Tips for getting pregnant: Eating seasonal food can improve insulin sensitivity and pregnancy chances
Highlights
- Cut down intake of processed and packaged food
- Be physically active and maintain a healthy weight
- Eat pickles and chutneys with food to get some Vitamin B12
Facing troubles with conceiving is no longer uncommon. Poor lifestyles and too much stress are the top contributors to fertility problems. A healthy diet and lifestyle, maintaining a healthy body weight, controlling alcohol intake and quitting smoking can help in getting pregnant. Additionally, coupled need to time intercourse during ovulation days and also work on improving their insulin sensitivity. Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar informs about this in her recent post on Facebook. "To improve insulin sensitivity you will have to take the brave path of increasing your lean body weight. And what you eat (and don't) plays a big role in that," she wrote in her post.
She mentions the following tips to improve insulin sensitivity improving and chances of getting pregnant
1. Cut down on intake of packaged foods
Apart from the obvious junk food, you also need to cut down on camouflaged junk food which come in the form of juices, biscuits and cereals. Stay away from low fat yogurt, cheese or ice creams. Diwekar recommends that anything that claims to be gluten-free, sugar-free, high-protein etc, need to be avoided if you are trying to get pregnant.
Also read: IVF: 5 Things To Consider Before Opting For It To Get Pregnant
2. Eat pickle or chutneys with your food
Eating food with chutneys and pickles on the side can provide you with essential fat that can help in assimilating and even making Vitamin B12. Have homemade pickle (1 tsp) or chutney (2-3 tsp) with breakfast, lunc or dinner.
3. Have home-set curd
Curd provides your body with gut-friendly bacteria, essential amino acids and B Vitamins all at once. It contains probiotics that can help in improving digestion. Eating home-set curd can help in controlling acidity during pregnancy.
Having home -set curd can reduce acidity during pregnancy
Photo Credit: iStock
Also read: High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy: Is It Normal? Know Types And Possible Risks
4. Eat seasonal food
Seasonal food tastes better and introduces the much-needed diversity in your diet. It helps you have a variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the year. If your diet is diverse, it can improve intestinal mucosa, probiotic bacteria and insulin sensitivity.
5. Use the mental meal map
Diwekar's Mental Meal Map involves visualising how much you want to eat and then eating half of that amount. Eat slower than your usual speed of eating. If you still feel hungry, start afresh. This pattern of eating allows smaller morsels of food enter the stomach, thus improving micronutrient assimilation and insulin response, she says. "This process can be repeated if required, but the key is to be without gadgets during meal times so that you are tuned in to your stomach signals," she adds.
6. Have three to give tsp of ghee every day
Also read: Dal Rice Benefits: Try Shilpa Shetty's Quirky Dal Rice With Twist Of Spinach And Ghee!
All these steps can together help in improving insulin sensitivity and also improve your chances of getting pregnant.
(Rujuta Diwekar is a nutritionist based in Mumbai)
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.