Pregnancy is the only period in life when a woman’s eating habits directly affects another person. The decision to incorporate delicious vegetables, whole grains and legumes, lean protein, and other wise food choices into your eating plan before and during pregnancy will give your baby a strong start in life. One nutrient that is critical in pregnancy is iron. Because blood volume increases during pregnancy, there must be a corresponding increase in iron and other blood forming nutrients to ensure the wellbeing of both baby and mother.  This is the reason why doctors prescribe iron supplements for pregnant women. Interestingly many women complain of side effects on taking the iron supplements. The most frequent complaints are nausea and constipation. Because of this, compliance is often very poor and as a result many pregnant women get anaemic, especially if they are not able to eat too well as result of common pregnancy complaints like nausea, vomiting and heartburn.

For as dietitians one important vegetable we frequently recommend as part of an iron rich diet to combat anemia in pregnancy is ABEDURU/KWAWUNSUSUA. This vegetable is a superstar when it comes providing iron because it is rich in both iron and vitamin C. Iron absorption is greatly enhanced in the presence of vitamin C , so when you find a vegetable that is rich in both iron and vitamin C, then presto! You have a superstar in hand! Boil and add blend with its own boiling water and add to soups and stews and watch your Hb values rise. Do not boil for too long as that may destroy some of its vitamin C content. Have other iron rich vegetables such as kontomire, aleefu, cabbage, lettuce and gbooma everyday as soups and stews to further boost your blood profile. Other iron sources are whole grain cereals and their products like bread, corn/maize (and their products) and oats. Very good sources of iron include meats, poultry and other animal product e.g. liver, but unlike abeduru and the other green leafy vegetables, these animal products can be quite high in calories because of their saturated fat content and therefore must be eaten in moderation. Its not a myth, I have seen many pregnant women’s blood profiles improve with consistent intake of abeduru and other green leafy vegetables! In addition to all the medication your doctor will prescribe, try this one also and remember to give me feedback. Good day!

By Laurene Boateng