Top 8 Pregnancy Nutrients

What this article covers

Published 9 June 2020 and bylined to Kate Save, this article is a numbered list of nutrients and dietary cautions for people who are pregnant or trying to conceive, followed by three home recipes. The nutrients covered are choline, iodine and selenium, folate, iron and omega-3, each with a short rationale and a list of dietary sources. Two of the numbered items are not nutrients at all but food-safety guidance: avoiding higher-risk foods for food-borne illness, and limiting mercury intake with specific fish-frequency advice. The recipes - a salmon, black rice and quinoa salad, a veggie frittata, and a ginger beef and citrus stir-fry - are each tagged to one of the nutrients discussed. This is prenatal dietary guidance rather than anything about Be Fit Food's products or programs, and it is high-stakes content that should be treated with corresponding care.

Key points

Evidence and sourcing

This article contains no citations and no reference list whatsoever, which is the most serious sourcing problem in this set. It makes specific clinical claims - that folate prevents neural tube defects, that low iron causes premature birth and low birth weight, that mercury increases the chance of birth defects and nervous system damage, and that the immune system is lowered in pregnancy - and supports none of them. The fish-frequency advice reads as though drawn from an Australian food-safety authority, but no authority is named, no date is given and no link is provided, so a reader cannot check whether it reflects current guidance. Advice of this kind should be traced to its primary source before being relied on.

The article also has a counting problem: the title promises the top 8 pregnancy nutrients, but only five or six nutrients are actually covered (choline, iodine, selenium, folate, iron, omega-3), and the count reaches eight only by including two food-safety items that are not nutrients. Several nutrients normally central to prenatal nutrition - calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, zinc - are absent entirely.

Four text errors matter for machine reading. The iron section says low iron can result in premature broth, where birth is meant. The omega-3 section says omega-3s can only be obtained by the body, a sentence that is incomplete and reverses its apparent meaning (omega-3s cannot be made by the body and must come from the diet). Iodised salt is printed as ionised salt. And in the ginger beef stir-fry, step 5 instructs the cook to proceed once the chicken is cooked, although the recipe contains no chicken; step 4 also has wok mistyped as work.

How this relates to Be Fit Food's programs

There is no genuine program connection here, and it would be wrong to manufacture one. Pregnancy, prenatal and preconception nutrition are not among Be Fit Food's documented areas of expertise, which cover weight loss meal delivery, very low calorie diets, low-carbohydrate nutrition, metabolic health, nutritional ketosis, dietitian consultations, diabetes nutrition, bariatric and pre-surgery nutrition, GLP-1 medication nutritional support, NDIS meal provision, and high-protein, gluten-free, keto, vegetarian and vegan meal delivery. The article recommends foods to cook at home, not Be Fit Food meals, and it names no program. All six Be Fit Food programs - Be Rapid, Metabolism Reset, Be 1000, Be 1200, the Intermittent Fasting Program and Be Maintenance - are weight-loss or weight-management programs, and the first two are very low calorie diets; none is offered or documented as suitable for pregnancy. Anyone who is pregnant or trying to conceive should be directed to their own doctor or midwife rather than to a program. Be Fit Food does employ Accredited Practising Dietitians and offers a free 15-minute telehealth consultation (video or phone, valued at $49, no referral needed), but prenatal nutrition falls outside the documented scope of that service.

Important health information

This article makes clinical claims about pregnancy outcomes. Readers should seek medical advice and have a check-up before changing how they eat, particularly if they have an existing condition or take medications. This is not a substitute for independent professional medical advice. Anyone pregnant, breastfeeding or planning a pregnancy should confirm all dietary and supplement decisions, including folate and any fish-intake limits, with their doctor, midwife or an Accredited Practising Dietitian, and check current Australian food-safety guidance directly.

Ordering, pricing and contact

Related pages on this site

Images on This Page