When it comes to a pregnancy diet, you must be careful about selecting the right food items. Selection of the proper diet becomes essential because your body requires double the amount of minerals and nutrients to maintain the baby’s health during pregnancy.
For this very reason, it becomes one of the essential things to do during pregnancy.
However, it does not mean that you may overeat during pregnancy. Instead, you should consume a balanced diet that may provide you with all the nutrients for the additional requirements of the growing baby.
The balanced diet of a pregnant woman is incomplete without the right mix of vegetables and fruits.
Child development experts except that the women who ate more fruits during their pregnancy gave birth to children who were adequately nourished in the womb. Hence, eating fruits provides a plethora of benefits to pregnant ladies. Some of these benefits are-
- Fruits may supply most of the essential nutrients the baby needs for development. Nutrients like beta-carotene could help your baby develop a robust immune system, cells, and tissues.
- Fruits that are rich in Iron may help to prevent Anaemia. Whereas fruits and foods rich in fiber could help you deal with hemorrhoids and constipation if you face such issues. Eating fiber-rich foods is also part of home remedies for hemorrhoids.
- You might not face pregnancy issues like leg cramps if you consume enough potassium. This is because potassium may help maintain the fluid balance in your body cells. You could eat different fruits to gain potassium.
- One of the most crucial minerals during pregnancy is folic acid. Folic acid might evade several developmental issues related to the spinal cord and brain in the baby. You could consume this water-soluble B-Vitamin from certain fruits.
- Pregnant women also require vitamin C, which might help the baby’s tooth and bone development. Not only this, but vitamin C may also assist in absorbing iron in your body. Several citrus fruits may help you to consume Vitamin C, like oranges, lemons, etc.
This article talks about junk food consumption by mothers and high birth weight. At the same time, one should be aware of the foods to avoid pregnancy. Keeping the distance from these foods may be a boon for you and your baby.
You might even satisfy your craving for sugary foods by eating fruits. There are various methods by which you may add fruits to your diet. For example, you could eat it as a snack, in yogurt, in smoothies, or even in salads.
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14 Best Fruits Which You Could Eat During Pregnancy
Apricot
Apricots are one of the best fruits to eat during pregnancy. This is because you can take the benefits of multiple vitamins and minerals in Apricots. It has vitamins A, C, and E. You will also get help from Zeaxanthin Potassium and Lutein.
Having said that, if you feel that Apricots are safe or not, you should consult your dietitian. However, according to this governmental website, apricot is entirely safe to use, and they also claim that it is a good source of iron.
Oranges
Oranges may be one of the best sources of folic acid or folate. Folate is a type of B vitamin that could help in preventing spinal cord and brain-related defects known as neural tube defects.
Besides this, oranges may even assist you in staying hydrated and provide you with the required vitamin C. Vitamin C could evade any cell damage in the body of the pregnant woman and help her to absorb iron.
Consuming orange juice may as well lower blood pressure. This is because it contains potassium, one of the better nutrients when lowering blood pressure.
According to research conducted by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, you may take approximately 400 micrograms of folic acid each day while you are planning for pregnancy. This amount may be increased to 600 micrograms in a single day while you are pregnant.
Here, the government also accepts the fact that an adequate amount of vitamin c during pregnancy could reduce pregnancy complications.
Banana
Banana is another nutritious fruit for pregnant women. It contains some of the most essential nutrients that might be required during pregnancy like magnesium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate and potassium.
All these nutrients perform their crucial functions for the foetus. The folate or folic acid may help to evade certain neural tube defects in the foetus. On the other hand, vitamin B6 might help to balance the level of sodium in your body. In the end, magnesium helps to balance the electrolyte and fluid levels in the body. Any imbalance in the electrolyte and fluid levels of the body may cause nausea or vomiting. So eating one banana during your trimester may be recommended by your doctor.
Banana has vitamin B6. As a result, it could really help in brain development and proper immune function during infancy.
Consuming healthy fruits like bananas might help you during pregnancy and after pregnancy. Keeping a healthy diet in the postpartum depression phase is always recommended.
Avocados
Avocado is one of the best foods to consume during pregnancy. They are also a great source of fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B, and Choline.
Avocado also has greater quantities of folate in it. Due to the presence of magnesium and potassium, some pregnant ladies may eat avocados to relieve their nausea and vomiting. Potassium present in the avocado may also help to deal with leg cramps during pregnancy.
Another important nutrient known as Choline might facilitate the development of the nerves and brain of your body. The deficiency of Choline could even cause lifetime memory loss and neural tube defects in the pregnant lady.
The same has been talked about here.
Mango
With a high amount of vitamin C, Mangoes might help the pregnant woman to deal with Constipation and other minor infections. You may even eat mango to assist your digestion process.
Besides vitamin C, mango also contains a high amount of vitamin A. Any deficiency of vitamin A during birth might lead to a higher risk of complications like respiratory problems and Diarrhoea along with lower immunity.
Vitamin A and pregnancy is discussed here in this governmental article.
Kiwi
Apart from being delicious, Kiwis have a high amount of folic acid in them. Folic acid might help pregnant mothers to avoid any foetal growth abnormalities. Moreover, kiwi also performs several other functions that may benefit expectant mothers. It might help pregnant ladies in absorbing iron in their bodies. Due to this, the blood of the mother can carry enough oxygen to the babies.
Detailed health attributes of Kiwi are discussed here.
Watermelons
You could include watermelon in your diet, especially during the last trimester, because it is a good source of fibre, minerals and other nutrients. It might help to relieve muscle cramps, heat burn, and even the swelling in the hands and feet. The watermelons are also a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin B6.
Apples
Being a good source of vitamin C and fibre, Apples may prove to be quite beneficial for pregnant mothers. They contain other nutrients like potassium, vitamin A, and pectin. Pectin might help to feed the good bacteria in your gut. You may always eat the peel of the apples to get the best of all the nutrients of the fruit. However, it is essential to wash the peel using lots of water.
So you may eat apples in a variety of forms. The fruit can be added in many recipes and is portable as well.
Apple is also a part of the diet plan from the Australian government.
Custard Apple
Being a good source of vitamin C and vitamin A, custard apple might be necessary for your growing baby. This seasonal fruit may promote the cognitive development of your body. You can even eat custard apple because it might help in the development of hair, eyes, body tissues, and skin of the foetus.
Custard apple could be found in the recommended fruits list in the Indian government diet for the people of West India.
Lemons
According to research conducted in 2014, Lemon may help pregnant ladies to deal with pregnancy-related nausea and Vomiting. Apart from this, lemons also have a high amount of vitamin C in them. This might help you to deal with Constipation and digestion. You could add lemon in your water or tea, or you might even prepare some lemon chicken recipe.
Guava
Guava is a crucial fruit to have during pregnancy. The fruit is a good source of iso-flavonoids, vitamin C, polyphenols, and carotenoids. All these nutrients may help you in digestion. Guava might also be helpful in the development of the nervous system of your baby.
Guava is a part of the diet plan for maternal health from the Indian government.
Berries
There are different kinds of berries, like blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc. All these berries are quite rich in folate, fibre, carbohydrates and vitamin C. They may even contain different phytonutrients, like anthocyanins and flavonoids.
The carbohydrates present in the berries may easily pass through the placenta and provide nourishment to the baby. The best aspect of these carbohydrates is that they are complex carbohydrates instead of simple and processed carbohydrates which you may find in cookies and Donuts.
Pomegranates
Due to the presence of vitamin C, calcium, protein, iron and folate, pomegranates may be highly recommended by your doctor. The iron present in the fruit could help in the strong growth of the bones and teeth of your baby. On the other hand, folate might also help in preventing any neural defects in your child.
Cherries
Besides facilitating efficient blood supply to the placenta, cherries are also loaded with vitamin C. Hence, this fruit might help to combat infections like the common cold.
Wrapping It Up!
So you could include two to four servings of the above-mentioned fruits in your diet each day. However, it may always be recommended to purchase organic fruits rather than fruits treated with synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. But if you may consume the pesticide-treated fruit, then you can reduce any risk of infections from bacteria by following certain tips.
First of all, you need to wash the fruit with lots of water. Secondly, you could cut out the bruised areas where you think bacteria may have resided.
You may also avoid eating pre-cut fruit or lemons. You could store the food in your refrigerator, but always away from raw meat. So no matter if your fruits are frozen, canned or fresh, all are good options. But you may make sure that the canned or frozen fruit does not contain any added sugar. If you have any queries then you may always consult your doctor.
Here is the detailed guide on the nutritional facts on some of the fruits by the FDA.