Eating cherries during pregnancy can be quite a nutritious and delicious indulgence, as well cherries provide quite a few benefits to you during this rather crucial time. Pregnant women are usually advised to consume foods rich in nutrients to keep up with the body’s needs during pregnancy.
And, cherries can be really helpful for this as they are rich in Vitamin C. Some women even end up craving cherries during pregnancy. That being said, it would certainly be wise to look out for allergies and other side effects just in case.
Is It Safe To Eat Cherries During Pregnancy?
One of the first questions asked is, “are cherries safe during pregnancy?”, and for the most part, the answer is a resounding yes. Cherries are certainly safe to consume during pregnancy, and can even boost your immunity, as well as provide you with some much-needed nutrition.
However, some women may have, or develop allergies to cherries, and therefore it is strongly advised that you proceed with some caution, and keep an eye out for side effects and allergic reactions. If you notice any reaction after consuming cherries, immediately consult your doctor for professional advice.
Related Reading: 21 Pregnancy Superfoods To Include In Your Pregnancy Diet
Nutritional Profile Of Cherries
Proper nutrition is crucial during pregnancy, as one may face a great many nutritional deficiencies during this time. This is due to the body’s increased demand for nutrients in order to accommodate the fetus’ needs.
As a result of this, pregnant women may face many health issues of varying severity, including the likes of nausea, fatigue, improper bowel movements, headaches, lack of sleep, and so on.
Cherries, as mentioned earlier, boast a rather expansive nutritional profile, providing you with some much-needed nutrients during pregnancy. The nutrients in cherries include:
- Vitamin C
- Fiber
- Potassium
- Manganese
- Copper
- Protein
- Carbohydrates
- Iron
All of above are available in significant quantities in cherries. In addition to this, cherries are also rather low in calories, and so can make delicious and healthy, low-calorie snack.
7 Benefits Of Eating Cherries During Pregnancy
Cherries offer a number of health benefits, which are all the more important during pregnancy. A few benefits of eating cherries during pregnancy are:
1. Helps boost immunity
During pregnancy, your immunity tends to be significantly lower than usual, and as such, you might be left vulnerable to a number of ailments during this time. This is because your body dedicates more nutrients to the development of the fetus, leaving little for yourself.
Eating cherries and particularly black cherries during pregnancy can help you boost immunity easily at home as they are rich in melatonin, which is crucial for the proper functioning of your immune system. In addition to this, they also contain rich amounts of Vitamin C and other antioxidants which help to fend off infectious diseases and other common ailments.
Especially consuming cherries during 3rd trimester of pregnancy can provide you with a much-needed boost in immunity against such ailments.
2. Helps treat constipation
During pregnancy, it is completely natural for a woman to experience irregularities in bowel movements due to somewhat extreme fluctuations in their diet. A woman’s diet can change rather drastically during pregnancy, which in turn can cause a rather dramatic change in their bowel movements.
In somewhat extreme cases, one might even experience constipation.
One of the best ways to treat constipation during pregnancy and maintain a healthier bowel movement is by consuming a healthy amount of fiber, which cherries just so happen to be rich in.
However, if you are consuming cherries, for this reason, it would be wise to consult a physician beforehand. This will help to determine the appropriate amount and frequency with which you consume cherries.
Conversely, consuming dried cherries can also help treat diarrhea, making it an all-around good food to maintain a healthy bowel movement.
3. Helps sleep better
Sleep would be one of the first things to be drastically affected as a result of pregnancy. The fluctuations in your energy and your body’s rather exhaustive requirements can leave you tired and often sleepless.
Lot of health issues can arise due to insufficient or improper sleep; it is vital that you take care of your sleeping schedule at the earliest. The antioxidant melatonin mentioned earlier, which cherries are rich in, can help achieve just that.
And while consuming cherries in any manner can be helpful, it is highly recommended that you drink a glass of cherry juice a day to improve your sleep cycles. It is also worth keeping in mind that tart cherries are considerably richer in antioxidants than sweet cherries are, and as such can give better results.
Related Reading: 8 Causes Of Sleep Deprivation During Pregnancy
4. Helps strengthen blood vessels and improve blood flow
With the high demand for nutrients for your baby, there is little nutrition left to sustain your own body. Because of this, it is not uncommon for pregnant women to have weaker blood vessels and improper blood flow.
This can lead to fatigue, headaches, and even fluctuating blood pressure, which in turn can lead to preeclampsia, which is a condition in pregnant women are often characterized by high blood pressure. However, this can be combated by consuming cherries, which are rich in Vitamin C.
Vitamin C can greatly help strengthen your blood vessels, helping them pump blood more effectively and thus improving blood flow. Cherries are also rich in iron and potassium, which also contribute greatly to improving blood flow and vitality.
5. Helps combat nausea and fatigue
Nausea and fatigue are very common occurrences in pregnant women, as they can more often than not, experience nutritional deficiencies and intense exhaustion as a result of the increased nutritional needs of the fetus. Irregularities in blood pressure are also very common which can further increase the likelihood of fatigue during pregnancy.
Cherries can help protect you against this with all the nutrients they can provide and is indeed a food to help combat morning sickness. Being rich in potassium, cherries can help avoid fatigue entirely, and control blood pressure levels. Potassium is also a great source of energy, and as such, can help you feel less exhausted and burnt out. In addition to this, the sweet and sour taste of cherries can also help prevent nausea.
For these reasons, it is highly recommended that you consume cherries during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy.
6. Helps prevent gestational diabetes
As mentioned earlier, pregnant women can experience a number of fluctuations in their bodies during pregnancy as a result of the increased demand for nutrients and increased strain they experience in order to accommodate the fetus. Thus, they may also experience greatly fluctuating levels of blood sugar, which can sometimes lead to gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is a condition that may occur in pregnant women who experience an unhealthy increase in blood sugar levels, and it can affect from 3.8% to 17.9% in different parts of India. As you can imagine, though this is not too common an occurrence, it can lead to complications in the future. Therefore, it is better to take steps to prevent it early on.
Cherries can help prevent gestational diabetes as they are known to keep blood sugar levels in check. However, it is important that you do not consume too many cherries, as they also contain natural sugars, so can end up having the opposite effect.
7. Helps relieve muscle pains
Muscle pains are all too common in pregnant women, especially during the late second and third trimesters. While this need not be too much of an issue, it can sometimes get bad, and in any case, it can be treated rather easily.
Related Reading: 7 Home Remedies For Abdominal Pain During Pregnancy
Consuming cherries is a wonderful way to do just this because they greatly help relieve muscle pains in pregnant women, as they are anti-inflammatory in nature
Risks And Precautions Of Eating Cherries During Pregnancy
As mentioned above, cherries, for the most part, are perfectly safe to consume and offer a plethora of health benefits as well. Nevertheless, it would be wise to consider some of the risks of consuming cherries during pregnancy and proceed with a little caution.
The risks of consuming cherries during pregnancy include:
- It is not unheard of for a pregnant woman to develop allergies to cherries if they don’t have such an allergy already. Though it is usually a rare case, it is still important that you keep an eye out for allergic symptoms and side effects, and consult your doctor immediately, if you notice any
- It is reported that a few pregnant women experience abdominal pains, excess gas and bloating upon consuming cherries during pregnancy. While this is relatively less dangerous than a potential allergy, it is worth taking into account and consulting your doctor just in case
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As always, there are a few precautions you can take to mitigate the potential risks of consuming cherries during pregnancy, as well as exercise cautions against potential health hazards:
- First and foremost, it is strongly advised that you consult your doctor or dietician before fully incorporating cherries into your diet, as well as keep them updated on potential symptoms and reactions that may stem from consuming cherries during pregnancy. This way, you can detect allergies if you develop any, and avoid any allergic complications
- Always wash your cherries and make sure they are fresh before consuming them, to remove any persistent bacteria or germs, and avoid infections
- Consume only pitted cherries, as the leaves and bark of cherries contain hydrocyanic acid, which is poisonous to the human body and can have drastic consequences if taken in substantial amounts.
Conclusion
Cherries are highly nutritious. Some of the benefits of consuming cherries during pregnancy are downright essential when your immunity will be relatively low, leaving you susceptible to quite a few ailments. However, it is always wise to seek advice from your doctor before including fruits like cherries in your pregnancy diet.