Sauerkraut in pregnancy

Sauerkraut during pregnancy is a great way to keep the body of the expectant mother in good shape. Because this dish has truly healing qualities!

It has been noted that sauerkraut contains much more useful substances than raw cabbage. It contains fiber, vitamins A, C, K, U, group B, folic and tartaric acids, a large number of macro- and microelements, such as sodium, phosphorus, selenium, zinc, magnesium, iodine, calcium, potassium, chlorine, sulfur, and so on. Moreover, it is interesting that the amount of vitamin C in sauerkraut increases several times compared to fresh cabbage!

Sauerkraut is a storehouse of useful substances: it contains amino acids, flavonoids and probiotics, which is especially valuable for sick and weakened people. A pregnant woman, like no one else, needs to strengthen the body's defenses. And instead of a handful of vitamins and dietary supplements, it is better to eat some sauerkraut and forget about vitamin deficiency or weakness. Malic acid, choline and inositol successfully cope with this task, as do the vitamins that were discussed above.

Such a familiar, long-known food product as sauerkraut is famous for its properties that are worthy of the attention of pregnant women. Anti-inflammatory, tonic, immunostimulating, bactericidal, analgesic and carcinogenic qualities of this dish are truly a pharmacy on the table, for which you do not have to go for a long time, but just take it out of the refrigerator or cellar! Naturally, you need to take care of the presence of sauerkraut in the pantries in advance, which will be discussed in more detail at the end of the article.

Sauerkraut is a national dish of many Slavic countries (and not only). And this is not at all accidental, because the benefits of this product for human health have long been noted. If you eat two hundred grams of sauerkraut per day, you can provide the body with the necessary nutrients and forget about many diseases, such as colds. This dish has no less significant effect on maintaining a person's vigor and performance, which is very important in the present time.

Considering the above, it should be noted that sauerkraut is an extremely healthy product that should be present in the diet of a pregnant woman. This recommendation especially applies to the winter period, as well as spring, when the body feels a lack of vitamins and minerals. If you follow simple rules for eating sauerkraut, you can keep the body of a pregnant woman in good shape, strengthen the immune system and prevent many diseases.

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Indications for the use of sauerkraut during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a normal and wonderful state of a woman. And at the same time, expectant mothers are not immune from the appearance of some ailments or an increase in the symptoms of diseases that bothered the woman even before conception. Sauerkraut will help to cope with many of these disorders and return the woman to excellent health and good shape!

Indications for the use of sauerkraut during pregnancy are as follows:

• State of toxicosis.

It is useful not to eat a small amount of cabbage, but to drink the brine from it. This can be done once or twice a day, between meals and in small quantities.

• Excess weight.

Many expectant mothers feel that their need for food at this time has reached simply catastrophic proportions! And this is understandable, because the baby in the mother's belly is constantly growing and requires "material" for its incessant growth.

Some pregnant women decide not to worry about this and leave the correction of unnecessary kilograms until the baby is born. Other mothers can try to switch to restrictive diets, hoping to lose weight, which is extremely undesirable during this period. It seems that there is no way out, but this is a misconception, since sauerkraut is a natural regulator of fat deposits and the absorption of carbohydrates by the body. Such substances are contained in brine, which is useful for expectant mothers to drink. It contains components that prevent the conversion of carbohydrates into fat, and accordingly preserve the waist and hips of a pregnant woman.

Secondly, sauerkraut contains a small amount of calories: only twenty-seven kilocalories per hundred grams of pickle. Therefore, regular consumption of this product does not affect weight gain, and even on the contrary, helps to reduce the weight of the expectant mother.

• Condition of vitamin deficiency and decreased immunity.

It has already been said that sauerkraut has a rich complex of vitamins, minerals, flavonoids and probiotics. Therefore, it helps to cope with the problems of lack of nutrients and strengthens the immune system. Which has a positive effect on increasing the resistance of a pregnant woman to various respiratory and viral diseases of the respiratory tract. And also helps to cope with other types of infectious diseases.

• Diabetes mellitus.

The beneficial properties of sauerkraut help to cope with high blood sugar levels in pregnant women. Therefore, it is indispensable in the diet of expectant mothers with this chronic disease.

• Thyroid dysfunction.

The thyroid gland of any person can function normally if it receives enough iodine to synthesize the hormones it produces. If there is a deficiency of this substance in the body, the thyroid gland cannot function properly, which leads to health problems. In mild degrees of thyroid dysfunction, its condition is regulated by consuming the required dose of iodine. Two hundred grams of sauerkraut contains exactly the dose of iodine that a pregnant woman needs to consume per day to feel well.

• Dysbacteriosis.

Pathogenic microorganisms located in the gastrointestinal tract and causing symptoms of dysbacteriosis are well neutralized by eating sauerkraut. Therefore, at the first signs of constipation, diarrhea, bloating, belching and discomfort, it is necessary to begin "treatment" with sauerkraut.

• Problems with facial skin.

If the skin of a pregnant woman has become withered and suffers from a lack of vitamins, sauerkraut will help get rid of these problems. The presence of pigment spots on the skin of an expectant mother can also be a weighty factor for taking some measures to improve her appearance. In which, undoubtedly, the use of sauerkraut can help. It is useful not only to eat sauerkraut, but also to make masks with this healthy product. The effect of this pickle helps to tighten the skin of the face, whiten it a little, saturate it with vitamins and give the necessary tone, freshness and softness.

Sauerkraut Recipes During Pregnancy

To ensure that your diet includes sauerkraut, a pregnant woman and her relatives need to worry about stocking up on the pickle in advance. Of course, you can rely on store supplies or grandmothers selling this product at the market. But it is very important for the expectant mother to know that sauerkraut does not contain anything other than cabbage, salt, and some other useful additives. For example, sugar, which is sometimes added to this pickle for flavor.

Sugar, it would seem, is a familiar and consumed product by most people. But a pregnant woman should reduce this sweet additive to her diet to a minimum. And it is better to exclude it altogether during the period of bearing a baby.

If you prepare sauerkraut the right way, then the nutrients and vitamins will be preserved in it for six months to eight months. And this is practically the entire winter-spring period, when expectant mothers can suffer from vitamin deficiency!

Therefore, it is still recommended that the expectant mother eat home-made supplies, which have not only beneficial properties, but also home energy.

Classic sauerkraut is prepared with salt. The cabbage is chopped, ground with salt, mixed well, then placed in a suitable container and left in a warm place under pressure for a couple of days. During this time, fermentation processes begin to occur in the cabbage, with the help of which lactic, acetic and malic acids are formed in the pickle. This becomes possible due to the action of bacteria living in the fiber and carbohydrates contained in the cabbage leaves. The complex of acids helps preserve the product for a long time, and also gives sauerkraut that familiar and unique taste that attracts its admirers!

So, here are some recipes for sauerkraut that will decorate the table of a pregnant woman and her loved ones:

1. The easiest recipe #1.

Ingredients:

• cabbage – four kilograms;
• salt - twenty-five grams per kilogram of cabbage - one hundred grams.

Preparation:

• Take white cabbage (less often, red cabbage) of late varieties. Early varieties of cabbage are not suitable for this purpose, since they have loose heads and low glucose content. Therefore, it is difficult to ferment such cabbage (due to the slow rate of fermentation processes).
• The head of cabbage is washed and shredded as finely as possible. Then the shredded cabbage is kneaded by hand, after which salt is added, the cabbage is ground with salt and mixed well.
• The cabbage is placed in a fermentation container, and it needs to be tamped down by hand so that the processed cabbage is covered with brine. A weight is placed on top of the cabbage. After that, the cabbage is left for a couple of days at room temperature so that fermentation begins. At the same time, it needs to be pierced several times a day with a wooden stick or a kitchen knife so that gases can escape.
• When the cabbage is ready, it must be transferred to a glass container, covered with a lid and stored in the refrigerator.

2. Recipe No. 2: Sauerkraut with carrots.

Ingredients:

• white cabbage (necessarily late varieties) – five kilograms (weight of cabbage heads);
• carrots (large and hard) – four pieces, weighing one kilogram;
• salt - one hundred grams, and you need to use rock salt, not “Extra” or iodized.

Preparation:

• cabbage heads are washed and dried;
• then each head of cabbage is cut into four parts to obtain four large wedges;
• then you need to cut out the stalk from each obtained share;
• after which the cabbage is finely chopped with a knife or using various devices that make the housewife’s work easier;
• after which the carrots are washed, then the top layer is peeled off with a knife and washed again under running water;
• then the washed carrots are grated on a coarse grater;
• after which you need to measure out the required amount of salt, which is poured into a shallow container (a bowl or saucer);
• the next stage is actually salting the cabbage: three or four handfuls of shredded cabbage are placed in a saucepan or metal basin, sprinkled with some salt, mixed well and ground with salt until juice appears;
• after which a little carrot is added to this part of the cabbage, and everything is thoroughly mixed;
• then the cabbage needs to be tamped down using a wooden masher or rolling pin;
• for taste and to make sauerkraut an even more useful product, spices are added to it, if desired: caraway and dill seeds;
• this is how all the shredded cabbage and carrots are processed: using small portions, adding salt and spices (optional), and also tamping with a wooden rolling pin until a sufficient amount of juice appears;
• after which the housewife needs to wash and dry her hands, and then use her hands or fists to press the cabbage in the pan so that it is completely covered with juice;
• on top of the pressed and juiced cabbage, you need to place a clean plate and press it down with some kind of weight (for example, fill a three-liter bottle with water and place it on the plate);
• a rolling pin or wooden sticks must be inserted into the side of the pan to allow the gases produced during fermentation to escape;
• the cabbage is left at normal temperature in the room for three days;
• During this entire time, the cabbage needs to be pierced with a rolling pin (or a wooden stick, or a well-washed knitting needle, or a kitchen knife); while doing this, it is essential to reach the bottom of the container, since it is necessary to allow all the gases formed during fermentation to escape; if this is not done, the taste of the sauerkraut will deteriorate - it will be bitter;
• foam appears on top of the cabbage, which should not worry the hostess, since this shows that the fermentation process is proceeding normally;
• when the third day has come (it can be earlier or later), the cabbage brine begins to lighten and fall down, the foam also disappears; this means that the sauerkraut is ready and can be eaten;
• the readiness of the pickle can also be determined by simply trying a pinch of cabbage; if the taste characteristics suit the hostess, then you can safely serve the dish to the table;
• To successfully store the finished product, it must be transferred to clean glass jars, and do not pack the cabbage too much; then the product is poured with brine, closed with a plastic lid and stored in the refrigerator or in the cold.

3. Recipe No. 3: Sauerkraut in brine.

This recipe is very easy to prepare! Cabbage does not need to be mashed and rubbed with salt - all fermentation processes are started with the help of brine. The only drawback for a pregnant woman is that the recipe contains some sugar. You can try to cook a small amount of cabbage without it, and if the result suits the expectant mother, then completely exclude this controversial component from the recipe for making sauerkraut in brine.

Ingredients (for a three-liter jar of pickles):

• late varieties of cabbage – two kilograms;
• carrots - two medium-sized pieces;
• bay leaf – three (or four) pieces;
• allspice (or black) peppercorns – a few pieces.

For the brine:

• water – one and a half liters;
• salt – two tablespoons (use regular, non-iodized salt);
• sugar – two tablespoons.

Preparation:

• First, prepare the brine. Bring the water to a boil and then cool it to a warm state. Then dissolve the salt and sugar in the warm water.
• The head of cabbage is washed, cleaned of the top leaves, and then cut into several parts. After that, each part of the cabbage is finely chopped with a knife. You can also use a special grater or a food processor for these purposes.
• The carrots are washed, peeled and grated on a coarse grater.
• After which the cabbage is transferred to an enamel bowl, where it is mixed with carrots.
• The resulting mixture is transferred to a clean and dry three-liter jar and tamped down a little. Bay leaves and peppercorns should be placed between the layers of cabbage and carrots.
• Then comes the turn of the brine, which is poured into the jar to such an extent as to completely cover the cabbage. The amount of brine is approximately 1.2 - one and a half liters: this depends on how finely the cabbage was shredded.
• After that, the jar should be loosely covered with a polyethylene lid. Although the best way is to cover the jar with a piece of bandage or gauze folded several times.
• The jar needs to be placed in a large and deep container, because the brine will increase in volume during fermentation and spill out of the jar.
• It is best to leave the jar in the kitchen in a secluded place at room temperature. At the same time, you must always make sure that the brine covers the top layer of cabbage. If the brine has gone down, you just need to press the cabbage with a spoon and it will all end up in the brine again. During the entire fermentation process, the cabbage must be pierced to the bottom with a long wooden stick (or a clean knitting needle, if you do not have one). This must be done so that the gas formed during fermentation comes out, and the cabbage does not taste bitter.
• The amount of time it takes to ferment depends on the temperature in your kitchen. If your kitchen is warm enough, it will take two days for the sauerkraut to be ready. If your kitchen is cool, it will take longer to wait for this delicious pickle to be ready.
• We would like to warn housewives that high temperatures in the place where the cabbage is fermented are also not suitable for proper preparation of the product. In this case, mucus may form in the cabbage, and this is not at all in the housewives' plans. Therefore, the jar with pickles should be kept at a temperature of about twenty degrees Celsius.
• When the sauerkraut is ready, it should be covered tightly with a plastic lid and placed in the refrigerator for storage.

4. Recipe #4: Cabbage in brine without sugar for the whole family.

Ingredients:

• cabbage - as much as needed to prepare for the family;
• carrots - one hundred grams for every kilogram of cabbage;
• salt (regular, rock) – eight hundred grams;
• water – eight liters.

You also need to stock up on three three-liter jars, the same number of polyethylene lids, three natural wood blocks (three centimeters wide, five centimeters long, one centimeter thick) and a ten-liter enamel bucket.

Preparation:

• the cabbage is washed and finely chopped;
• the carrots are also washed and grated on a coarse grater;
• after which all products are thoroughly mixed;
• water needs to be poured into a bucket, then salt needs to be added and dissolved in water;
• a small amount of cabbage and carrots should be placed in a bucket and kept in brine for five minutes;
• after which the cabbage and carrots are squeezed out and placed in the first jar;
• a wooden block should be placed on top of the cabbage in the jar, and then the jar should be closed with a lid;
• then the jar of cabbage must be placed in a cool place (on the balcony or in the cellar);
• the next batch of cabbage, which is placed in the bucket, must be kept in brine for five minutes longer than the first; and then everything is prepared in the same way as with the first batch;
• the third batch of cabbage needs to be kept in the bucket for fifteen minutes, then squeezed out and placed in a jar in exactly the same way as in the previous cases;
• if after using three jars there is still cabbage left, you need to add one hundred grams of salt to the bucket, add water and mix everything thoroughly;
• after which the cabbage fermentation is repeated in exactly the same way as with the previous three batches;
• after which the brine for pickling cabbage is no longer suitable, it must be poured out and, if necessary, prepared again.

I would like to advise housewives that sauerkraut can be eaten not only as a separate dish, but also added to various salads and vinaigrettes. Sauerkraut is also good as a filling for pies and cakes. Of course, a future mother should not often indulge herself with flour products, but sometimes, when you really want to eat something "like that", it is better to cook homemade baked goods! Since it is definitely healthier than any store-bought products.

And the simplest sauerkraut salad is probably known to all housewives. Take an onion, chop it into half rings, add it to sauerkraut together with some sunflower oil. And that's it: a healthy and tasty dish is ready, bon appetit!

We hope that our recipes for sauerkraut during pregnancy will help expectant mothers maintain good health and well-being until the very birth!

Benefits of Sauerkraut During Pregnancy

The body of a pregnant woman works "for two" during this wonderful and exciting period of bearing a baby. Therefore, the expectant mother must take special care of her health, which directly affects the formation and development of her baby.

So, what vitamins and microelements influence the health benefits of sauerkraut? Here is a short list of the main ones:

• Vitamin C and selenium help prevent respiratory diseases (ARI, ARI, etc.) and strengthen the immune system. At the same time, these substances are especially useful for chest pain and fever associated with a viral nature.
• Vitamin C and selenium help the body of a pregnant woman absorb other vitamins and microelements, such as iron. An optimal level of iron in the body is necessary to prevent anemia in a pregnant woman, as well as to help the fetus form its own reserves of this substance for the full development of the small organism.
• Folic acid (or vitamin B9), contained in sauerkraut, is simply necessary for the expectant mother and her baby. This vitamin affects the formation of new cells in the fetus and its intrauterine development. This is especially true for the early stages of pregnancy, when the body of the future child begins to develop at an accelerated pace.
• Vitamin B6 – helps to absorb proteins in the best possible way, which is an important aspect of fetal development.
• Vitamin K – helps blood clotting, which is of great importance during childbirth. It also helps prevent ulcerative diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

In addition to all of the above, sauerkraut has the following effects:

• Pickled cabbage brine is useful in combating nausea, which many expectant mothers experience as a manifestation of pregnancy toxicosis. Pickled cabbage itself has the same effect, but somewhat less.
• Regular consumption of this dish helps a pregnant woman cope with heartburn - a constant companion of many expectant mothers (especially in the last months before childbirth). If you eat two or three spoons of sauerkraut before eating, you can get rid of the unpleasant symptoms of heartburn forever - a burning sensation behind the breastbone, which can rise up the esophagus to the throat, sour belching, a bitter or sour taste in the mouth.
• Regular consumption of this dish by a pregnant woman helps prevent the occurrence of cancer cells in the fetus. This is a fairly strong argument in favor of including sauerkraut in the diet of the expectant mother.
• The condition of a pregnant woman's hair and nails depends on certain microelements and vitamins that are responsible for the strength of nails and the beauty of hair. These include zinc, magnesium and nicotinic acid (vitamin PP). Sauerkraut contains these nutrients in sufficient quantities to maintain the appearance of the expectant mother at the proper level and please herself with luxurious hair and well-groomed nails.
• Daily consumption of sauerkraut can activate the digestive processes of a pregnant woman, which may be in a depressed state. This occurs due to the fact that the fetus, uterus and placenta begin to constantly grow and squeeze the gastrointestinal tract of the expectant mother. Therefore, it is possible that some digestive processes may be disrupted, which is subject to regulation.

One of the most effective ways to solve this problem is to regularly eat sauerkraut. This dish normalizes the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, and also eliminates constipation, which is a constant companion of many pregnant women. Sauerkraut also helps to cope with the symptoms of flatulence, which are manifested in bloating, belching and the appearance of painful (or uncomfortable) sensations in the abdomen.

• Sauerkraut helps to cope with other problems of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, sauerkraut brine is considered one of the best folk remedies for the treatment of hemorrhoids. And regular consumption of this dish helps to eliminate microorganisms from the intestines that cause various intestinal diseases.
• Sauerkraut is also good for regulating the metabolism of a pregnant woman. Regulation of blood sugar and cholesterol levels, as well as the acid-base balance in the body - these are some of the effects of this dish on human metabolic processes.
• In addition to the above qualities, sauerkraut can quickly satisfy hunger without adding extra pounds. This is because cabbage is a low-calorie product. For example, one hundred grams of the dish contains only twenty-five calories. And tartaric acid contained in cabbage helps prevent the appearance of fatty deposits, as well as the removal of carbohydrates from the body. This is an undoubted advantage of this product, since many expectant mothers complain of significant weight gain.
• And the last important property of sauerkraut is that it helps improve the appetite of a pregnant woman, which is an important factor in strengthening her health.
• Nutritionists believe that sauerkraut brine is much healthier than the product itself. And at the same time, it has a softer, more gentle effect on the body. If you drink sauerkraut brine once a day, you can cope with the above problems without harming your body. This important fact should be taken into account by a pregnant woman and think about including this "drink" in her menu.

After reading the above information, you can see that the benefits of sauerkraut during pregnancy are undeniable! And this dish should be on the table of the expectant mother every day if she wants to keep herself in shape during the entire period of bearing a baby.

At the same time, a pregnant woman needs to know that it is best to wash the cabbage before serving it to get rid of excess salt and acid. Such a warning will not be superfluous, since very salty and very sour products can lead to an imbalance in the human body, and this is not in the plans of the expectant mother!

When can't you eat sauerkraut during pregnancy?

Many pregnant women reasonably want to know whether sauerkraut is recommended in all cases? Or are there cases when sauerkraut should not be eaten during pregnancy?

The list of contraindications for using this dish is as follows:

• In case of gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer, sauerkraut should be excluded from the menu of a pregnant woman.
• You should not eat sauerkraut if you have kidney or liver diseases, or if you have dysfunctions or problems with the pancreas (for example, pancreatitis – inflammation of the pancreas). It is also contraindicated to eat sauerkraut if you have kidney or gallstones.
• It is contraindicated to eat sauerkraut if you have hypertension.
• Gastritis, especially with increased acidity, is an absolute contraindication to the use of this product. Therefore, with such stomach problems, sauerkraut should be excluded from the diet of a pregnant woman.

Such contraindications are caused by the fact that sauerkraut contains a large amount of salt, as well as various acids, which negatively affect the health of people with the above list of problems.

Expectant mothers should remember that large amounts of sauerkraut can also be harmful to their health and well-being. For example, uncontrolled consumption of this product can provoke flatulence. Edema may also occur, which is caused by the increased salt content in the product. In any case, before regularly consuming this dish, it is recommended to consult a doctor about the possible consequences of eating sauerkraut.

Reviews of sauerkraut during pregnancy

In general, reviews of sauerkraut during pregnancy are positive. And if you do not abuse the amount of this pickle and follow the recommendations for its use, then negative reviews from expectant mothers are not expected at all!

Naturally, to use any product during pregnancy, you need to carefully read the list of contraindications. And if there is any disease that the expectant mother suffers from, sauerkraut should be excluded from the diet or not included in the menu at all.

It is worth reminding that the expectant mother should consult with her doctor about whether it is useful for her to eat sauerkraut regularly or whether she should temporarily abstain from this delicacy. The specialist monitoring the pregnancy knows all the features of the expectant mother's body and can give her the right advice.

In any case, whether sauerkraut is useful for a particular woman during pregnancy or not, we wish future mothers health, good health and a great mood!