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Grapes in pregnancy
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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When consuming grapes during pregnancy, some women have some doubts for good reason. Realizing the full extent of responsibility for their own condition and the proper development of the child they are carrying, expectant mothers should know exactly which products should be excluded from their diet. While most nutritionists assure the indisputable benefits of grapes for the body during pregnancy, some experts classify grapes as products that should be avoided.
First, let's talk about the beneficial properties of grapes for pregnant women.
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Benefits of grapes during pregnancy
The conclusion about the benefits of grapes during pregnancy can be made by examining its chemical composition. Grapes contain on average 70% water, 15-35% glucose and fructose, a whole list of organic acids, quercetin, glycosides, pectin, enzymes and tannins; compounds of potassium, magnesium, calcium, manganese, phosphorus, iron, copper, cobalt, zinc, iodine. Grapes contain vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, C, E, P, PP, K, folic acid.
When pregnant women eat grapes, their B vitamins activate metabolism, and the fetus will receive more nutrients. Eating grapes will help avoid neural tube defects, because folic acid helps with this. And thanks to potassium (225 mg%), both the mother's heart and the baby's heart will function normally.
Iron, cobalt and manganese improve hematopoiesis, tannins and pectins have a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract, magnesium helps pregnant women reduce muscle spasms, phosphorus is necessary for the synthesis of nucleic acids, and quercetin strengthens the walls of capillaries.
It is useful to eat red grapes during pregnancy to prevent fluid retention in tissues or chronic venous insufficiency, as the skin of these berries is rich in polyphenols, in particular, oligomeric proanthocyanidins. These substances protect plants from phytopathogens, and for the human body they have the effect of powerful antioxidants. If vitamin E acts only against fat-soluble oxidants in the body, and vitamin C against water-soluble ones, then grape proanthocyanidins have an active effect against both types.
Studies have also shown that antioxidants in red grapes help to better regulate the activity of excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain - dopamine and norepinephrine, which has an antidepressant effect.
Can you eat grapes during pregnancy?
Domestic nutritionists attribute the negative answer to this question to the high caloric content of grapes: approximately 65 kcal per 100 g of product. But this is the same amount as the human body receives when eating 100 g of grain bread or an orange, and even 14 kcal less than 100 g of low-fat cottage cheese.
It's all about sugar: grapes are a fruit with a medium glycemic index (GI 59), meaning they tend to increase blood sugar levels. At the same time, 100 g of grapes contain an average of 7.2 g of fructose, a carbohydrate that is most easily converted into glycogen (an energy reserve). And if a pregnant woman is gaining excess weight or has high blood sugar, she should definitely not eat grapes.
Is it possible to eat grapes during pregnancy if the pregnant woman has increased intestinal gas formation (flatulence)? Of course, it is not possible, since grapes are what contribute to flatulence. When heartburn is often tormented during pregnancy, then eating sour white grapes can intensify it and cause nausea and vomiting.
Foreign doctors advise avoiding grapes during pregnancy - especially in the last trimester - due to the resveratrol contained in the berry peel. This chemical is a trans-isomer of stilbene, a natural phenolic compound that plants produce to protect against bacteria. It has recently been discovered that resveratrol, like all stilbene derivatives, has estrogenic activity and increases progesterone synthesis. This can lead to serious complications, although this condition only occurs if a pregnant woman eats too many grapes.
Keep in mind that grape polyphenols (proanthocyanidins) can interfere with the absorption of iron from food. Polyphenols also inhibit the aggregation of blood platelets, that is, they reduce their ability to "stick together" and form blood clots during bleeding. And these are the main reasons why it is best not to eat grapes during pregnancy - especially two to three months before giving birth.