During pregnancy, a global restructuring takes place in a woman’s life: the ordinary way of life, routine, and, of course, taste preferences change. Being in an interesting position, the future mother often feels the desire to enjoy acidic or salty foods. One of the most popular and at the same time incredibly healthy fruits, to which pregnant women experience an inexplicable craving, are apples.
The benefits of apples during pregnancy
Apples have long been considered an unusually valuable source of all kinds of useful substances. Their constituent components are organic as well as fruit acids, which help strengthen the walls of blood vessels, a lot of different groups of vitamins, tannins. Also in the composition of apples there are noted such trace elements necessary for the full functioning of the body as potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, manganese, iron and sulfur.
Due to the fiber contained in apples, the consumption of this fruit improves metabolism. Pectins, which are also a component of apples, take an active part in cleansing the body of the toxins and toxins present in it.
Interestingly, pregnant women are recommended to enrich their diet with seeds from apples, as they are very rich in iodine. So, only seven apple seeds contain a whole daily norm of iodine.
For expectant mothers, apples during pregnancy are a wonderful product that provides the body with a mass of useful substances and helps to prevent a weakening of the immune system. Apples are low-calorie, since almost 90% of them are water, and therefore, consuming the fruits, a woman will not have to worry about an additional weight gain.
Features of eating apples
Despite the fact that apples during pregnancy are of great benefit to the body, do not overly include them in your diet. Experienced gynecologists argue that the most optimal amount is 4 small-sized apples per day.
It is very important for pregnant women to know that apple peel (especially autumn and winter apple varieties) can cause colic and bloating, and therefore it is strongly recommended to peel it off.
It is necessary to consume apples during pregnancy approximately 30 minutes before the upcoming meal, since they will do more harm than good on a full stomach (they can linger in the stomach, causing bloating and pain). Moreover, the long digestion of apples, which occurs if a woman ate them at the end of a meal, deprives the fruit of its beneficial properties.
Of great benefit are not only fresh apples during pregnancy, but also baked ones. Their use favorably affects the work of the intestine, which allows you to get rid of such an urgent problem when bearing a baby, like constipation. Baked apples retain a huge amount of vitamins, minerals and fruit acids found in fresh apples. The only exception is vitamin C.
Rules for choosing apples
There are a huge variety of varieties of apples. But if you do not go into horticultural subtleties, then you can simply divide the apples into red, yellow and green. According to experts, it is green apples that are most useful during pregnancy, since they contain the most trace elements, vitamins and other important substances. Green apples, compared to yellow or red, are unusually rich in iron.
Precautionary measures
Allergy-prone women in an interesting situation should not abuse red apples, as they can cause allergic reactions. Pregnant women suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular system must refuse to include sweet varieties of apples in their diet . If the expectant mother is sick with gastritis or a duodenal ulcer, then all apples during pregnancy, despite their enormous benefits, are under the strictest ban, and it is strictly forbidden to use them.
Extremely carefully, you need to eat seeds from apples. As already noted, they contain a large amount of iodine, as well as hydrocyanic acid - a substance that in significant quantities is a strong poison for the body. Therefore, do not eat more than 4 apple seeds per day.
Sugar, as well as fruit acids, can have a negative effect on tooth enamel. In order to minimize the likelihood of this kind of consequences, it is recommended to rinse your mouth every time after eating apples.
Apple juice in a pregnant woman’s diet
Freshly squeezed apple juice is also of great benefit to a pregnant woman. It is very important to make such a drink yourself, as various preservatives and artificial additives are part of industrial-made juices.
You can drink an apple drink twice a day for 200 ml. This will be quite enough to enrich the body with a mass of useful substances contained in a fresh apple. The juice obtained from the fruits of the apple improves the motor activity of the unborn baby, which, in turn, develops its muscular and cardiovascular systems.
It is interesting
Research has proved the fact that babies of those mothers who often included apples in their diet are much less likely to suffer from ailments such as allergies or bronchial asthma. Such a beneficial effect of apples is associated with antioxidants, which are so rich in these fruits.
Thus, the answer to the question of whether apples can be pregnant is obvious. These fruits are extremely important both for the woman herself and for the tiny man in her womb. And therefore, many future mothers say: "During pregnancy, I eat apples every day, because they are very tasty, healthy, and also low-calorie."