant yet, just saw a friend recommend this and wanted to remember it!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful book to reference over the nine months ... especially when you need convincing not to eat junk food!