Strawberries in pregnancy: benefit or harm?

This fragrant beauty of a berry is probably one of the most delicious on our planet and the most beloved. Apparently, this is why in the old days strawberries during pregnancy - especially in autumn or in the middle of winter - were the most frequent "food whim" of women in an interesting position...

But strawberries are also one of the healthiest berries. They say that eating them increases the body's defenses, helps strengthen the walls of blood vessels and lower blood pressure. Strawberries help maintain healthy blood sugar levels (due to the presence of polyphenols), fight swelling (due to their diuretic properties), and cope with inflammation (due to the presence of salicylic acid). How else can strawberries be useful during pregnancy, and how can they harm? Let's figure it out.

Can you eat strawberries during pregnancy?

If such a question arises, then there are reasons to doubt the absolute benefits of strawberries during pregnancy. And the question is correct! Well, strawberries – no matter how much we want to – cannot have a “fly in the ointment” in their “barrel of honey”…

Firstly, as is well known, strawberries have a rather dubious reputation regarding food allergies. During pregnancy, any allergic reactions should be minimized. And if a woman has a tendency to allergies (and to anything), then strawberries should be completely avoided during pregnancy so that the child does not have diathesis later. By the way, doctors recommend taking into account the tendency to allergies not only in the parents of the future child, but also in all grandparents.

Is it possible to eat strawberries during pregnancy, if potassium (the content of which in this berry is 150 mg%) not only activates some enzymes and ensures the conduction of nerve impulses, but also increases the intensity of the synthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. And this, in turn, increases the peristalsis of the stomach and intestines and contractions of the muscles of the bronchi and uterus. What does an increase in uterine tone mean during pregnancy, every woman knows... So those who have had miscarriages or at least their threat, should not approach strawberries at cannon shot!

Strawberries are among a small number of products that contain oxalic acid in addition to citric and malic acid. Salts and esters of oxalic acid, oxalates, are formed in the body. If there is an excess of them in the body fluids, calcium oxalate crystals precipitate, which become stones and clog the ducts of the kidneys or urinary system. And this is not a "horror story", but a real clinical and morphological result of excessive consumption of strawberries during pregnancy.

Therefore, doctors strongly recommend that pregnant women do not get carried away with eating strawberries. It is quite enough to eat 10-12 berries a couple of times a week. And at the same time, it is imperative to follow the rule: do not eat strawberries on an empty stomach and combine them with something fermented milk (sour cream, yogurt, kefir, cream, cottage cheese).

Strawberry Recipes During Pregnancy

The most popular strawberry recipes during pregnancy are desserts. We suggest preparing them according to all the canons of culinary art.

Dessert "Strawberry-curd delight"

To prepare this delicious dessert you will need: 200 g fresh strawberries, 350 g cottage cheese, 100 g sour cream, about two tablespoons of granulated sugar, a piece of chocolate.

The cottage cheese needs to be beaten with a blender (or rubbed through a sieve) and mixed with sour cream, then 100 g of strawberries and sugar should also be beaten.

First, put cottage cheese with sour cream on the bottom of each bowl, then fresh strawberries (cut or whole). On top of the strawberries, put a second layer of cottage cheese with sour cream, and on top of that, put strawberry puree. The dessert is put in the refrigerator for 20-25 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle the top with grated chocolate.

Strawberry Delight Dessert

Ingredients required: fresh or frozen strawberries (100 g), heavy cream (200 g), shortbread or sponge cookies (100 g), powdered sugar (50 g), vanilla sugar (5 g).

Whip the chilled cream with powdered sugar and vanilla sugar; crush the cookies with your hands into not very fine crumbs. Mix half of the whipped cream with the cookies. Using a blender, grind the strawberries to a puree and mix with the remaining whipped cream.

Cover the container (for example, a wide round salad bowl) with cling film and put in: a layer of cookies with cream, a layer of cream with strawberries, etc. Cover the top of the dish with cling film and place in the freezer for 2-3 hours. Thanks to the cling film that covers the bottom of the dish, it will be easy to transfer the dessert to a flat dish.

And finally. Due to the high content of vitamins, potassium, iron, fiber, antioxidants and polyphenols, strawberries can be considered a healing berry. And its amazing taste and delightful aroma... But now you know that strawberries during pregnancy can bring not only benefits, but also harm.

Benefits of strawberries during pregnancy

It's simply impossible to deny the benefits of strawberries during pregnancy. Judge for yourself:

• 100 g of strawberries (fresh, of course) contain half of a person's daily requirement for vitamin C - at only 45 kcal. And although this berry is 86% water, it contains such essential amino acids as valine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, threonine, tryptophan, phenylalanine. The first three of these are 35% of the protein components of muscle tissue. Lysine is necessary for the synthesis of enzymes, hormones and protective antibodies. Without tryptophan, there will be no serotonin - the well-known "happiness hormone" and one of the main neurotransmitters of the brain.

Strawberries also contain replaceable amino acids: alanine, arginine, histidine, serine, tyrosine, aspartic and glutamic acids. For example, glutamic acid is involved in the synthesis of proteins in the body, and serine helps to absorb iron from food.

These wonderful berries contain powerful antioxidants - ellagic acid, procyanidins and catechins, anthocyanins (kaempferol and quercetin), ellagitannins and stilbenes, as well as omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. This unique combination of phytonutrients helps fight the destructive effects of free radicals on the cellular structures of the body. That is why the American foundation The World's Healthiest Foods gave strawberries 4th place among the 10 best fruits in antioxidant capacity (ahead only blackberries, cranberries and raspberries).

However, it is time to return to what is sought in strawberries during pregnancy: vitamins, macro- and microelements and other useful things for the expectant mother and her child. And at the same time we will try to answer the question - is it possible to eat strawberries during pregnancy. And if not, then why.

Vitamins

Strawberries contain a wide range of them and quite sufficient quantities. We have already started talking about vitamin C, so only a small addition is needed. This vitamin protects tissues from damage and helps the body absorb iron, strengthens the immune system, and has an antimutagenic effect. And this convincingly confirms: strawberries are beneficial during pregnancy. After all, they also contain beta-carotene (provitamin A), without which the formation of the visual pigment rhodopsin in the retina of the future baby is impossible. In addition, beta-carotene promotes the growth of healthy bone tissue.

Next come the B vitamins, which strawberries are rich in. Vitamin B1 (thiamine) increases the absorption of carbohydrates, is necessary for the normal functioning of the cardiovascular and nervous systems. It helps prevent toxicosis during pregnancy and activates peripheral blood circulation, which is “overloaded” during pregnancy.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is called the most important "growth vitamin": without it, normal metabolism, enzyme and antibody production, and the formation of the skeletal system, muscle tissue, and nervous system cells are disrupted. Vitamin B2 deficiency during pregnancy threatens growth retardation and fetal developmental delay.

Vitamin B3 (PP, nicotinic acid) is an active component of oxidation processes and biochemical transformations of fats into cholesterol; stimulates the gastrointestinal tract and liver, improves capillary blood flow and the cardiovascular system. Pyridoxine, vitamin B6, is necessary for the production of hemoglobin and for the synthesis of amino acids (the "building material" of all fetal tissues). Its deficiency increases nausea in pregnant women.

Another very important vitamin for pregnancy is B9 (folic acid) - also found in strawberries (0.02 mg%). Folic acid ensures the formation of the main embryonic organ - the placenta, as well as fetal tissues. Sufficient intake of this vitamin during pregnancy is important for protection against neural tube defects in newborns (anencephaly, complete non-closure of the spine, etc.).

The benefits of strawberries during pregnancy are also confirmed by the presence of vitamin E or tocopherol (0.78 mg%) in this berry. This antioxidant vitamin ensures proper fat metabolism (preventing cholesterol accumulation), formation of red blood cells, tissue nutrition and respiration, and functioning of the sex glands. Vitamin E plays an important role in the production of hormones that support pregnancy, so its deficiency threatens miscarriage or premature birth.

Macro- and microelements

And now the chemical elements contained in this berry will "defend" the consumption of strawberries during pregnancy. Let's start with macroelements: potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur and phosphorus.

The task of potassium is to regulate intracellular and water-salt metabolism in the body, maintain Ph balance, ensure the functioning of the myocardium and the transmission of nerve impulses to the muscles. Calcium is not only the bones of the unborn child, but also its muscle tissue (including the heart muscles) and nerve fibers. If the fetus does not have enough calcium, it will get it from... the mother's bone tissue and from calcium phosphate from the dentin of her teeth.

Magnesium normalizes the central nervous system and many physiological functions, participates in the process of blood clotting, regulation of heart rhythm and blood pressure. All proteins contain sulfur, the supply of which can be replenished by strawberries during pregnancy. This microelement helps convert proteins, fats and carbohydrates into energy, affects the production of bile and insulin. But a lack of phosphorus during pregnancy is fraught with impaired fetal growth and anomalies of its skeletal system.

The list of microelements present in strawberries includes: iron (6 mg%), copper (0.3 mg%), zinc (0.44 mg%), manganese (0.95 mg%), iodine (0.002 mg%), cobalt (0.003 mg%), nickel (0.002 mg%), selenium, vanadium and chromium. Everything is clear with iron: iron is hemoglobin, and its low level (anemia) leads to underweight and premature birth of the child. There are no questions with iodine either, since without it, thyroxine is not produced - a hormone of the thyroid gland, which participates in the formation of the central nervous system. So a deficiency of this element (especially in the early stages of pregnancy) should not be allowed, so that the child does not develop any congenital anomalies.

Taking an active part in DNA synthesis, insulin production and some enzymes important for the body, zinc reduces the possibility of various mutations and abnormalities in the fetus. Manganese provides feasible assistance to the full development of the fetus and its normal gestation, and it relieves convulsions in the expectant mother. Copper, nickel and cobalt participate in the formation of hemoglobin and red blood cells, molybdenum facilitates the removal of toxins from the body, selenium acts as an antioxidant, and chromium and vanadium regulate carbohydrate metabolism and control blood sugar levels.