Garlic is a long-known herbal antiseptic. It is usually taken to prevent infectious diseases. And thanks to its unique taste, it is also used as a piquant note for hot dishes. But can garlic be consumed during pregnancy? Here you need to thoroughly understand the benefits and harms of this product.
Composition and characteristics
Garlic is a perennial plant with a sharp taste and a characteristic odor. It is eaten both raw and cooked. But most often it is used as seasoning for the main dish.
Garlic owes its taste properties to allicin (essential oil), which is contained in its composition. Allicin is an organic compound that has a powerful antioxidant property. Its amount in the composition of the plant ranges from 0.23 to 0.74% per 100 grams.
In addition to allicin, the composition of garlic includes (per 100 g):
- Macronutrients (calcium - 180 mg, potassium - 400 mg, sodium - 17 mg).
- Trace elements (magnesium - 26 mg, zinc - 1.2 mg, selenium - 14 mg, manganese - 1.7 mg, iron - 1.7 mg).
- Vitamins (B 1 -B 3 , B 5 , B 6 , B 9 , C).
Despite the fact that in its pure form, garlic is rarely consumed, there is evidence of its nutritional value:
- Calorie content - 149 Kcal / 623 kJ.
- Proteins - 6.4 g.
- Fats - 0.5 g.
- Carbohydrates - 33.1 g.
Also, garlic contains sugar (about 1 g per 100 g) and water in an amount of 58 g. In addition, other components should be mentioned, such as caffeic and pyruvic acid. Thanks to vitamin and mineral cocktail, garlic is one of the most useful vegetable crops. And its essential oil - to the best antioxidant plant substances.
The use of garlic in medicine
During pregnancy, garlic is very often used precisely for medicinal purposes. As an element in the complex treatment of certain diseases, it is really indispensable. After all, it has the following effect on the body:
- anti-inflammatory;
- fungicidal;
- antimalarial;
- antiviral;
- antiparasitic.
During the period of viral diseases, garlic is used as a prophylaxis for acute respiratory viral infections and influenza, since it protects the body from bacteria and strengthens the immune system. It will also be useful in the fight against bacteria and parasites. It has been proven that garlic actively affects Escherichia coli, staphylococcus, salmonella and fungi of the genus Candida.
However, the unequivocally affirmative answer to the question of whether garlic can be given during pregnancy cannot be given. This is because the use of this product is safe only in the absence of contraindications.
The benefits of garlic during pregnancy
Pregnant women are advised to avoid using excessive amounts of synthetic medications. Therefore, doctors always try to choose a more gentle treatment for them, including using garlic or drugs based on its essential oil. Recommendations for the use of this vegetable crop are based on the benefits that it can bring to a woman's body. The beneficial properties of garlic include:
- Prevention and treatment of toxicosis.
- Neutralization of putrefactive and pathogenic bacteria during food poisoning.
- Improving appetite and accelerating metabolic processes in the body.
- Prevention of thrombosis due to blood thinning.
- Decreased blood sugar.
- Prevention and treatment of viral diseases.
- Strengthening immunity in the season of outbreaks of acute respiratory viral infections and influenza.
- Lowering blood pressure.
- Helminthiasis treatment.
Despite all the benefits of garlic during pregnancy, do not be too zealous for its use. Indeed, in addition to a positive effect, it also has the exact opposite effect on the body.
Garlic Harm
The harm from garlic can be experienced only if an excess of its essential oil enters the body. It doesn’t matter how this happens: directly from food or from preparations based on it.
The harmful properties of garlic during pregnancy include:
- The risk of provoking uterine contractions. Therefore, especially carefully should take garlic during pregnancy in the early and late stages.
- Allergic reactions. Only women who have observed the side effects of garlic are prone to allergies. However, there is an opinion that its excessive use can provoke an allergy in a child to this product.
- Heartburn or stomach pain. Garlic has a spicy taste, which can cause stomach problems.
- Blood thinning. During pregnancy, garlic can only be consumed by women who do not have a disease such as thrombocytopenia. Otherwise, it will only provoke additional complications for both the mother and the child.
Contraindications
If we consider garlic not as a seasoning, but as a therapeutic drug, it is necessary to highlight a number of pathologies and diseases in which the use of this product is contraindicated. These include:
- allergies
- gastritis;
- stomach ulcer;
- liver and kidney diseases;
- gastrointestinal problems;
- disturbances in the central nervous system and cardiovascular system;
- signs of toxicosis associated with the smell of garlic.
Early-growing garlic
Despite the fact that one of the harmful properties of garlic is the stimulation of uterine contractions, it is extremely rare. This phenomenon was mainly observed in healthy patients who consumed this product in excess. Therefore, speaking about whether garlic is possible in the early stages of pregnancy, you need to know the norm, which is 1-2 cloves per day.
Those women who in the first trimester experience pulling pain in the abdomen or have spotting, should abandon the use of this product. Contraindications can also be diseases of the liver and kidneys.
To be absolutely sure that garlic is possible during early pregnancy, you need to seek individual advice from a gynecologist. Based on the patient’s medical data and test results, he can weigh the risks a woman is exposed to during the gestation period.
Second and third trimesters of pregnancy
The ban on the use of garlic at these stages of pregnancy may be associated with a reduced number of red blood cells. This is very common among women, so you need to regularly take a blood test and, if necessary, take drugs that thicken it.
At 7-9 months of pregnancy, when the baby begins to take up more space, many pregnant women complain of heartburn attacks. Unfortunately, garlic is one of the factors that can provoke it. And if in the second trimester, doctors find no reason to prohibit a healthy woman from consuming garlic as a prophylaxis, then in the third trimester they are still advised to abstain from it, so as not to provoke a premature birth.
Garlic: Dosage and Administration
The norm for pregnant women is 1-3 cloves of fresh garlic per day. Most often they are rubbed with croutons, but there are other ways to use it. For example, garlic oil. It includes garlic, fresh lemon and butter. To prepare garlic oil, grind lemon and garlic in a blender. Then the resulting mixture is mixed with butter (100-150 g), which must be preheated to room temperature. The resulting mixture is formed into a bar and left to solidify in the refrigerator.
In folk medicine, a milk-garlic drink is recommended to be used to combat parasites. To prepare such a mixture, it is necessary to add 10-15 drops of garlic juice in 1 cup of milk. Due to the specific taste, the drink should be consumed in small portions throughout the day.
Garlic-honey mixture is used to prevent colds. For its preparation, garlic is mixed with honey in a ratio of 1: 1. The resulting mixture can be stored in the refrigerator, consumed 1 teaspoon per day.
Pregnant women should not arbitrarily get involved in traditional medicine. All actions must be coordinated with the doctor, who will give detailed recommendations on the use of a particular product.