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Onions in pregnancy

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Should you add onions to your diet during pregnancy? After all, during pregnancy, a woman has to adhere to certain nutritional principles, since, along with the mother, the future child also indirectly eats the same food.

There is an opinion that dishes with onions and garlic affect the occurrence of allergic reactions in the baby. Is it true? Let's figure it out.

Is it possible to eat onions during pregnancy?

Is it possible to eat onions during pregnancy? During the planning period and in the first trimester, onions are even recommended to be consumed, as they contain folic acid, which plays an important role in the formation of the fetus. Deficiency of folic acid can provoke congenital anomalies of the fetus and premature birth. In addition to onions, experts advise eating greens, cheese, offal, carrots.

Of course, large amounts of onions can harm the mucous membrane of the digestive tract, so you should not get carried away with them. Small portions of onions during lunch will not hurt: this is an excellent prevention of colds and flu. Especially if you consider that during pregnancy, it is extremely undesirable to get sick with acute respiratory infections. In addition, onions contain a sufficient amount of chlorophyll, which promotes hematopoiesis. By eating onions, you can increase a weakened appetite, strengthen the immune system, stabilize digestion, and improve blood circulation. Pregnant women often note improved sleep after eating onions.

Onions are not recommended in the second half of pregnancy: in the future, they can affect the development of diathesis in the baby.

Green onions during pregnancy

Many people enjoy adding green onions as a decoration to many first and second courses, but it is popular not only for its bright and appetizing color. Green onion shoots surpass even the onion bulb itself in the number of useful components. You can also sprout green onions at home from regular onions, or from shallots or batun.

Green onions during pregnancy are simply a complex vitamin preparation! With a pronounced lack of vitamins (and this is not uncommon during pregnancy), onion shoots are very useful. According to some data, 100 g of green onions contain the daily norm of vitamin C. Useful shoots are also rich in vitamins A and B, as well as chlorophyll, which is involved in the hematopoietic mechanism. Two tablespoons of chopped green onions contain almost 6.5 mcg of folic acid.

Dishes sprinkled with green onions have a beneficial effect on appetite, adding not only health benefits but also presentability to food.

It is necessary to pay attention to the shelf life of onion shoots: it is quite short, since green onions quickly lose moisture and, along with it, many useful properties.

You should not “lean” on green onions if you have high acidity, tachycardia, gastritis, or gastroduodenitis in the acute stage.

Onions during pregnancy

Onions are ignored by many women, despite the fact that they are present on our tables throughout the year. They can be easily bought in almost any grocery store, market or supermarket.

However, onions are incredibly useful during pregnancy. In addition to the well-known and powerful antimicrobial action, onions effectively relieve diarrhea, enterocolitis, weak intestinal motility, and atherosclerotic changes in blood vessels.

Magnesium, present in onions, helps eliminate constipation, a fairly common symptom during pregnancy. In addition, magnesium is actively involved in at least 300 reactions at the cellular level, which characterizes the importance of this element for the health of a pregnant woman and her future baby.

The healing properties of onions can also be used to maintain the beauty of skin and hair. For example, to eliminate dandruff and hair loss, it is recommended to rub onion juice into the roots. As a result, the hair will become stronger, and the scalp will stop peeling and forming dandruff.

An anti-wrinkle mask based on onions will also help get rid of excess pigmentation on the skin.

Onions are not recommended for ulcerative processes in the stomach, for inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract. In the second half of pregnancy, the consumption of onions should be reduced.

Onions and garlic during pregnancy

You can find a lot of information on the Internet about the benefits and harms of onions and garlic. But is it possible to eat onions and garlic during pregnancy?

Garlic consumed during pregnancy can increase the contractile activity of the uterus, which, as you understand, is not very good. Therefore, you should not consume garlic in large quantities. One or two cloves are quite acceptable. If there is a risk of spontaneous abortion, then it is better to refuse to consume garlic.

In addition, garlic is included in the list of possible allergens, so it should not be consumed by women with a negative allergy history or in late pregnancy.

All other women can eat garlic. Especially if you like the taste of garlic, then you shouldn't deny yourself the pleasure. The main thing is not to overuse it.

Onions and garlic during pregnancy are an excellent means of maintaining the level of folic acid, protecting the body from infections, and stimulating blood circulation and thinning the blood. Eating onions and garlic is only welcome if the pregnant woman is not prone to allergies and intolerance to such foods.

If for some reason you can't eat fresh garlic, you can replace it with a pickled analogue. Pickled onions and garlic pose virtually no danger to the body.

Onion with honey during pregnancy

Onions and honey are good antimicrobial agents on their own, and when combined together they give a simply wonderful effect. The most popular combination of onions and honey is for treating coughs – many find this remedy simply irreplaceable. However, the question remains: will there be any benefit or harm if you eat onions with honey during pregnancy?

The fact is that among the main contraindications to the use of both honey and onions, an allergic predisposition of the body is highlighted. If you are allergic to bee products or onions, then, without a doubt, this recipe is not for you. If everything is in order and there is no allergy, then you can use this treatment without any problems, both for the prevention of colds and for the treatment of cough.

Coughing during pregnancy is a very undesirable phenomenon: straining the abdominal muscles and diaphragm when coughing can provoke bleeding, the threat of miscarriage, especially in the case of low placenta previa.

Since it is not recommended to take medications during pregnancy, folk remedies come to the rescue, and, in particular, onion with honey. They can be consumed together by grating the onion or passing it through a meat grinder and mixing it with honey. The resulting mass should be eaten 1 teaspoon before going to bed (if you suffer from a night cough), or after each meal.

To treat sore throats and colds, you can use onion juice with honey or onion inhalations: take an onion, peel it, boil it for one and a half minutes in a saucepan under a lid. Then remove the saucepan from the heat, carefully lean over it, covering your head with a towel, and breathe in the steam. Only do this as carefully as possible so as not to burn the mucous membrane. After 3 minutes, stop the procedure, wrap yourself in a blanket and drink a cup of tea or milk with honey. This treatment is recommended to be carried out twice a day until complete recovery.

If you have a runny nose, you can simply cut an onion in half and inhale the smell of onion.

During pregnancy I want onions

Why do pregnant women's taste preferences change dramatically and quite often? Sometimes they want something strange and incompatible (herring with jam or onion dessert), obviously harmful (fatty belyash, chips or salty crackers) or completely inedible (plaster, toothpaste, etc.).

Most often, an unbearable desire to eat something specific is a kind of hint from your body or your future baby that you have a deficiency of some microelements, or it may be a signal of some kind of malfunction in the body.

If you want onions during pregnancy, then in most cases this is a signal of an approaching cold: your body is being attacked by bacteria or viruses, and the immune system asks you for help in the form of onion phytoncides.

Sometimes the desire to eat onions is associated with painful conditions of the thyroid gland. In order to refute this version, you can take a blood test for thyroid hormones.

Less often, the desire to eat onions appears due to the presence of parasites - helminths - in the body.

Experts advise: if the body wants something, it means it really needs it. Don't argue with the body, eat some onion and don't worry: the body knows better.

Onion for a runny nose during pregnancy

We have already talked about treating coughs with onions and honey. However, onions can be used to treat not only coughs, but also runny noses.

Onions are used for a runny nose during pregnancy if there are no contraindications:

  • allergies to onion preparations;
  • bronchospasms;
  • stomach ulcers and gastritis.

For vasomotor rhinitis, use the outer skin of the onion - the one we usually throw away when we peel the onion. Chop the skin as finely or as randomly as possible and fry it in a dry frying pan until charred. Inhale the smoke from the skin alternately through each nostril.

Another method can be used. Grate an onion. Put the mass in a cup, cover the top with a cardboard cone with a hole. Place the cup in a large container with boiling water. Inhale the steam through the hole alternately with the right and left nostrils.

There is another option of using grated onion. Pour hot sunflower oil over the mass and leave it to infuse, covered with a blanket, for one night. In the morning, filter the oil and use it to lubricate the nasal mucosa for various types of runny nose.

And here is another non-standard folk method that helps with nasal congestion and sinusitis. Take the smallest onion (like for seedlings), peel it and cut it lengthwise. Cut the inside of each half with small cuts, not all the way through. Wrap each piece of onion in gauze and put it in the ears. Wrap your head in a scarf. After a few minutes, the sinuses should clear up and your health should improve.

Benefits of Onions During Pregnancy

Onions can contain up to 10% sugar, proteins, fiber, calcium, phosphorus, minerals and essential substances. The ability of onion juice to provoke lacrimation is due to the presence of sulfides in it. In addition, onions are rich in enzymes, glycosides, as well as inulin and phytin. Of the vitamins, there are provitamin A, vitamins C, PP, B¹ and B².

Onions can be eaten fresh, boiled, fried, pickled and dried. In ancient times, onions were used to treat scurvy due to their high vitamin C content.

Both the shoots and the bulb contain many phytoncides, which suppress the activity of pathogenic microorganisms. This allows onions to be successfully used for the treatment and prevention of respiratory infections, colds, laryngitis, etc.

Dishes with onions increase appetite, which is very important during toxicosis. Increased appetite is due to the fact that onions can increase the enzymatic activity of the stomach and enhance intestinal motility.

If a woman is planning a pregnancy, then onions should be consumed not only by her, but also by her husband, since fresh onions perfectly activate sperm production and increase sexual desire.

Everyone knows that onions are an excellent preventative against flu during epidemics.

However, in addition to the benefits of onions during pregnancy, remember the contraindications: acute inflammatory processes in the digestive system, severe diseases of the liver and urinary system.

Reviews of onions during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a happy period in a woman's life, so she does everything to avoid spoiling it. The expectant mother feels responsible for the health and development of her baby, so she thinks about everything that can harm him in some way.

If a woman suffers from an allergy to onions, then it goes without saying that she should not eat them. In all other cases, eating onions is not only possible, but even necessary. Fortunately, onions can be bought and consumed all year round.

There are situations when a woman wants onions, but she doubts that the future baby will like them. Reviews of onions during pregnancy indicate that there is no need to be afraid of this: the baby will tell you what is good and what is bad. If after eating onions the child starts to behave restlessly, kick, it means that he did not like the dish. And vice versa, if you ate onions, and the child is calm, it means that everything suits him, and there is no need to give up onions.

Of course, onions are of great benefit to the body of the expectant mother, as a source of a large number of useful substances and vitamins. A woman who does not deny herself onions during pregnancy will be under reliable protection from viral and bacterial infections throughout the entire period. Add onions to first and second courses, salads and sandwiches - it is beautiful, tasty and, most importantly, healthy.

Onions during pregnancy are one of the components of a woman's proper nutrition, ensuring the normal development of the baby. But it is necessary to remember that an excess of some substances can be no less harmful than their deficiency, so everything should be done in moderation.

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