Many women experience taste changes during pregnancy as part of an overall change in hormones. Those taste changes may often lead to differing food preferences, which can affect overall nutrition. While prenatal vitamins can serve as a great back up plan, it’s also important to optimize your diet as much as possible before and during your pregnancy.

Choosing nutrient-dense foods can help meet the higher amounts of nutrients needed since you are not just feeding yourself, but your growing baby as well. Fortunately, Eggland’s Best eggs are a pregnant-friendly food that is a healthy choice for so many reasons.

Some of the common nutrients that are important during pregnancy are folate and folic acid, calcium, vitamin D, protein, iron, omega-3 fatty acids and choline (1). Eggland’s Best eggs offer higher amounts of most of these nutrients and fewer calories compared to the ordinary eggs, making them an excellent, choice during pregnancy.

What nutrients specifically are important during pregnancy?

Folic acid

• An essential B-vitamin needed during pregnancy that helps prevent brain and spinal neural tube defects in babies. Pregnant women should get at least 400-600 mcg/day. Luckily, one large Eggland’s Best egg provides 10% of the recommended daily intake of folate, the form of folic acid naturally found in food. Eggland’s Best eggs are also an excellent source of vitamin B2 and vitamin B5, which helps with energy production and metabolism.

Vitamin D

• Increased calcium and Vitamin D work in tandem to help build the baby’s bones and teeth, while Vitamin D itself helps with healthy skin and eyesight. Each Eggland’s Best egg has 6 times more Vitamin D than ordinary eggs. While it is difficult to get sufficient Vitamin D through diet alone, including Eggland’s Best eggs (with yolks!) provided you with 35% of the daily recommended intake!

Omega 3s

• Eggland’s Best eggs also have more than double the amount of omega-3s compared to ordinary eggs (125 mg vs 49 mg). Omega-3 fatty acids are essential, meaning you need to get them through diet as our bodies cannot produce They offer key benefits for heart health, brain and eye function, infant development and more.

Choline

• Choline is another nutrient that plays a critical role in health maintenance throughout pregnancy, contributing to brain and spinal cord development, cognitive functioning, cell signaling, and metabolism. Large amounts of the mother’s choline is transported across the placenta to the fetus, which depletes the mother’s choline status. A consistent dietary sources of choline is crucial during pregnancy and during breastfeeding. By incorporating just two Eggland’s Best eggs into your daily diet, you’ll receive nearly 50% of the daily recommendation for choline during pregnancy.

In addition to all these great benefits, eggs are one of the few food sources of iodine. EB eggs provide more than double the amount compared to ordinary eggs. Not to mention, they also have lower amounts of sodium, cholesterol, and saturated fat to help keep you and your baby happy and healthy!