It is no surprise that there is a lot of demand from you and your body when you are pregnant or while you plan your pregnancy. With a diet that is filled with fruits and vegetables, all the required nutrients and vitamins reach the baby easily. Vitamin C during pregnancy is one such thing that is crucial for the baby’s development.
Collagen — a fiber that helps build the baby’s body is present in vitamin C. Fortunately, it is easily available from a properly planned pregnancy diet. Vitamin C during pregnancy is vital as it not only helps to boost your immune system also reduces the risk of iron deficiency anemia.
Learn more about the importance of vitamin C during pregnancy, its benefits, and the foods that are best in it.
Why Is Vitamin C Important During Pregnancy?
Whether you are pregnant or not, vitamin C is an important antioxidant and an essential vitamin for all. Vitamin C during pregnancy plays a major role in the growth and development of the baby. Also, during pregnancy, it acts as an immunity booster and prevents you from developing the risk of iron deficiency anemia and heart diseases.
Though doctors recommend many prenatal vitamins, vitamin C during pregnancy is important as it helps in the overall well-being of the mom and the developing baby. Also, vitamin C is required for your body to make collagen — which helps in the growth of the baby’s skin, tendon, and bone. Also, it plays the role of antioxidants and protects your cells from the damages caused by free radicals.
Since vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, it needs to be replenished and you can’t overdose on it. Vitamin C is crucial daily as the role of collagen is significant in healing wounds and is an easy way having a healthy & glowing skin during pregnancy. Also, according to a source, deficiency in vitamin C during pregnancy could lead to conditions such as preeclampsia, which is why consuming enough vitamin C while you are pregnant is important.
Benefits Of Vitamin C During Pregnancy
During pregnancy, your body needs a variety of nutrients for good health. Good nutrition during pregnancy is important for the well-being and the proper growth of your baby. Vitamin C during pregnancy plays an important role in helping expecting mothers fight many of the common infections faced during pregnancy.
It is important to have the right amount of vitamin C during pregnancy as it is essential for the overall health of the expectant mom and the growing fetus. Vitamin C also prevents bleeding gums and reduces subcutaneous hemorrhages. Similarly, your body uses the nutrients in food to make your pregnancy strong and healthy.
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Listed below are the benefits of vitamin C during pregnancy.
1. Vitamin C during pregnancy aids in the production of collagen
Collagen is an important component during pregnancy that aids in giving the skin its structure. Also, it helps in the elasticity of the skin during and after pregnancy. Collagen also contains amino acids that are beneficial for the healing of the gut lining. Also, it helps to deal with postpartum hair loss by encouraging new healthy and strong hair growth1.
Related Reading: 12 Home Remedies To Treat Hair Fall After Delivery
2. Helps prevent iron deficiency
Iron is an essential nutrient that is required for the overall functioning of the body. Vitamin C plays an important role in helping the absorption of iron from the food you consume. It helps to reduce the risk of iron deficiency anemia which is common during pregnancy.
If you have low iron levels, consuming vitamin C-rich foods helps to improve your blood iron levels.
3. Rich in antioxidants
Antioxidants play an important role during pregnancy and most of the benefits of vitamin C are linked with antioxidants. It protects the body against the development of serious health conditions, such as cancer or heart disease.
4. Helps to strengthen the immune system
Vitamin C plays a major role in strengthening the immune system during pregnancy. It helps by protecting the body from oxidative stress and by reducing the chances of tissue damage. It was also found that a deficiency in vitamin C could make you more prone to infections.
5. Reduces tiredness and fatigue
Tiredness and fatigue are common pregnancy symptoms. However, if you are feeling exhausted all the time, it is a sign that your body needs some energy. Despite eating foods and drinking liquids, if you still feel tired, it is an indication that the body is lacking certain micronutrients like vitamin C. Regular intake of vitamin C-rich foods or supplements could help you beat the fatigue.
Related Reading: 12 Simple Ways to Prevent Pregnancy Nausea
How Much Vitamin C Do You Require During Pregnancy?
If you consume a proper diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, you might probably get that required amount of vitamin C during pregnancy. However, since vitamin C is water-soluble, our bodies cannot make or store vitamin C.
During pregnancy, vitamin C plays a major role in taking care of many activities such as developing a baby’s tooth and bones, healing of wounds, etc. Hence, incorporating vitamin C-rich food into your diet is important. So, how much vitamin c during pregnancy does a pregnant woman require?
According to a source,
- Pregnant women who are 19 and older should have a diet with 85 milligrams of vitamin C every day
- Aim to include three servings of vitamin C-rich fruits and veggies per day to meet your daily requirement
- Breastfeeding women over 19 should get 120 milligrams daily.
- In case you are 19, you must have an intake of 80 milligrams of vitamin C during pregnancy
Best Food Sources Of Vitamin C
Vitamin C is found in many foods, especially in fruits and vegetables. It is a potent antioxidant that has many benefits for pregnant and non-pregnant women. Since the human body cannot produce or store more vitamin C, it is essential to consume foods rich in vitamin C on an everyday basis.
In case the body doesn’t meet the daily requirement, it could lead to conditions such as bleeding gums, frequent bruising and infections, delay in wound healing, anemia, and scurvy2.
Here are a few foods that are rich in vitamin C.
1. Guavas
It is absolutely safe to eat guavas during pregnancy. Guavas contain 126 mg of vitamin C and are a rich source of lycopene antioxidants. Also, according to a source, it was found that healthy people who had about 400 grams of peeled guava per day, or around 7 pieces, saw a reduction in their blood pressure and total cholesterol levels.
2. Sweet yellow peppers
Vitamin C during pregnancy is vital and including them as a part of your pregnancy diet is important. It is believed that the vitamin C concentration in yellow peppers is the highest of all sweet peppers with 183 mg per 100 grams.
3. Kiwi fruit
Eating kiwi fruit during pregnancy is not just delicious, but it is also packed with a rich source of nutrients such as vitamin C, E, K, proteins, and folate. You can incorporate this food as a part of your breakfast as the vitamin C content in it helps improve immunity and deal with iron deficiency anemia.
4. Oranges
Easily available and loved by many, this fruit is a rich source of vitamin C and helps to protect against gout, and lowers the risk of heart diseases during pregnancy.
Related Reading: Oranges During Pregnancy – Benefits, Risks And Precautions
5. Lychees
This tropical fruit is easily available everywhere and can be used every day as an addition to your milkshake, smoothies, and fruit salads. Intake of this food during pregnancy helps to reduce inflammation and is good for liver health.
6. Broccoli
Raw fruits and vegetables contain more vitamin C than the ones that are cooked. Since vitamin C during pregnancy needs to be a part of your everyday diet, you can include broccoli during pregnancy in your nutriment by dipping it in sauce or making your favorite fries.
7. Tomatoes
As an antioxidant-rich vitamin C food source, including tomatoes in the pregnancy diet, enhances the levels of vitamin C. Tomatoes are not only rich in vitamin C, but also, they contain powerful antioxidants such as lycopene and vitamin A. Also, consuming tomatoes in the form of juice helps to beat hunger and boost vitamin C at the same time.
Risk Factors If You Have Excessive Vitamin C During Pregnancy
The deficiency of certain vitamins and nutrients happens when they aren’t consumed in the right quantity and we are all aware of it. However, sometimes eating too many nutrients could also have major effects.
Frequently eating too many foods that are rich in vitamin C during the pregnancy phase is not recommended. It can sometimes lead to side effects such as mild digestive disturbance.
The most common side effects of consuming too much vitamin C during pregnancy are:
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Stomach cramping
- Bloating
- General abdominal discomfort
It is noted that these side effects usually do not occur from eating foods that contain vitamin C. However, when there is a supplement dosage increase, people are likely to experience discomfort.
Also, in certain cases, an excess of vitamin C is seen to increase iron overload and also lead to the formation of kidney stones3.