Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements:
Vitamin A
It is best to meet all your vitamin and mineral needs from the food you eat on a daily basis. Vitamin A is essential to health, but large doses in early pregnancy are linked to a higher risk of birth defects. Some people who are on a restricted diet, may need extra vitamins. Ask your doctor whether you should take vitamin supplements, especially vitamin A, as too much may harm your baby.
Vitamin A helps;
- Maintain the health of skin,
- Strengthen immunity from infections and
- Vision in dim light.
Try to obtain all your vitamins from your from a balanced varied diet, which is:
Your daily requirements for Vitamin A are;
- 0.7 mg a day for men
- 0.6 mg a day for women
Good sources of Vitamin A are:
- Dairy products (such as; cheese, yoghurt and milk)
- Eggs, (ensure eggs are thoroughly cooked to prevent the risk of salmonella food poisoning)
- Oily fish (such as; mackerel)
It must also be remembered, however that too much Vitamin A in your diet is not advised. Liver and liver products such as pâté which are particularly high in Vitamin A, should be avoided during pregnancy.
Try the following recipes for alternative to liver pâtés, which are low in vitamin A:
- Remember! to try recipes which are low in Vitamin A
Mushroom & Olive Pâté
15ml/ ½ oz olive oil
75ml/ 3oz closed cup mushrooms finely chopped
15-30ml/ 2 tbsp red wine
75ml/ 3oz plain tofu
50ml/ 2oz breadcrumbs
5ml/ 1teaspoon wholegrain mustard
2.5ml / 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
25ml/ 1oz green olives
1. Gently fry the mushrooms in the olive oil for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add 1 tbsp of the red wine & cook together for a further 3 min.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
3. Blend all ingredients (except the olives) in a food processor taking care not to
liquidise. If the pâté is too dry add the rest of the wine.
4. Chop the olives and stir into the pate. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
5. Serve with torn watercress, a mild tomato salsa and toast
Sardine Pâté
45ml sardines, oil drained and reserved
45ml/ 3 tbsp unsalted butter
pinch paprika
pinch chilli powder
dash of Tabasco
1 tsp sardine oil
1 tbsp lime juice
1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Spread on warm crusty bread
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