A healthy diet needs only very small quantities of fats and sugars.

Occasional treats of sweets or crisps are fine but there are often hidden fats and sugars in processed foods. Read food labels and look for alternative foods containing less fat and less added sugar.

Hidden fats

• A serving of roast potatoes - 9g of fat (boiled potatoes 0.2g)
• A 50g (2oz) chunk of Cheddar cheese - 19g (low fat hard cheese 8g)
• A samosa - 26g
• An individual pork pie - 30g of fat

(For comparison, one of those small wrapped rectangles of butter used in cafes is about 5g.)

Hidden sugars

• A serving of tomato ketchup - 1 teaspoon of sugar
• A serving of sugary breakfast cereal - 3 teaspoons
• Small pot of fruit yoghurt - 4 teaspoons
• Can of soft drink - 7 teaspoons

If you can’t give up sweet foods you may prefer to use artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, saccharin and acesulfame K. There is no evidence that small amounts of these are harmful during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.

Reviewed by babyworld midwife Hannah Hulme Hunter