Fruits good for pregnancy

What's Covered

Introduction

Such wonderful news. You’re pregnant. Are you excited? Probably yes. Are you scared? Maybe just a little. But don’t be. This is a time of your life that you can enjoy and have full treatment with almost everything. So lay down, grab some healthy snacks and I’ll guide you through how to stay healthy, strong, refresh and learn how to be a happy mom.

Fruit selection

When I find out that I’m pregnant I had so many questions. One of them was how to stay healthy. In conversation with my doctor, I realized that what I’m eating is the most important thing for me and my baby. Especially in the first trimester. My doctor gave me a list of the best food meals that I should prepare to stay strong. I saw that on the list were lots of fruits. Why fruit? ‘Case in the fruit you can find many minerals, vitamins and other health staff for baby and mom.

Ok, we know that fruit is rich whit vitamins. But is all of the fruit good for pregnant women? Many scientists are agreed that not all fruit is good for the future mom. Especially in the first trimester (first three months of pregnancy) when you’re having morning sickness. So be careful what fruit you’re eating. I’ll give you a few examples of what fruit you should avoid during pregnancy, especially in the first months.[1]

First of all, be careful that your fruit is washed up well. Why? ‘Cause today fruits that we are buying in the market might consider some pesticide. Pesticides can be dangerous for your baby. Wash it before eating and you are ok.

Pregnant moms that have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes should pay more attention to what fruit that they are eating. Some fruits have more sugar than others.

Now here is the list of fruits that you should avoid according to experts.

1. Melon

Why this juicy, sweet, and delicious fruit is not so good for future moms? In her compositions melon has quinine, saponin glycosides, and mitomycin. These three ingredients are not so good for your organism. When you eat a lot of melon you might have a rash, diarrhea, and some pains in your stomach. So, be careful about melon. Is not as juicy and sweet as we’re thinking.

2. Pineapple

 I must tell you. I love it so much. I can eat pineapple three times a day. I think that I can live eating it all day for the rest of my life. But while I was pregnant I avoid it. Pineapple has a lot of bromelains. That is an enzyme that can provide early contractions. Also like melon, he can provide diarrhea. But as I became a mom, I catch up with eating it.

3. Papaya

also on the list of forbidden fruits. So sweet and so exotic, this fruit also might produce an early contraction. In some cases even a misbirth. Not even a bite, if you don’t want to have problems with your pregnancy.

How to eat fruit?

Yes, there are some rules on how to eat fruits, especially when you’re pregnant. Not so many but still you’ve some grand rules that you should consider.

Wash your fruit

Please wash your fruits carefully. As I mention before this is the most important. You don’t want to get sick, do you? Pay attention and washed them well.[2]

Fresh fruit

Eat your  fruit while is it fresh. So, buy them today and don’t wait long to eat. Many vitamins while disappear if you wait long.

Raw fruit

Fruit is better when it’s raw. It means that you’ve not to boiled them or do other fruit processing. Also today we’ve so many kitchen gadgets. You can make your own smoothie whit raw fruit. That you’ll have a taste that you like and be calm ’cause you’re eating fruits in the right way. Now for me very interesting question. Is there a “line” for eating fruits during your pregnancy? Where is the limit? Look at rule no4 to find out.

Eating limit

Yes, there is a limit for eating fruit for future moms. Why? We all know that fruits are good for our life, with lots of vitamins, minerals that we’re all need. But still, you should pay attention to how many fruits you’re eating per day. Fruits consider sugar. Good sugar not like candy sugar which is not good for our health. But that good sugar may be dangerous for pregnant women. If you’re eating a lot of, for example,  bananas you may develop gestational diabetes. Bananas consist of up to 25g of sugar. It’s a lot of sugar for one fruit. Experts advise is to eat fruit every day, around 3 to 5 times per day. The ideal is to eat between our grand meals. But eat it smart. Choose a different kind of fruit. Eat it with a measure. Don’t overeat.

Fruits good for pregnancy

Now, as we determined some rules of eating and get introduce to fruits that are not such good for pregnant women, let’s talk about fruits that are good for your organism during your blessed condition.

First of all, fruits are divided. We have berry fruit, nutty fruit, dried fruit, citrus, exotic fruit. They are altogether good types of fruits for the future mom and her baby that is inside. But some of them are better than others. So let’s start to introduce the very best in each type.

Berry fruits

Fruits that are all of the little tiny berries are call berry fruit. This type is very rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene. Strawberry, blueberry, raspberry are all family of berries. And they are all good for you in pregnancy

1. Strawberry – This is my favorite one all over the world. Not the only good taste, strawberry is full of

       – vitamin C

       – antioxidant

       -carbohydrates

Also, she is full of water which is good for your hydration. But be careful DON’T EAT it if you’re allergic. But you know that, didn’t you?

2. Raspberry this red and aromatic fruit treat is full of vitamin C. Like many others, red raspberry is an antioxidant and that’s the way it’s good to eat during your pregnancy.

Nutty fruit

Recently a group of scientists published research that they’re saying if future moms are eating nutty fruits during pregnancy ( peanut, walnut, almond)  their babies will have a small chance to have allergic to it. Quite interesting isn’t it? So if you like these healthy snacks you can eat them. Bur, be careful don’t overeat with it.

1. Walnut – is a star of nutty fruit. You can eat it around 100g every day if you like. Walnut is good for you ’cause is full of omega 3 fatty acid. That’s the way if you eat it temporally you have a small risk of a heart attack.

2. Peanuts  – in his composition peanut contains arginine. This is a very important thing which regulates blood pressure, sugar and fats in the blood. In peanut, we can find folic acid also. Folic acid is important for your baby and her development during pregnancy.

Rani-uncooked-unsalted-Ingredients-Groundnut
This is definitely my choice of peanut . It's raw, without any salt, and with the original taste of peanut. A healthy snack that you can eat in pregnancy whole time if you like

Citrus Fruit

As you probably know, citrus is the most important fruit ’cause they are full of vitamin C. Some of them are not so tasty ( I don’t like lemon,  but I like to drink lemonade) but others have a wonderful taste. They are refreshing, powerful and many of them having so many positive things for your baby during pregnancy. I’ll present only some of them, but we can find lots of different varieties on the market today. So, let us start with the queen of citrus. Lemon.

1. Lemon 

As I mention I don’t like lemon. But when I was pregnant I could eat lemon all day. That sour taste was so yummy for me.  As a result of that my baby today eats lemon and adores that sour taste.

Lemon has so many positive things in his composition, and it’ll be so long to count them all. But I’ll write some of them. First of all, it has many vitamins (A, B, C, D) and beta carotene. If you catch a cold during the pregnancy what is the first thing that your doctor says to you?  To drink  vitamin C. And lemon have it plenty enough. Also lemon contains magnesium, iron, calcium, phosphorus, etc.If you have some problem with mustard like me in pregnancy (literally I had to sit while I was sleeping ’cause of the mustard) your solution is lemon. If you want to be fit and healthy in pregnancy eat a lemon.  If you have cosmetic problems (like pigmentation) also lemon is your salvation.Anyway, lemon is a very powerful fruit, so you should eat it often in pregnancy. If you a lucky, your baby might love lemon like mine.[3]

2. Orange

A favorite fruit of most of us., Orange has such lovely taste that no one could resist. Like most citrus  fruit orange has a lot of vitamin C. Also in orange we can find:

– minerals, which is keeping our bones

– calcium has a positive reaction on our nerve system and muscles

– potassium is very important for our heart, muscles, kidneys. Also, potassium helps us when we are tired.

You must know that orange has a lot of water, it’s made up 86% of it. So if you are hungry or thirsty eat an orange and you’ll be full.

I’ll give you some great recipes for how to make wonderful juice which is full of vitamin C, minerals, calcium, etc. This juice you can drink all day, wherever you’ve needed. It’s very good for baby development and you also. It’s very easy to make and very refresh on hot summer days.  If you want to make this juice properly you’ll need some juicer or blender If you don’t have some, you should buy it ’cause you’ll also make juice for your baby when she/he grows up.  My recommendation is to buy a juicer that is easy to handle, easy to clean, and most important juicer that can make delicious juice.

Ingredients:

1kg oranges

0,5 kg lemons

0,5g grapefruit

10o g lemon sugar

1 kg of sugar

1,5 l of water

Preparation:

In hot boiled water pour some(around one small spoon) baking soda and put oranges, lemons, and grapefruit. Don’t peel them or cut them, just put them in water. Leave them in, around one hour to eliminate possible spray residues (that’s the way we use baking soda). After that, you take the fruits from water and washed them well.

Half of the oranges peel off, another half leave it with peeled. Do it the same with lemons and grapefruit. Now, all fruit grind in a blender. Grind it good. If you don’t have space in your blender to do it once, do it twice if you must. In the ground, the fruit pours half of the water and adds one lemon sugar. Leave it like that for few hours ( I leave it this way about 3 hours). When it’s done, strain the fruit well. I do it in the old way, through the gauze, but you have so many cooking ads that should help you with this process.

In the rest of the water add sugar. Cook it till it boiled. Sugar will melt and now we’re having sweet water. Remove from the cooker and add the strained fruit. Put in 2 lemon sugar (around 50 grams). Stir it up well. Now you’re having two liters of healthy juice syrup. Then pour it into clean bottles and leave it in your fridge.

Serving

In a glass pour 1/2 of juice (syrup) and top up with water or graze water. If you like sweeter juice pour up 1/2 of syrup and rest top up with water.

With this juice, you’ll not have a refreshing drink but a vitamin bomb that will help you to stay healthy and strong. Also this recipe my mom used to drink during her pregnancy, and later she made it for me also. I was drinking this juice during my pregnancy, and my baby will do it the same when she is old enough.

Now let’s get on introduction us with rest of fruits. The next on the list are dried fruits.

Dried fruits

Dried fruits are all sort of fruits which original water content has been removed. It has two ways of removing water, naturally (through sun drying ) or through the use of special dryers. Either way, dried fruits are healthy and very powerful for use, especially for pregnant women.

We have so many sorts of dried fruit. For example apples, peaches, pears, apricots, blueberry, bananas, papaya, etc. They all are having high nutrition value. For me, dried fruit is a perfect replacement for unhealthy snacks (like chips). You can’t eat it during your walk, and this is the only sort of fruit that you don’t need any preparation for (not even to wash like others). But be careful how much you’re eating dried food. According to the doctors and nutritionist, you should eat only one handful per day.The good side of eating dried fruit is fiber. And these fruits are having it a lot. Taking fiber during pregnancy is very important ’cause it helps to pervert constipation, diabetes risk, perverting hemorrhoids, reducing risk from preeclampsia, etc.[4]

1. Dried apricots

Dried apricots are so good for your pregnancy. I’ll tell you a few facts about it, so when you read it you’ll see that you must eat dried apricot during whole your pregnancy for your health and the health of your baby.

– consider potassium, vitamin C, and iron

– help you improve your blood health

– help you if you have anemia

– if you have diabetes dried apricots can help you with that

– helps your skin for damage and aging

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we can eat two cups of dried apricots per day. But be careful where you’re buying dried fruit. Some dried fruit in the market is preserved using sulfur dioxide which may cause asthma for some people.

Organic-Turkish-Apricots-1-lb
This is organic, nature, antioxidant dried apricot. The best thing whit this apricot is the drying process, apricot is dried whole without sugar added. It's from Turkey where is natural soil apricot.

2.Dried figs

Dried figs are also a superfood for pregnancy. It’s rich in potassium, fiber, iron, and has plenty of calcium which is very important for a baby’s progress.  It contains a lot of Omega-3 fatty acids. When you’re eating Omega-3 fatty acid during pregnancy you have a lower chance of pre-term labor and premature delivery. Like a dried apricot, dried figs are full of fiber, also.

Figs-Krinos-Kalamata-Crown-Greece
This product is from Greece and Greece is a land where you can see a tree of figs in every corner. Dried natural in the sun, these figs are even sweeter than others. Organic, no sugar added, ready for you eat them in sweetness.

You must be careful in eating dried fruits. There is a list of it that you should avoid eating during pregnancy.

– dried papaya – it considers a lot of sugar

-dried pineapple-like papaya has a lot of sugar

All sorts of candied fruit you should avoid ’cause it contains lots of sugar.

Tropical fruit

One of most popular fruit and most delicious fruit in the world is tropical fruit. Very nutritious, brightly colored kind of fruit. They’re very unique ’cause they only grow in tropical area. Tropical fruit are full of vitamin C, fiber, magnesium etc. The most popular is banana.

Banana

This famous tropical fruit is rich in vitamin C, D, fiber, potassium. For pregnant women is good to eat a banana ’cause it helps you to full up your energy when you’re hungry between grand meals. It regulates your blood pressure ’cause of its rich source of potassium. But, be careful. Bananas consider a lot of sugar, so if you have gestational diabetes you should avoid eating bananas.

Fresh Organic Bananas Approximetly
Healthy, fresh organic bananas delivered for us. These bananas stays fresh longer than regular bananas .

Kiwi

Do you know how kiwi looks like? Do you know its original name? In Chinese is “muhuato” and it means that monkeys love kiwis. This unique fruit is green inside and full of vitamins and minerals. First I thought that kiwi isn’t good for me during pregnancy, but when my doctor said that kiwi considers lots of vitamin C, K, iron, fiber, calcium I ate kiwi during my hall pregnancy. Kiwi also considers lower glycemic index so it’s a perfect fruit for pregnant women with gestational diabetes. [5]

Conclusion

Let us resume what you’ve learned in this article. Fruits are full of vitamins, minerals, iron, calcium, fiber, etc. They are altogether very important for your pregnancy. But, as I was saying in begging eat it smart. With measure. Be careful we’re you buying your fruit. Please wash it up well. Eat it every day. Instead of junk food eat dried or nut fruit. Eat fruit every day. Several times if you like. Your baby will be happy and your organism satisfied.


[1] Manuela A. Orjuela, Lina Titievsky, Xinhua Liu, Marco Ramirez-Ortiz, Veronica Ponce-Castaneda, Evelia Lecona, Evelyn Molina, Katherine Beaverson, David H. Abramson and Nancy E. Mueller, Fruit and Vegetable Intake during Pregnancy and Risk for Development of Sporadic Retinoblastoma” (2005).

[2] R. I. Krieger, P. Brutsche-Keiper, H. R. Crosby, A. D. Krieger, “Reduction of Pesticide Residues of Fruit Using Water Only or Plus Fit™ Fruit and Vegetable Wash” , (2002)

[3] Parisa Yavari kia, Farzaneh Safajau, Mahnaz Shahnazi, Hossein Nazemiyeh,”The Effect of Lemon Inhalation Aromatherapy on Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy: A Double-Blinded, Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial”, (2014)

[4] Ronny Myhre, Anne Lisa Bransater, Sloveig Myking, Merete Eggesbo, Helle Margarete Meltzer, Margaretha Haugen, Bo Jacobsson, “Intakes of Garlic and Dried Fruits Are Associated with Lower Risk of Spontaneous Preterm Delivery” (2013)

[5] David P. Richardson, Juliet Ansell, Lynley  N. Drummond, “The nutritional and health attributes of kiwifruit: a review” (2018)

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Author

Vivian Perry

Vivian Perry

Mother of 3 kids. Enjoy reading parenting books and studied child care degree. Vivian loves to learn and write about parenting tips and help her kids to grow positively with grit mindset.

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