Avocado fruits have gained popularity only in recent years, while the strange-looking fruit immediately fell in love with fans of a healthy lifestyle. The composition of the avocado and its nutritional value are also interesting, and therefore pregnant women often wonder whether it is possible to add fruit to the diet while carrying a child, whether it will harm. Let's try to answer these questions within the framework of this article.
Benefits for pregnant women
Avocado is an overseas, exotic fruit, and it is this fact that raises the greatest number of questions, since it is believed that more benefits for a woman in an “interesting position” will come from fruits and vegetables that are “their own, relatives”, growing in the area of permanent residence of the future. mom.
Indeed, the exotic origin of the fetus has recently been considered a contraindication for its use during pregnancy. However, the standards of the World Health Organization have changed somewhat, and now such products, which may contain potential allergens, on the contrary, they are recommended for expectant mothers in small quantities, since it is believed that this way the risks of a child being born with an allergy are significantly reduced.
Avocado is rich in vitamins A, C, E, group B. Mineral composition is presented potassium and manganese, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, copper, magnesium. Early in life, avocados can be a great source folic acid - a vitamin that is extremely important for the proper formation of the central nervous system of the fetus. Lack of folate can lead to neural tube defects, many of which are incompatible with life.
The use of avocados should be wise, prudent and careful, experts say. It is difficult to predict whether he will be able to cause an allergic reaction in the expectant mother. Indeed, even the absence of allergies to a particular product does not at all guarantee that after conception everything will be the same. Immunity begins to work in a different mode, and therefore negative reactions may well appear completely unexpectedly.
Avocados are great for satisfying hunger due to their high calorie content. In terms of nutritional value, only half of the fruit can replace a piece of meat with a side dish. This is what women often use when losing weight, "deceiving" their body, but during pregnancy such "tricks" are unacceptable. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce avocados into the diet only when there are no problems with being overweight and only as part of a full-fledged complex diet.
Therefore, if you really want a piece of avocado, you can eat it, there is no ban. But fruit cannot and should not be the basis of the diet.
Avocado oil can be used as a tasty addition. You can always fill a salad, main dishes with them. The oil contains the same composition and is rich in vitamins and minerals no less than pulp. The oil can be incorporated into hair masks, rubbed into nails if their condition worsened during pregnancy.
Fruit oil has one more use. It can be applied externally for stretch marks. Stretch marks on the skin are very difficult to cure, but it can be prevented, for this the product can be mixed with olive oil and a useful massage of the skin, increasing their elasticity and contributing to the saturation of the skin with collagen.
One third of the fruit of the fruit consists of vegetable fats. This is important for the prevention of atherosclerosis, for improving the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Dietary fiber improves intestinal peristalsis, which is important for the prevention of constipation.
Vitamin C in the fruit will support the woman's immunity weakened during pregnancy, and B vitamins will help normalize blood formation and the work of the nervous system.
Since ancient times, avocado has been considered a rejuvenating fruit, with its regular use, memory improves, vitality and performance increase.
Possible harm and contraindications
Overseas fruit is contraindicated for women with a burdened allergic history.
It is strongly discouraged for expectant mothers who are allergic to citrus fruits and latex.
For everyone else, if there are no other contraindications, you need to start with a small piece. If after a day there are no negative reactions from the digestive system and skin, then we can say that a woman does not suffer from individual avocado intolerance.
You should not eat the leaves of the fruit tree, and pregnant women are prohibited from taking the fruit with the seed. It contains toxic substances that can cause food poisoning, intoxication, and a severe form of allergic immune reaction. Avocado peels are also dangerous, so remember to peel the fruit.
The pulp of the fruit is high in calories, and therefore gaining extra pounds by consuming a lot of avocados is as easy as shelling pears. The fruit is not recommended for women who are obese or gain more during pregnancy than obstetric weight gain requires.
Avocados are not recommended for pregnant women suffering from liver and gall bladder diseases. But with diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes, a woman can eat an avocado with the permission of the attending physician, it is especially recommended lightly add salt to the pulp.
How to use it correctly?
If your doctor has nothing against your craving for avocado, you should remember that this is more of a treat than part of the mother-to-be's daily diet. For every day, the menu should provide for the presence of meat, fish, dairy products, herbs, fruits and vegetables of local, "native", and avocado - on holidays.
Foreign fruit It goes well with a wide variety of foods and can be added to both a slice of fish and a fruit salad.
Remember only that you need to adhere to the measure. 1 ripe fruit should be consumed no more than 1-2 times a week maximum.
Avocado oil can be used more often. As a tasty and healthy fatty salad dressing or cold second course, it can be added to the diet up to 3-5 times a week. Most sauces are prohibited during pregnancy, and here you can make an excellent analogue of mayonnaise by simply mixing avocado oil and a few drops of lemon juice.
In the later stages, the use of avocado oil is considered an effective way to prepare muscles and ligaments for the upcoming birth. The ability to increase the amount of collagen is useful not only in the prevention of stretch marks, but also to prevent ruptures in the birth process.
Some people use a mixture of olive oil and avocado oil to massage the perineum in the third trimester - this measure is also considered one of the preventive measures to prevent tears.
How to choose a ripe fruit?
Avocados during pregnancy will be more beneficial if the woman and her loved ones learn to choose the right ripe fruits. Unripe fruits are tasteless, tough, they contain much less nutrients than ripe ones.
A good fruit has an even and intact skin, which does not show brownish and gray spots on visual inspection.
The presence of spots indicates that the fetus is already overripe, and such a fruit will also not be useful for a pregnant woman and her baby.
Ripe, good fruit is not too hard to the touch, but not too soft. Loose fruit is a sign of overripe fruit. If you lightly press your finger on the skin of an avocado, then a small dent will form on the ripe one, which quickly straightens out and disappears. If the fruit is harvested before it has reached maturity, there will be no dent at all.
If you see an avocado with a stalk on the counter, try breaking the stalk itself. Immaturity is indicated by the inability to break the stalk. The color of the flesh of a good fruit is green. If brownish shades are visible in it, then the fruit is overripe, and with a visible clear yellowness, it did not have time to ripen.
The best fruits that will bring maximum benefit to the pregnant woman are slightly elongated, while perfectly round fruits are more a sign that the fruit was taken from the tree before it was fully ripe.
Since the fruits are imported, it is sometimes very difficult to find perfectly ripe fruits in Russian stores. Do not despair, you can buy such, but you should not use them right away, it is better to wait until they ripen... This may take 2 to 5 days. Store the fruit at room temperature during this time, not in the refrigerator. Each fruit should be wrapped in paper or paper towels.
