Pregnant In Japan? Add These 5 Foods to Level Up Your Diet
One of my favorite groups of people to work with in my nutrition practice here in Tokyo is pregnant mothers. While pregnancy can be difficult – personally my nausea was so bad that just walking down the street gave me motion sickness! – it’s also a time full of joy, excitement, and for many, a renewed motivation to improve the nutrient density of your diet.
But where to start? Scroll through social media and you’ll find a slew of contradictory opinions or fear mongering videos that often leave people confused or worse yet, scared to eat different foods for fear they might harm their baby. Other information can feel out of touch – yes of course it would be ideal to eat all organic meals prepared from scratch, but if you’re nauseous like I was or already chasing around an older child, such standards can feel far out of reach. Finally, if you’re new to Tokyo and find the food environment hard to navigate, feeding yourself can feel overwhelming.
Thankfully, nutrition doesn’t have to be overly complicated – in fact, it can be easy. To prove my point, below are a few of the top foods - all easily available in Japan - that you can add to your diet today to provide you and your baby an extra dose of macro and micronutrients important for health, growth, and development.
With each food I’ve included why it’s recommended, the research behind the recommendation, and a few favorite ways to prepare it. Don’t stress if you can’t add all of these to your diet at once – my goal is to present foods that even in isolation, will provide you and your baby with benefits.
Food #1: Eggs
While I acknowledge the texture of eggs can be a major food aversion for some during pregnancy, if that doesn’t apply to you, I’d encourage you to add an extra package of eggs to your grocery cart. Aside from being a great source of protein, eggs have the added benefit of being very high in choline, a nutrient important for brain development both in utero and throughout childhood. Other benefits of choline include preventing against neural tube defects and improving child cognition and memory. In fact, a recent Cornell university study found that seven-year-old children performed better on a challenging task requiring sustained attention if their mothers consumed twice the recommended amount of choline during their pregnancy.
So because choline is so important, most of us know to include it in our diets and are getting enough, right? Wrong! Most pregnant patients I see have little to no awareness of the benefits of choline, and according to several research studies, most of us – pregnant or not – aren’t getting enough. In addition, choline is often left out of prenatal vitamins as it is a “bulky” nutrient, and takes up a lot of space, which means that including it would increase the size of the pill or the number of pills per dose.
Thankfully, there is an easy solution: eggs! Consuming about 3 eggs per day covers the minimum daily requirement for choline (exact choline intake will vary depending on the size of the eggs). Don’t forget to eat the yolk as the yolks contain most of the choline content.
Here are a few favorite ways to eat them:
Eggs are a no brainer at breakfast, and the varieties are endless: scrambled, fried over easy, in a breakfast burrito, quiche, or frittata, or on toast. For maximum nutrition density, add whatever veggies you have laying around to make a veggie scramble or vegetable loaded quiche.
At lunch, include a sliced hard boiled egg on your salad for extra protein and choline
Need a snack? Hard boiled eggs are a great high protein snack and found at most convenience stores if you’re on the go.
Food #2: Leafy Green Vegetables
While all veggies are great in my book, leafy green veggies like spinach and kale are a great choice during pregnancy thanks to their high folate content. You might be aware the importance of folate as it protects against neural tube defects, but folate is also important for red blood cell formation and healthy cell growth in baby. In addition to folate, leafy green vegetables are also a great source of fiber, vitamin C, and vitamin K1, which plays a crucial role in blood clotting and may reduce your risk of postpartum hemorrhage.
An added bonus for eating leafy green veggies while pregnant is that it could help your baby eat more vegetables in childhood. A team of US and France based researchers published a study that linked eating at least three portions per day during gestation to higher consumption in children up to the age of six. If you already have children, then you know how difficult it can be to influence kids to eat their veggies, so why not try to influence them as early as you can? Talk about a captive audience! :)
Here are a few favorite ways to eat them:
As mentioned earlier, throw your greens into an egg scramble, quiche, or frittata
Include extra spinach or kale in your salads or in a sandwich or wrap
Spinach or other greens make great additions to soups, stews, or pasta sauces as it cooks down well
Food #3: Salmon and Other Fatty Fish
Living in Japan – where the seafood quality and freshness are unrivaled – makes this an easy addition to many expecting mothers’ diets. Salmon and other fatty fish are high in the brain boosting omega-3 fat, DHA. DHA protects developing babies from prematurity and asthma while also being essential for brain and visual development. And moms, it has benefits for you too as it supports both your brain and cardiovascular health.
Still need convincing? In a large study of nearly 12,000 mother and infant pairs, consumption of more than 12 ounces of fish per week was strongly associated with higher childhood IQ and advanced communication skills.
Here are a few favorite ways to eat more salmon and/or fatty fish:
Add to a salad for extra protein and omega-3s
Include in soups, stews, paella, curries, or gumbo (will depend on the type of fish used)
Dried salmon strips or jerky is available at Lawson/Natural Lawson or other specialty grocery stores like Kinokuniya and is a fabulous high protein snack
Many of my patients enjoy making salmon in the air-fryer – I’ve yet to try it myself but it sounds delicious!
Food #4: Fermented Dairy Products like Yogurt, Kefir, etc.
While I acknowledge that these foods are off limits to some due to a lactose intolerance or sensitivity, fermented dairy like yogurt and kefir provides several important nutrients for those who can tolerate them. In addition to calcium, fermented dairy is a good source of protein and probiotic bacteria. Thanks to those probiotics, maternal intake of fermented dairy has been shown to reduce the incidence of eczema and kay fever in infants. And if that wasn’t enough, regular consumption of fermented dairy has also been shown to lower the risk of preterm delivery.
Here are a few favorite ways to eat more fermented dairy foods:
Use Greek yogurt as a base for overnight oats
Make a smoothie with kefir or Greek yogurt for added protein (and creaminess!)
Mix Greek yogurt with a small amount of honey or maple syrup, your favorite fruit and nuts, and freeze into “bark” for a snack or sweet treat
If you need a snack on the go, most convenience stores carry Oikos brand Greek yogurt cups – I love all the seasonal fruit flavors they come out with!
Food #5: Berries like Blueberries, Strawberries, etc.
Last but certainly not least, berries deserve a mention on this list of nutrient packed foods, and for good reason. Full of vitamins A and C, berries are also high in fiber, which helps ensure a healthy gastrointestinal tract while pregnant. High intakes of fiber – along with enough water/fluid – can also help fight against the dreaded pregnancy induced constipation. Lastly, fruit consumption may also improve cognition in children. A study of almost 700 children in Canada found that mothers who consumed high amounts of fruit on a daily basis had children with higher intelligence test scores at one year of age.
Here are a few favorite ways to eat more berries:
Because fresh berries are crazy expensive in Tokyo – and subject to seasonal availability – I use a lot of frozen berries which are more economical and in some ways, more convenient! Note that frozen berries are just as nutritious as fresh, so feel free to add to smoothies, yogurt, baking recipes, and more.
Add fresh berries to a salad – personally, I think they go really well with spinach based salads
For a sweet treat, drizzle or dip your berries into dark chocolate
If you’re a pregnant mom, let me know your experience if you add any of these to your diet and happy eating/itadakimasu!