In “Healthy Pregnancy,” we've included the nutritional elements necessary for a successful pregnancy that should result in the birth of a healthy baby. When there is a deficiency in any of those elements, there are symptoms to help an expectant mother make changes in her raw-foods diet. Those nutritional elements are listed here along with symptoms when they become deficient. Go to “Healthy Pregnancy” for a list of foods that will satisfy the minimum daily requirements for each of these nutritional elements. However, it's most important that you dedicate yourself to keeping all these levels up without waiting for symptoms to occur because they are so vital to your baby's health.
- Calcium: When calcium levels drop, the body will leach calcium from the bones, something you don't want to happen. Also, the welfare of your baby is threatened. One of the symptoms you’ll notice will be an increase blood pressure. Another effect of calcium deficiency is nerve and muscle impairments. You may have muscle spasms and an abnormal heartbeat. Keep your calcium levels up!
- Choline: This deficiency is not as likely to happen, but choline is an important nutritional element. If it is deficient, it can lead to liver disease, increased cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and kidney problems. Some symptoms: fatigue and insomnia.
- Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA): This is an omega-3 essential fatty acid. It's vital that you keep this one up because a deficiency will affect cognitive function, and you don't want that to happen with your baby. Symptoms may include difficulty remembering and having trouble functioning cognitively. Don't let it get to this stage. Be sure you’re including plenty DHA in your diet.
- Folic Acid: This one is extremely important to the healthy development of your baby. Make certain you are keeping these levels up! A folate deficiency in the mother can cause low-birth-weight and premature infants. It can also cause serious birth defects. Some symptoms are diarrhea, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Others: weakness, sore tongue, headaches, heart palpitations, irritability, and behavioral disorders.
- Iron: The most common symptom of iron deficiency is anemia. Some signs: fatigue, pallor, irritability, weakness, brittle nails. You and your baby both need this important element, which is present in all cells. When it drops too low, death can occur.
- Potassium: This element is vital to muscle and nerve activity, and the development of the organs that regulate these is extremely vital in your newborn. Some signs: elevated blood pressure, arrhythmia, weakness, muscle cramps, constipation.
- Riboflavin: This element is essential to the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Without it, you will have no energy, and keeping the levels up is very important to your baby's development. Some signs: cracked and red lips, inflamed lining of mouth and tongue, mouth ulcers, cracks at the corners of the mouth, sore throat. Other possible symptoms: dry, scaly skin; bloodshot, itchy eyes; sensitivity to bright light.
- Vitamin B6: This important water-soluble vitamin is required for the metabolism of protein and red blood cells. It also carries oxygen to the tissues. A deficiency can lead to anemia. Some signs: inflammation of the skin, a sore tongue, depression, confusion, and even convulsions.
- Vitamin B12: This vitamin is essential to the function of the brain and nervous system and the formation of blood. What is scary about this one is that often the deficiency can be severe without any signs or symptoms, and it is a very important component in the healthy development of your baby. However, some possible symptoms are tiredness, decreased mental capacity, decreased concentration, decreased memory, irritability, and depression.
- Vitamin C: This vitamin plays a role in the development of collagen, hormones, and amino acid formation. It is essential for wound healing and facilitates recovery from burns. It's an antioxidant, facilitates iron absorption, and is a supporter of the immune function, so important for you and your baby. Signs that there is a vitamin C deficiency: fatigue, depression, gum disease, rash, impaired wound healing.
- Vitamin D: If you don't get enough vitamin D, you can develop rickets. This will cause your baby's skull to be soft, the bones to grow abnormally, and development to be slowed. Some signs: muscle aches, weakness, bone pain, and muscle spasms.
- Zinc: Infants who are born with a zinc deficiency may have a disease called Acrodermatitis enteropathica, which is characterized by skin disorders, loss of hair, and diarrhea. Signs to look for in yourself that you might be deficient in zinc: hair loss, skin eruptions, and diarrhea.
Protein
The raw-foods diet is beneficial during pregnancy if you take great care to get all the nutrients you and your baby need. However, one of the areas where you should be most concerned is with protein, which will play an extremely important part in the healthy development of your baby, particularly during the second and third trimesters. Protein deficiency can lead to reduced intelligence or mental retardation. You should be consuming about 70 grams of protein every day. In a non-raw-foods diet there are plenty of other sources you can choose from for your raw foods diet. Signs of protein deficiency: apathy, inactivity, flaky skin, swelling of the legs. Be sure to look at the article “Healthy Pregnancy” for foods you can choose to make certain your protein levels do not drop too low.
By TTS Health Consultant Gabrielle Gingras
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