Beetroot juice during pregnancy - benefits and harms

Pregnancy is a period in a woman’s life when she needs to especially monitor what she eats. After all, vitamins and other beneficial substances that enter her body with food are necessary not only for her health, but also for the normal formation of the fetus. Vegetables and fruits are products without which the future mother’s diet will not be complete, because they contain a large number of microelements.

For example, simple beets and juice from it during the bearing of a child can become invaluable helpers, thanks to which many problems can be avoided. It is allowed to use the vegetable in any form, while the amount of trace elements contained in it will not decrease. The beets are healthy, have excellent taste and almost never cause allergies. However, during pregnancy, you should use any products with caution, following some rules, this applies to beets and juice from it.

General information

As a medicinal product, beetroot juice was used in ancient times in Babylon. And later, during the prosperity of the Roman Empire, it was used as a medicine for colds, gastrointestinal diseases, migraines, toothaches, as well as a means of healing burns, wounds and even helping to get rid of dandruff. It was not only consumed as a drink, but also rubbed, used as compresses.

To date, this vegetable in medicine has not lost its popularity. Moreover, scientists have proved that it is impossible to find a substitute for beets, since there are no other products that bring the same health benefits. Not all vegetables can compete with beets for the content of vitamins and beneficial elements. Moreover, they are valuable and can be eaten, not only directly fruits, but also beet tops.

Making and consuming beetroot juice during pregnancy

In order for a drink to benefit health, certain rules must be followed when preparing it. Raw vegetables must first be soaked in cool water (about half an hour), peeled, cut into small pieces, from which the juice must be squeezed using a juicer. The finished drink must be poured into a container of glass or enamel.

Important! Immediately after cooking, beet juice should not be consumed! In order for substances that are harmful to the body to come out of it, you need to wait a while. The drink should be refrigerated for at least three hours. At the same time, it is not necessary to close the container with a lid, so that everything that is not needed disappears.

Now you should go to the rules for the use of beet juice. It should be borne in mind that such a drink in its pure form is extremely undesirable to drink. It is better to dilute it with water in a ratio of 1: 1. The recommended volume is from 100 to 130 ml of non-concentrated juice, but it should be divided into several servings, which should be drunk three times a day.

You can mix beetroot juice with carrot juice, so the benefit of the drink will increase, because carrots bring great health benefits, especially for vision. In addition, the taste of the juice will improve in this way. The same can be achieved by adding a slice of lemon to the drink.

The benefits of beet juice during pregnancy

Beetroot has a huge amount of useful properties. This is due to the presence of many useful substances in its composition.So, it contains vegetable digestible sugars, apple, oxalic, tartaric, folic, ascorbic, pantothenic, citric acids, carotene, B vitamins, many elements necessary for normal functioning of the body: copper, cobalt, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, magnesium , calcium, iron, iodine, betaine, betacyanin and other substances.

Of course, a vegetable with such a rich composition simply must be included in the diet of the expectant mother. For her body, he will be invaluable, as he has the following actions:

1. Reducing the risk of iron deficiency anemia due to the presence of iron and ascorbic acid in the composition, which improves the absorption of this element.
2. Normalize blood sugar. This property has beets, because it has a low glycemic index.
   Reduced risk of miscarriage, which may be caused by vitamin C deficiency.
3. Prevention, due to the presence of a large amount of folic acid, intrauterine fetal abnormalities that can develop in the first trimester of pregnancy (neural tube abnormalities).
4. Replenishment of a pregnant woman's internal iodine reserves This is very important during the bearing of a child, since with a lack of this element, the risk of miscarriage and the formation of defects in the mental development of the fetus increases.
5. Ensuring the normal functioning of the digestive tract, in particular due to the presence of vitamin B in the composition.
6. A decrease in the content of homocysteine ​​- a metabolite with high toxicity, an increased amount of which poses a threat in the form of premature termination of pregnancy, as well as gestosis in the later stages and oxygen starvation of the fetus, and for a woman it is dangerous because it can injure blood vessels and cause thrombosis.
7. Purification of the liver and blood from toxic substances, which is possible due to the fact that beets contain the antioxidant betacyanin.
8. Protection of the liver from fatty degeneration of cells, due to the fact that betaine is present in the composition. In addition, this substance has a strong anti-inflammatory effect, relieves swelling and pain in the joints.
9. Elimination of cramps in calves and feet. With a similar phenomenon, expectant mothers encounter quite often. This is due to a lack of calcium in their body. Amino acids that are contained in beet juice help the body absorb this trace element.
10. Improving blood circulation and lowering blood pressure.
11. Thanks to the perfect combination of potassium and sodium in beets, juice from it is an excellent prophylaxis against atherosclerosis and varicose veins, helps to normalize the functioning of the heart, strengthen vascular walls, and improve blood composition.
12. The diuretic properties of the drink allow it to be used to combat edema, which affects many women carrying a child.
13. Regular consumption of beetroot juice for prevention helps to boost immunity, due to the high content of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the vegetable, which only has immunomodulating properties, but also provides protection against depression and sudden mood swings.
14. Regulation of bowel function. Beets prevent the formation of constipation, the accumulation of harmful bacteria, which is very important in the last months of pregnancy, when the uterus grows actively and begins to affect intestinal motility.
15. Beetroot can establish metabolic processes, preventing excessive weight gain of the future mother.
16. Drinking their beets will give the pregnant woman tone, strength and stamina.

Contraindications and possible side effects

Expectant mother will have to abandon the use of such a drink if she has problems such as impaired renal function, high cholesterol, overweight and a predisposition to obesity, increased acidity of gastric juice.

Possible side effects when using beetroot juice are due to the presence of betaine in it. Among such reactions, nausea, vomiting, upset stool, lethargy, gastrointestinal tract disorders, dizziness can be distinguished. In addition, if you drink juice from beets in unlimited quantities, betaine can increase the total cholesterol.

Specialists in the field of dietetics advise including this vegetable in the diet of a woman carrying a child. But there are no specific recommendations about beetroot juice.

However, when you consider that beets are an excellent natural supplier of folic acid, consuming them during pregnancy and following the cooking recommendations is an excellent solution for expectant mothers.

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