Can you eat strawberries while pregnant? Will it cause allergies? Eternal confrontation: strawberries and pregnancy. Who will win? Valuable properties of the berry

Almost everyone loves strawberries, small children, their parents, as well as grandparents. Pleasant aroma, beauty and unusual taste of this berry always attract lovers of this delicacy.

This royal berry came to us a very long time ago from America and took root very well in the beds of our continent. It is very useful and contains a huge amount of vitamins and minerals.

This summer treat contains such a variety of substances needed during pregnancy that no other fruit or vegetable can compete with this berry. It is rich in iron, iodine, folic acid, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and contains a large amount of vitamin C.

Do strawberries have medicinal properties?

According to experts, This berry has the following medicinal properties, which are:

Even a small portion of fresh fruits can restore calmness and improve mood in a stressful situation.

Can you eat strawberries while pregnant?

With the onset of pregnancy, a woman's life changes dramatically.. Now you need to walk as much as possible, relax, rejoice, be less nervous and tired, and, of course, eat right and varied.

During this period, a woman should review her diet and include only the highest quality products on the menu. Experts give a huge number of recommendations on proper nutrition for a woman while waiting for a baby, but many of them are simply bewildering. It turns out that eating strawberries during pregnancy is impossible and even harmful!

And if the pregnancy period fell right on the strawberry season? And many simply cannot live without this berry, especially if they are expecting a child? But still, Is it dangerous to eat strawberries during pregnancy?

However, no doctor can give an unequivocal answer to the question of the harmfulness of this delicacy during pregnancy, so everything depends only on the individual characteristics of the woman.

Let's try to find out whether it is possible to harm a child by eating strawberries during pregnancy, what are the benefits of it and is there any harm.

Benefits of strawberries for pregnant women

The biggest plus is these are vitamins, mineral salts, folic acid and other useful substances contained in strawberries, which have a positive effect on the body of the expectant mother. So:

Why is this berry forbidden to pregnant women?

Often, experts play it safe and recommend to expectant mothers refrain from eating strawberries motivating this by the strong allergenicity of the berry.

Starting from the 22nd week of pregnancy, the baby develops its own immunity, and if during this period, when special substances from strawberries get into his body, diathesis and dermatological problems may appear in the future.

But, this red berry is not the most powerful allergen, since the reaction in infants to cow's milk or chicken eggs is diagnosed much more often. However, no one excludes these products from the diet of a pregnant woman.

Important! An allergic reaction, which manifests itself in the form of itching and redness, can occur during pregnancy even in women who have not previously reacted to strawberries. Therefore, it is necessary to observe the body's reaction to this berry, especially when consumed in large quantities.

Another reason for the prohibition of strawberries for pregnant women is high content of oxalic acid, capable of binding calcium, which is the building material of the baby's bone tissue.

In addition, compounds formed with the help of calcium and oxalic acid - oxalates can provoke an exacerbation of cystitis, urolithiasis, pyelonephritis, pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract or the development of caries in a pregnant woman.

To eat or not to eat?

There is no absolute ban on the use of strawberries and desserts with it during pregnancy, however, you need to follow some guidelines:

Important! It is better to use strawberries in combination with dairy products (cottage cheese or milk) to avoid calcium leaching from the body.

Ways to eat and store strawberries

It is not recommended to eat strawberries on an empty stomach., let it be better as a pleasant dessert, after a hearty breakfast or a good lunch. Glossy beautiful berries charge with positive energy, excellent mood and give a burst of vivacity for the whole day to the expectant mother.

A good dessert would be pureed strawberries with a teaspoon of cane sugar. And the ideal option would be such a dessert with the addition of cream.

This berry can come in handy on fasting days. You can, for example, replace it with an afternoon snack. It is low-calorie and overweight pregnant woman definitely does not threaten after such an afternoon snack.

You can cook unsweetened strawberry compote, whip berries into a smoothie, or add pieces of berries to low-fat yogurt and there will definitely be no negative consequences.

You can continue to enjoy strawberry desserts in winter, if you pre-freeze your favorite berry. Why you need to carefully sort out strawberries, select the strongest ripe berries without damage. After that, you need to rinse them thoroughly in several waters, dry them, remove the stalk, put the berries on a tray and freeze quickly. Hardened berries can be packed in small portions and sent to the freezer for storage.

Important! A pregnant woman should not get carried away with strawberry jam or jam - they contain a huge amount of sugar, possible preservatives, dyes and flavor enhancers.

Strawberries, thanks to the rich unique composition is a delicious berry, which has a positive effect on all systems of a woman's body, including during the period of bearing a child.

It is used as an additional component in the treatment of oncological diseases, helps in the work of the heart, with cholecystitis, anemia, to restore vision, improve complexion, add beauty and strength to hair.

This bright berry has powerful antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory action, which effectively suppresses viral infections, is useful in the treatment of diseases of the genital area, with anemia in children, and also helps to restore strength and energy reserves of the body.

Enjoying these fragrant and sweet gifts of nature on hot summer days, you can ensure good health, which is necessary in wet autumn and winter cold. The main thing is to know the measure!

Delicious seasonal strawberry is a source of vitamins. After all, just one hundred grams of berries contain half the daily requirement of vitamin C.

However, expectant mothers are advised to be careful with these berries. And why - let's figure it out.

Calorie content and chemical composition

Strawberries are low-calorie (only 35-45 kcal per 100 g) products and bring many benefits:

  • increases appetite;
  • stimulates the function of the cardiovascular system;
  • improves immunity;
  • strengthens memory and improves eyesight;
  • has anti-inflammatory properties.

The whole secret is stored in the composition of these fruits, which can be represented in the form of a table.

Element Beneficial features
Vitamin C It is an active participant in the formation of elements that inhibit the reproduction of bacteria.

Supports collagen, adhesive fibers of blood vessels.

Vitamin E Supports the function of the reproductive system.

Protects the fetus in the early stages from negative factors.

Prevents the formation of malignant tumors.

Strengthens the nail plate, hair.

Vitamin A Takes part in the formation and development of the visual system of the fetus.
B vitamins Strengthen the nervous system, protect against depression and toxicosis.

Promote the absorption of magnesium.

Stabilize metabolic processes.

Vitamin PP An indispensable component in the process of transformation of fats into cholesterol.

Activates capillary circulation.

It has a positive effect on the work of the cardiovascular apparatus.

Normalizes digestion.

Calcium Participates in the development of teeth and bones of the fetus.

Valuable for the process of blood coagulation.

sodium and potassium Provide water-salt balance.

Normalize blood pressure.

Exclude the occurrence of seizures.

Magnesium Prevents premature birth, reduces the risk of miscarriages.
Iodine Participates in the production of iodithyronine (thyroid hormone).
Phosphorus Its deficiency is fraught with the development of fetal anomalies.
Iron Helps carry oxygen.
Leucine, valine, isoleucine Participate in the synthesis of hormones, antibodies.
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Important! Since strawberries contain oxalic acid, they are best eaten with dairy products. So you can prevent the outflow of calcium from the body.

Why do you crave strawberries during pregnancy?

Sometimes pregnant women experience an irresistible desire to taste strawberries. There is an opinion that such a desire arises when the body is deficient in the components contained in these berries.

Can pregnant women eat strawberries

With this product during pregnancy, not everything is so simple. Consider how the sweet berry actually affects at different stages of pregnancy.

Did you know? According to popular beliefs, if, expecting a baby, you really want strawberries, then a girl will be born.

In the early stages

At the beginning of pregnancy, the spring berry should be treated with caution. The fact is that this product provokes contraction of the uterus, which is often in good shape in the first trimester, and if this process is activated, there may be a risk of abortion.

At the same time, in the absence of contraindications for consumption, strawberries will even be useful: vitamin B9 (folic acid) contained in it helps in organizing the fetal nervous system.

On the other hand, the use of sweet fruits in the early stages is considered the safest. A moderate amount (100-140 g per day) will help support the mother's immunity, and the vitamins that make up the strawberry take part in the formation of the placenta and support the normal growth and development of the embryo.

In the second trimester

Despite the positive qualities, strawberries are a strong allergen and can harm the baby, since from the 22nd week the fetal immunity already reacts to all irritants, and there is a risk of diathesis after birth.

Important! In the case of a predisposition to allergies of the parents, the berry should be completely excluded from the diet.

However, you should not completely abandon strawberries in the second trimester. During this period, vitamin E is important, which maintains the youth of the placenta and slows down the process of its aging. The same vitamin stimulates the synthesis of prolactin, which is responsible for the production of breast milk after childbirth.

The main thing is to observe moderation and eat no more than 100 g of strawberries per day.

At a later date

From the 27th to the 40th week of pregnancy, strawberries in moderation will bring the following benefits:

  • help to cope with edema;
  • stabilizes blood pressure;
  • improves intestinal microflora;
  • beneficial effect on the fetal retina;
  • strengthen the musculoskeletal system.
  • In the ninth month, berries can be eaten no more than 2-3 times a week to avoid premature birth, and 2 weeks before delivery, it is better to refuse berries altogether.

    Contraindications and precautions

    Given the fact that pregnancy is an important period in which a woman is responsible for the health of two, she should eat carefully. A small portion of homemade strawberries will be useful.

    However, under special conditions, sweet berries can adversely affect both the health of the mother and the condition of the fetus.
    So, it is not recommended to eat them in the presence of such factors:

    • allergic manifestations;
    • complications in the work of the gastrointestinal tract;
    • urolithiasis disease;
    • osteoporosis;
    • uterine hypertonicity;
    • caries;
    • unhealthy joints.

    Important! Due to the presence of specific elements, strawberries increase uterine activity, which can lead to miscarriages.

    Overeating sweet berries can lead to the following consequences:

    • disorder;
    • diarrhea;
    • frequent urination.

    If, after treating with berries, shortness of breath, rash, swelling under the eyes appear, you need to urgently call an ambulance - these may be symptoms of Quincke's edema.

    To obtain a full complex of vitamins, it is enough to eat 150–300 g of berries per day.

    Methods of use

    In order to reduce the risk of negative impact and at the same time increase the benefits of eating strawberries, you should follow these rules:

  1. You can eat only seasonal fruits. The berry, sold all year round, is cultivated in greenhouse conditions or imported. Out of season, you can only eat fresh-frozen berries.
  2. Thoroughly wash the berries before serving.
  3. Combine berries with dairy products (, cream, etc.).
  4. Eat berries little by little and daily. In this case, the mood will improve and there will be more strength.
  5. You can eat grated strawberries by adding a little cane sugar.
  6. It is forbidden to eat strawberry jam or jam of industrial production. They contain dyes, preservatives and large amounts of sugar.
  7. It is best to use berries for an afternoon snack instead of baking. They are not as high in calories and will not lead to the appearance of excess weight.
  8. When choosing strawberries, carefully look at their appearance and smell. With an excess of nitrates, the berries will not smell and will resemble plastic toys.

Did you know? The largest strawberry was filmed in 1983 in the USA. The weight of the record holder was 230 g. The taste was disappointing - the strawberry was sour and watery.

Future mothers can also use strawberries externally - in the form of a mask. This manipulation will help get rid of hyperpigmentation.
Pregnant women should remember the rule well: the well-being of the mother directly affects the fetus. Therefore, if you adore sweet berries, cast aside all doubts and eat strawberries with appetite, but in acceptable doses.

And combining with dairy products, you will get not only a delicious dessert, but also provide your body with useful elements.

Pregnancy is a time of double responsibility. If before you didn’t really think about what and how much you eat, now is the time. The nutrition of the expectant mother should be fractional, saturated with vitamins and minerals. It is possible that you will hear advice from all sides about how best to eat. But you should only listen to your treating doctor, and listen to the neighbors' advice politely.

For example, expectant mothers are often advised to lean on fruits and vegetables. There is a certain logic in this - there are a lot of vitamins in vegetables and fruits, which are so necessary for a woman in position. But for some reason, not everyone pays attention to the fact that there are fruits, berries and vegetables that are strictly contraindicated for women, or those that must be consumed with extreme caution so as not to accidentally become a victim of profuse rashes or something worse.

One of the berries contraindicated for future mothers is strawberries. In this article, we will try to tell you why strawberries are dangerous during pregnancy and why most doctors strongly recommend avoiding them in the diet of an expectant mother.

Strawberries during pregnancy: benefits and harms

It is generally accepted that seasonal fruits, vegetables and berries are very useful. If the season of a particular product has come, you need to have time to saturate your body with the vitamin complex that it contains. On the one hand, this is true: firstly, by eating fruits, vegetables and berries during their growing season, you reduce the risks of poisoning with chemical fertilizers and nitrates, which winter cucumbers and tomatoes usually abound in. However, during chronic diseases and during pregnancy, when you are especially attentive to any changes in your body, additional vigilance is necessary when choosing seasonal products.

Not all of them are equally safe. In the risk group, the first on the list, as we have already mentioned, among the berries is strawberries. This tasty and loved by many since childhood berry is a powerful allergen. It can affect not only your health in general, but also the health of the unborn baby, successfully rewarding him with diathesis even before birth. Starting from the second trimester, a woman becomes very sensitive to allergens, so starting from this period, strawberries are strictly prohibited. If you have a hereditary tendency to allergies, then the ban on the use of strawberries begins from the first day of pregnancy.

In addition to the fact that strawberries can cause severe allergies, they have an unpleasant ability to increase the tone of the uterus. This can lead to spontaneous miscarriage or premature birth. Strawberries also contain oxalic acid, which removes calcium from the body. It's no secret that during the formation of the skeletal system, the baby draws a huge amount of calcium from the mother if it does not come from outside. This provokes problems with teeth, nails and hair. Agree, the excessive costs of calcium for strawberries are completely useless to you now.

Is it possible to strawberries during pregnancy

Some women are completely indifferent to strawberries. Therefore, the news that it is contraindicated during pregnancy will not upset them at all. But what about those ladies who gobble up her kilograms in the strawberry season? Can't you just eat a little? Strawberries are really very useful, although aggressive even for the gastric mucosa.

But if you can't help yourself and are sure that strawberries won't cause you allergies, you can afford quite a few homemade berries. The main thing in this case is a strict measure.

It is best if you eat strawberries with dairy products, so you will replenish the calcium removed from the body by oxalic acid. Please note that eating strawberries on an empty stomach is strictly contraindicated!

In general, it is better not to take risks and suffer for the sake of future offspring.

June is strawberry season. It is interesting that the strawberry we are used to is actually not a berry, but a lot of nuts located on an overgrown receptacle. And although strawberries are a false berry, they taste like real berries. Sweet and juicy, she is a favorite delicacy of many women, including those who are pregnant. We will talk about whether strawberries are useful for pregnant women in this article.

The benefits of strawberries during pregnancy

  • Strawberries have a mild diuretic effect, due to which they can help reduce swelling, which is especially important in late pregnancy.
  • Another undoubted advantage of strawberries is fisetin - a substance that improves brain activity and memory, which a woman in position will certainly appreciate, because with the onset of pregnancy, many are visited by forgetfulness and absent-mindedness. In fairness, it should be noted that fisetin is found not only in strawberries, but also in other berries, fruits and vegetables, such as apples and kiwi.
  • Strawberries have a rich mineral composition - calcium, phosphorus, magnesium. There is especially a lot of iron in strawberries, so eating it serves as a good prevention of anemia.
  • Strawberries help regulate blood sugar levels, while being low in calories, only 30 kcal per 100 grams, so it can be called a light dessert that will not bring extra pounds to the figure.
  • Salicylic acid and flavonoids, which are part of strawberries, have anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties that can be useful for a pregnant woman, for example, with a cold.
  • The red color of strawberries is due to the substance pelargonidin, which belongs to anthocyanins. Anthocyanins, among other things, help to strengthen the retina and normalize intraocular pressure - this can serve well during childbirth, during which the eyes undergo a considerable load. Anthocyanins also have a hemostatic effect.

Harm of strawberries during pregnancy

It would seem that this berry, or, more correctly, a multi-nut, can do harm, because it has so many useful properties?

  • Strawberries are a powerful allergen. Even those women who, before pregnancy, could eat strawberries in large quantities without consequences, may experience an allergic reaction to the berry during gestation. In fact, it is not the berry itself that causes allergies, but the pollen that accumulates in the pores located on the surface of the strawberry. You can reduce the amount of pollen by dousing strawberries with boiling water. In this case, the pollen is destroyed and the strawberries become less allergic, but even in this case, you should not abuse this product.
  • A large amount of organic acids in strawberries irritate the walls of the stomach, which can provoke an exacerbation of gastritis, which already torments many pregnant women in the later stages. Due to such an irritating effect, strawberries are not recommended to be eaten on an empty stomach; it is better to use them as a dessert after the main meal.
  • Due to the fact that strawberries grow close to the ground, there may be helminth eggs on the surface of the berries, so wash the product thoroughly before use!

Eating strawberries in early pregnancy

In the early stages of pregnancy, eating strawberries is most safe. It's no secret that strawberries are a storehouse of valuable vitamins. First of all, she is the champion in the content of ascorbic acid: only 140 grams of strawberries contain 140% of the daily requirement of vitamin C, which is necessary for a pregnant woman to maintain immunity. Vitamins A and E, present in strawberries, play an important role in early pregnancy, participating in the formation of the placenta, promoting the growth and normal development of the embryo, and protecting the expectant mother from miscarriage.

The high allergenicity of strawberries poses the greatest danger after 22 weeks of gestation, since it is from this period that the fetus is most susceptible to allergens.

But even in the 1st trimester, eating strawberries should be done very carefully. If rashes appear on the skin after eating treats, strawberries should be excluded from the diet for the entire period of pregnancy and lactation.

Eating strawberries in late pregnancy

It cannot be said that strawberries are absolutely harmful in late pregnancy. In the 3rd trimester, strawberries can even be useful due to the content of vitamins. Thus, vitamin E preserves the placenta from premature aging and prevents its detachment, and also promotes the formation of the hormone prolactin responsible for lactation. Vitamins A and E are powerful antioxidants that effectively fight free radicals. Ascorbic acid protects the body of a pregnant woman from infections, maintains the tone and elasticity of the vascular wall.

Despite its beneficial properties, strawberries are not recommended for consumption after 22 weeks of gestation due to the high risk of allergies in the mother and the development of diathesis in the future in the baby.

Strawberries when planning pregnancy

Homemade and frozen strawberries during pregnancy

Homemade strawberries are ideal for a woman expecting a baby, because they are completely natural. However, you should not eat strawberries directly from the garden - due to the proximity to the ground, helminth eggs may be on the berries, so even strawberries from their own plot need to be thoroughly washed.

Frozen strawberries retain everything and minerals, so they are just as healthy, but just as allergic, as fresh ones.

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