Greek Yogurt While Pregnant
Pregnancy requires that you eat a well-balanced diet that provides all of the vitamins and minerals you and your growing baby need for good health. Greek yogurt is a nutritious addition to your pregnancy diet that supplies many of the nutrients you need on a daily basis. Learning more about the benefits may prompt you to head to the supermarket and stock up on this nutritious food.
Vitamins
While Greek yogurt does not supply large amounts of any vitamins, it does supply small amounts that can help you supplement what you need for a healthy pregnancy. Greek yogurt provides about 2 percent of your daily requirement of vitamin A, a nutrient essential for the health of your growing baby's eyes. Some brands of Greek yogurt, such as Chobani, also provide about 2 percent of your daily vitamin C and iron needs.
Calcium
How Healthy Is Plain Yogurt?
Learn More
Calcium -- a mineral you need plenty of during pregnancy -- has a notable presence in a serving of Greek yogurt. BabyCenter notes that if you do not consume enough calcium from your diet, your baby will leach what it needs from your own stores, which can leave you deficient. A 7-oz. serving of plain-flavored Greek yogurt supplies 20 percent of your daily calcium needs. Fruit flavors provide about 10 percent of the calcium you need each day. Greek yogurt also contains a small amount of sodium, which you should limit in your pregnancy diet to help prevent high blood pressure and bloating.
- Calcium -- a mineral you need plenty of during pregnancy -- has a notable presence in a serving of Greek yogurt.
- Greek yogurt also contains a small amount of sodium, which you should limit in your pregnancy diet to help prevent high blood pressure and bloating.
Benefits for Pregnancy
Greek yogurt offers additional benefits that reach beyond vitamins and minerals. It has about twice as much protein as regular varieties of yogurt. Protein is crucial during pregnancy, because it supports the development of your baby but also supplies you with the energy you need to grow a healthy human being. A 7-oz. carton of plain Greek yogurt has about 20 g of protein, while flavored varieties contain about 12 g. Another advantage is that Greek yogurt contains less sugar than regular yogurt.
- Greek yogurt offers additional benefits that reach beyond vitamins and minerals.
Suggested Recipes
Daily Milk Intake for a Pregnant Woman
Learn More
Spoon plain yogurt into a small bowl and top with a squirt of honey and a handful of sliced almonds or chopped walnuts. Add 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt to a fruit smoothie or freeze and enjoy with fresh fruit in place of ice cream or other sugary desserts. Make a healthy dip for vegetables by combining plain Greek yogurt with fresh dill and garlic powder. Spread Greek yogurt on a bagel in place of cream cheese. Each of these suggestions will add some of the protein, vitamins and minerals that both you and your unborn baby need.
- Spoon plain yogurt into a small bowl and top with a squirt of honey and a handful of sliced almonds or chopped walnuts.
Related Articles
References
- BabyCenter; The Ten Best Foods for Pregnancy; Evonne Lack; October 2009
- "Super Fit Mama: Stay Fit During Pregnancy and Get Your Body Back After Baby"; Tracey Mallett; 2009
- Moore B, Horti A, Fielding BA. Evaluation of the nutrient content of yogurts: a comprehensive survey of yogurt products in the major UK supermarkets. BMJ Open. 2018;8(8):e021387. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-021387
- Reykdal O, Rabieh S, Steingrimsdottir L, Gunnlaugsdottir H. Minerals and trace elements in Icelandic dairy products and meat. J Food Compost Anal. 2011;24(7):980-6. doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2011.03.002
- Lisko DJ, Johnston GP, Johnston CG. Effects of dietary yogurt on the healthy human gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome. Microorganisms. 2017;5(1):6. doi:10.3390/microorganisms5010006
- Bridge A, Brown J, Snider H, et al. Greek yogurt and 12 weeks of exercise training on strength, muscle thickness and body composition in lean, untrained, university-aged males. Front Nutr. 2019;6:55. doi:10.3389/fnut.2019.00055
- Astrup A, Geiker NRW, Magkos F. Effects of full-fat and fermented dairy products on cardiometabolic disease: food Is more than the sum of its parts. Adv Nutr. 2019;10(5):924S-930S. doi:10.1093/advances/nmz069
- Alothman M, Hogan SA, Hennessy D, et al. The "grass-fed" milk story: Understanding the impact of pasture feeding on the composition and quality of bovine milk. Foods. 2019;8(8):350. doi:10.3390/foods8080350
- U.S. Department of Agriculture. Organic 101: What the USDA organic label means. Published March 13, 2019.
- Benbrook CM, Butler G, Latif MA, Leifert C, Davis DR. Organic production enhances milk nutritional quality by shifting fatty acid composition: a United States-wide, 18-month study. PLoS ONE. 2013;8(12):e82429. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0082429
- United States Department of Agriculture; Cooperative Extension. What is the difference between whole milk and homogenized milk, if there is one? Published August 16, 2019.
- Choudhary AK, Lee YY. Neurophysiological symptoms and aspartame: What is the connection? Nutr Neurosci. 2018;21(5):306-316. doi:10.1080/1028415X.2017.1288340
Writer Bio
Sara Ipatenco has taught writing, health and nutrition. She started writing in 2007 and has been published in Teaching Tolerance magazine. Ipatenco holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in education, both from the University of Denver.