So, get your body ready, guard it against common nutritional deficiencies so that your bundle of joy can have the best possible nest to cuddle and grow.
Here is a guide that will help you identify common nutritional deficiencies and provide you with some strategies to guard against these.
| Look for these signs | What could it be? | Opt for these | Do’s | Don’ts |
| Weakness, tiredness, decreased work performance, falling sick often, inflamed tongue | Iron- deficiency anaemia | Pulses, legumes, leafy vegetables, tofu, meat and poultry | Include citrus foods in your diet to add vitamin C, which will aid iron absorption | Don’t have tea or calcium supplements with iron-rich foods |
| Swelling in the neck, reduced work productivity and mental capacities | Iodine deficiency | Sea foods, milk, grains, eggs and iodised salt | Improve iron and vitamin A intake as deficiencies of these also impact iodine nutrition and thyroid function | Limit the intake of soya, cassava, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and other cruciferous vegetables as these foods contain chemicals that hinder iodine uptake |
| Numbness and tingling in the fingers, muscle cramps, convulsions, lethargy, poor appetite and abnormal heart rhythms | Calcium deficiency | Milk, curd, cheese, paneer, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, leafy vegetables, millets, oilseeds such as sesame seeds | Expose yourself to sun so that your body will produce vitamin D, which is important for calcium absorption | Don’t drink milk along with spinach, sweet potatoes, beans as phytates in these foods will hinder calcium absorption |
| Poor resistance to infections | Vitamin A deficiency | Liver, fish oils, milk, eggs, leafy vegetables, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables | Include some amount of fat to aid absorption of vitamin A as it is a fat-soluble vitamin | Avoid excess vitamin A in the form of supplements as body can store it and may have harmful effects |
| Irritability, mouth ulcers, cracks at the corners of the mouth, inflamed tongue, numbness, tingling of the hands and feet | B-Complex deficiencies | Whole grains, cereals and millets, pulses, nuts and oilseeds, meat fish and poultry | Improve B-complex content of foods by using methods such as fermentation and germination improves B-vitamin content of foods | Avoid cooking foods in excess water, throwing water of cooked foods, excessive boiling and use of soda because these methods destroy the B-complex vitamins |
| Bone pain and muscle weakness | Vitamin D deficiency | Fatty fish, eggs and sun exposure | Expose yourself to sun for 5–30 minutes at least twice a week | Don’t forget to supplement your diet with vitamin D if you don’t get enough sun exposure. Talk to your doctor about this. |
A well-balanced healthy diet including foods that contain important nutrients can help you keep these common deficiencies at bay.
Experience healthy you to get ready for pregnancy!
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