Carrots are a healthy root vegetable that is included in both general diets and therapeutic nutrition diets. However, this product requires some caution during pregnancy. This article will discuss how to properly eat carrots while waiting for the baby.
Benefits for pregnant women
Women with the onset of pregnancy receive recommendations to eat vegetables and fruits from everywhere: from doctors and relatives, girlfriends and from books. It is recommended to pay special attention to carrots during pregnancy. This root vegetable has not only a rich, but also a balanced vitamin and mineral composition. It contains a lot of vitamin A, in high concentrations there is ascorbic acid, vitamins E and K, almost the full spectrum of B vitamins.
Among the mineral salts in carrots, fluorine, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron are in the lead. The root vegetable contains natural, natural sugars, represented by glucose, and essential oils are also present in some amount. Carrots are rich in plant fiber, antioxidants, anthocyanins.
The composition and properties of carrots have long been noted by doctors. The abundance of vitamin A is a factor in supporting the vision of the pregnant woman herself, as well as a guarantee of the correct formation of the fetal vision organs, which is very important in the early stages.
At the same time, vitamin A in excessively large quantities in the first trimester is dangerous with the likelihood of gross malformations of the fetus, and therefore, with the use of carrots, you should know when to stop.
Orange carrot is a good antiseptic, it gently cleanses the oral cavity and digestive tract, enhances the woman's immunity, which is very important, because the body's natural defenses are reduced during pregnancy. Vegetable fiber of fresh carrots helps cleanse the body of toxins and toxins, enhances intestinal motility. All this makes the product ideal for the prevention of constipation and hemorrhoids - delicate problems that expectant mothers face both in the early and late stages.
The use of carrots, due to the properties of mineral salts included in it, helps to lower blood pressure. Carrot juice has mucotic effect and helps to liquefy and remove bronchial secretions, if a woman is sick and needs natural remedies to fight cough.
Carrots in the diet of the expectant mother gently stimulates the production of bile, protects its heart and blood vessels, helps to fight anemia, to which almost all women in position are subject to one degree or another. Boiled carrots are acceptable for pregnant women with diabetes. It can be added to their diet by expectant mothers who are obese. This vegetable does not lead to weight gain.
So that the vitamin composition of raw carrots is better absorbed, it is recommended to combine the product with vegetable oils, since vitamin A is fat-soluble... To a greater extent, carrots will be useful with butter or fat sour cream.
If a woman wants carrots, don't limit yourself. The restrictions should apply only to the amount of food eaten in the first trimester, especially if the expectant mother, as prescribed by the doctor, takes additional vitamin preparations, which include vitamin A in a daily dosage.
Thanks to the mild cleansing effect, carrots help against toxicosis, heartburn, it is useful for women with digestive problems, even if they worsen during pregnancy.
Potential harm and contraindications
Carrots during pregnancy can be harmful if a woman eats them without measure. Overeating threatens with congenital malformations of the fetus due to hypervitaminosis A, as well as constant and systematic intestinal disorders due to overexcitation of the nerve receptors of the intestine by plant fiber.
Carrots are not recommended for women with food or non-food allergies. It is not recommended to eat carrots for expectant mothers who suffer from acute pancreatitis or inflammatory processes in the intestines. They should not eat the product raw, it is better to stop at the boiled, baked or stewed version.
The same cooking method should be followed by women with diabetes, including its gestational form.
For most pregnant women, carrots are not only allowed, but also highly recommended.
How to make juice?
Not everyone likes fresh and raw carrots. Finding women who are drawn to carrots with the onset of pregnancy is not so easy. But the beauty of the product is that it can be eaten in various forms. You can stew it and add it to first courses, bake carrot biscuits for a sweet treat, and make carrot juice. It is allowed for pregnant women at any time.
It is the juice that is considered an excellent remedy for toxicosis. It improves appetite, stimulates normal digestion, speeds up metabolism, reduces heartburn, and also reduces the likelihood of constipation and exacerbation of hemorrhoids. It's believed that a glass of carrot juice per day in the 3rd trimester helps the body of the expectant mother prepare for childbirth, increases tissue elasticity and thereby reduces the risk of ruptures in the birth process.
It is better to prepare root vegetable juice yourself, because packaged and bottled juice, which is available in stores, contains preservatives and sweeteners. You need to drink it immediately after spinning., because already in a quarter of an hour after receiving the product, the amount of nutrients in it decreases several times. A drop of olive oil or vegetable oil should be added to the squeezed juice so that the fat-soluble vitamins are better absorbed.
How to use it correctly?
If the expectant mother does not have the contraindications described above, then the daily recommended amount of the product per day is 1-2 medium-sized root vegetables. If a pregnant woman makes a salad or juice, then the volume is the same. It should be remembered that thermal exposure affects the amount of nutrients: when boiling or stewing, carrots contain much less vitamins than a raw product.
Do not combine carrots with hot spices, garlic, heated vegetable oil. That is why Korean-style carrots are not the best choice for a pregnant woman, while grated carrots with apple and sour cream are a more suitable option.
Carrots will help pregnant women to overcome some problems. For instance, a few drops of fresh carrot juice dripped into the nasal passages, according to traditional medicine, help with a cold. And if a pregnant woman has an extremely unpleasant sore throat, then the juice diluted with water will an excellent rinse for the mouth and throat. Expectant mothers who have protein in the urine in the 2-3 trimester, but there is no obvious triad of signs of gestosis, it is recommended to eat more carrots, seasoning it with vegetable oil or sour cream.
To prevent constipation, it is recommended to eat carrot salad in the morning. A decoction of carrot seeds can be used as a drink that lowers blood pressure.
There are peculiarities in each of the three trimesters. In the 1st trimester, when the fetus is forming, a woman should monitor the amount of this root vegetable in the diet, remembering that an excess of vitamin A is much worse than its lack. If in doubt, you should consult with your doctor, who will calculate how much beta-carotene a woman takes on average per day and will tell you exactly how much fresh vegetable a pregnant woman can eat per day.
In the second trimester, when the formation of fetal organs has already been completed, a woman, if desired, can stop limiting herself in this root crop. Hypervitaminosis A is no longer dangerous, and it is difficult to deny the benefits of the composition of the product.
In the third trimester, there are no significant restrictions on the number of carrots. But before giving birth, you should not abuse raw carrots, so as not to cause diarrhea and other digestive disorders. It is better to drink carrot juice, it will help prevent constipation and saturate the body with all the nutrients necessary for a pregnant woman and her baby.
When choosing a root crop for feeding pregnant women, preference should be given to not the most beautiful and even fruits, since evenness and standardness are more characteristic of fruits grown with the use of nitrogenous fertilizers. It is better if the carrot, even if not the cutest in appearance, is grown in its own garden plot.
For the beneficial properties of carrots, see the next video.
