When you are expecting, always check out your diet plan. Make sure you have a well-balanced diet with lots of fruits and veggies to stay healthy during pregnancy. In this article we will talk about benefits of adding fruits in your diet and list of fruits that are extremely beneficial for you during pregnancy. Fruits are rich in essential nutrients and vitamins, which are very good for your baby’s development. Let’s check out the BENEFITS OF FRUITS which are as follows:
SOURCE OF ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS: Fruits are rich in nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and fiber, which are very essential for you and your baby’s health. Vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B, manganism, potassium, folate, etc. are some of the nutrients that you can easily get from a variety of fruits. These nutrients are helpful for you and your baby’s immune system, digestive system, and reduce the risk of complications.
HELPS TO EASE NAUSEA: When you are fed up of morning sickness during pregnancy, then fruits are your solution. When you feel nauseous and don’t want to eat anything, then have some portion of fruits twice a day or go for orange juice/mixed fruit juice.
GOOD FOR CONSTIPATION: When you are expecting, your digestion slows down and can cause constipation. Fruits contain a lot of fiber and water content, which works great to deal with constipation.
HELPS TO MAINTAIN FLUID AND ELECTROLYTE BALANCE: Potassium rich fruits are good to deal with leg cramps as well as helping to maintain fluid and electrolyte balance in your body’s cells. So have lots of fruits during pregnancy to ease some of the pregnancy symptoms and stay healthy.
GOOD OPTION TO KEEP YOURSELF WELL HYDRATED: Most of the fruits contain about 70-80% of water. So that juicy and colorful bowl of fruits are not just mouth-watering but also help you to stay well hydrated, which is very important in pregnancy.
List Of Fruits:
As different fruits have different nutrition and vitamins, so add a variety of fruits in your fruit bowl. Let’s look at the list of fruits which are very beneficial during pregnancy and should be added in your diet are as follows:
BANANAS: Bananas are one of the best source of potassium and magnesium. They also contain vitamin C, B6, folate, and fiber. These nutrients are good to regulate sodium levels, help to protect the developing baby from neural tube defects, and good for nausea. It is one of the energetic fruit which makes you fuller for longer.
ORANGES: Oranges are a great source of vitamin C, folate, and water. These nutrients are good for your and your baby’s immune system, good for the digestion and help to protect the developing baby from neural tube defects. This juicy fruit works great for hydration and helps to lower blood pressure.
BERRIES: Berries like blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, etc. are the power pack house of antioxidants. These are also rich in vitamin C, fiber, folate, calcium, and healthy carbs. These nutrients are very good for you and your baby’s health.
APPLES: Vitamin A, C, E, zinc, and some of the other essential nutrients are all packed in this single fruit i.e. apple. These are so good for the strength and the immune system of your baby. This fruit if consumed regularly in pregnancy can reduce the risk of asthma or other allergies in your developing baby overtime.
AVOCADOS: Avocadoes are wonderful source of many nutrients like vitamin C, B, E, K, magnesium, potassium, monosaturated fatty acids, choline and fiber. This fruit is excellent for your baby’s brain and nerve development. It also helps to ease nausea and leg cramps.
APRICOTS: Apricots are good for your baby’s growth, bone strength, and help to prevent anemia. These are rich in vitamin C, E, A, potassium, iron, calcium, and beta carotene. In short, this fruit is good for your baby’s development.
MANGOES: Mangoes are one of the delicious fruits with lots of benefits. They are rich in vitamin A and C. This fruit works great to boost immunity, lower the risk of infection, and helps to ease constipation. Just one cup of mangoes are sufficient to meet your daily requirement of vitamin C.
GUAVAS: Guavas are rich in vitamin C, E, folate, isoflavonoids, polyphenols, and carotenoids. These nutrients are good for digestive system, help to relax muscles, good for baby’s nervous system and also a great option if you have diabetes during pregnancy. Must have this fruit during pregnancy to stay healthy.
WATERMELON: The main content of this fruit is water, so it works great to treat dehydration during pregnancy. This also contain potassium, zinc, folate, vitamin A, C, and B6. It’s good for baby’s spine development and helps to ease leg cramps and heartburn in the last trimester of pregnancy. Precut watermelon and having it in excess may cause bloating, so cut it whenever you want to eat and have it in moderation.
OTHER FRUITS: The list of fruits and their benefits are never ending. Let’s look at some of other must have fruits in pregnancy:
> PEARS are rich in potassium, folate, and fiber, which is very good for you and your baby’s heart health.
> POMEGRANATES are a good source of energy, which also help to reduce the risk of placenta problem and iron deficiency. These are rich in iron, protein, vitamin K, and folate. It’s good to have it in the form of juice.
> CHERRIES are loaded with vitamin C and melatonin, which are good for your sleep, and your baby’s brain development and also helps to prevent from infection.
Things To Consider:
Adding fruits in your diet is always a good option, but let’s look at some of the safety measures before having your fruit bowl which are as follows:
- Try to go for organic fruits
- Properly wash your fruits before having them
- Don’t have pre-cut fruits especially melon and watermelon.
- Avoid some fruits like papaya, pineapple, and dates as these may cause premature labor. Some suggest avoiding grapes during pregnancy, as it may cause hormone imbalance in the third trimester.
- Store your fruits in a different section of your refrigerator as that of raw meat.
- As canned fruits and juices mostly have extra sugar, so it’s good to avoid them. Choose the fresh fruits and fresh fruit juice over canned.