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Medical Video: Ready to Surprise Your Baby with Avocado During Pregnancy? Here is Why You Will Be Amazed!
It is true that all calories from your food will be beneficial for the growth of the baby in the womb. But many health experts say, the key to a healthy diet during pregnancy is to increase nutrition, not to double the meal. Pregnancy is an important time for mothers to eat more iron, calcium, protein, vitamins A, B and C, folate, magnesium, selenium (needed for the thyroid gland), and zinc.
You can meet your daily calorie and nutritional needs by eating avocados. Rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, avocados are an excellent source of balanced nutrition at all stages of life, especially during pregnancy. There are no compounds in avocados that are known to cause harm to the womb. There is also no special taboo to avoid eating avocados during pregnancy - unless you have an avocado allergy.
Here are 5 reasons why pregnant women should start eating avocados.
Benefits of eating avocados during pregnancy
1. Avocados are rich in folic acid
Avocados are a unique fruit among other fruits and vegetables. Because, when compared to the weight of fruit, avocados contain higher amounts of folic acid than bananas, for example. Half an avocado contains about 90 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid, while two bananas contain 60 mcg of folic acid.
READ ALSO: Vegetarian Diet When Pregnant, May Or Not?
Folic acid is the main nutrient during pregnancy that produces and maintains new cells. Fulfilling adequate folate during the first trimester of pregnancy is very important because your baby's central nervous system (including the brain and spinal cord) is being formed at this time.
Intake of folic acid prevents nerve defects in infants. Lack of folic acid can cause bone defects in unborn babies. Folic acid is also reported to be able to prevent complications of pregnant women such as depression, lethargy, anemia, insomnia, mood swings, and preeclampsia.
2. Avocados are a good source of fat
You need to gain weight during pregnancy. However, you need to do it in a healthy way. Junk food will only fill your body with saturated fat which only settles long in the body; increases the risk of obesity and heart disease.
Avocados are enriched with monounsaturated calories and fat. Monounsaturated fats are "good" fats that help you meet the calorie needs needed. Eating 3.5 ounces of avocado alone is around 177 calories.
This good fat also helps in developing cell structures like your baby's membrane. When your baby starts to grow, millions of new cells are created which consist of membranes made of fat.
3. Avocados are rich in fiber which is good for health
Constipation is the most common complaint found by pregnant women. Diligent eating avocados during pregnancy can overcome this problem. Avocados contain high soluble fiber, the main food for good bacteria in the intestine to improve digestion and maintain overall health of the body's metabolism.
READ ALSO: Do We Need to Defecate Every Day?
In addition, fiber in avocados can really help reduce the possibility of excessive weight gain during pregnancy which is a risk factor for gestational diabetes (and the long-term risk of diabetes in general).
4. Avocados help speed up the process of absorption of nutrients
Avocados can provide you with recommendations for daily intake of protein, vitamin K, folate, vitamin C, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, and vitamin E. These tasty yellowish green fruits also contain magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, zinc, calcium, phosphorus , vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and vitamin B3. Avocados also contain higher amounts of some non-essential compounds, such as fiber, monounsaturated fats, omega 3 fatty acids, and fat-soluble antioxidants - all of which have been linked to improved maternal health, birth outcomes and / or the quality of breast milk.
Interestingly, all these combinations of quality nutrients actually help your body to better absorb nutrients from other sources. In fact, research shows that eating avocados can help increase the absorption of carotenoids by the body, which is found in carrots, sweet potatoes, and green vegetables.
5. Avocados relieve leg cramps
Pregnant women often complain of leg cramps. Foot cramps are caused by a lack of potassium. Eating avocados can relieve pain caused by cramps because of the potassium content. During pregnancy your blood volume increases by 50% which means you will need a little more potassium than usual. The recommended potassium intake for pregnant women is 4,700 milligrams (mg) of potassium per day. Per 100 grams of avocado contains 458 mg of potassium.
READ ALSO: List of Foods that Pregnant Women Should Avoid
Which must be considered before eating avocados during pregnancy
Remember, before processing avocados in your diet, make sure that other ingredients do not contain ingredients that can harm the womb. The American Pregnancy Association also urges women to wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly before consumption to minimize the risk of contamination from pesticides or bacteria.
Always consult and follow the advice of the obstetrician, midwife, or prenatal nutritionist to determine the safest healthy food for pregnancy.
