Pregnancy can bring many limitations and changes to life. Particularly close attention during this period should be given to the list of products that enter the diet. Doctors insist that all women who are expecting a baby, with special care and responsibility, approach the preparation of the menu.
It has long been known that during the period of bearing a child, a woman is capable of incredible experiments: unbelievable combinations of products, eating extremely unwholesome food, and so on. However, regardless of mood spikes, you must try to eat food that brings not only pleasure, but also benefits.
The food of pregnant women should be carefully balanced and varied to help the fetus develop properly. Therefore, it is necessary to think over the diet in such a way that it contains the maximum amount of nutrients.
To do this, eat more fruits and vegetables. It is desirable that the lion's share was from the same climatic zone where the woman lives. In this case, do not give up feijoa. Recently, this fruit has become native to almost all residents of all climatic zones, although it is most often found in the south. Its taste characteristics resemble strawberries, persimmons, and pineapples. Feijoa during pregnancy is not only not harmful, but also, thanks to its beneficial properties, is a recommended guest on the table.
What is feijoa?
The shape of this fruit resembles an egg, with the only difference being that its "shell" is dark green in color. Although the fruit grows in the south, its aroma, rather, reminds of winter and New Year's holidays. When choosing a fruit in a store, you must ensure that there are no dark spots or various dots on the peel: spoiled fruit can hardly be useful during pregnancy.
Most often, these fruits are transported still half green. Therefore, nothing bad will happen if the store contains unripe fruits. Their houses can be put in a dark, dry place, where they ripen. It's easy to define: a ripe fruit is soft, with a jelly-like flesh. You can use it in any way: they all prove the usefulness of feijoa during pregnancy.
It is useful to eat not only the inside, but also the peel of the fruit. However, this does not happen so often, since its taste is peculiar, many even consider it unpleasant. The high content of phenolic compounds in the fetal shell makes it indispensable in the prevention of cancer. Therefore, if the taste of the peel is not liked, it can be added to tea, previously chopped. The taste of pulp resembles a fruit and berry mix, with a distinct note of iodine.
Unique composition
What is so rich in fruit, what is its composition and what makes feijoa so indispensable ? Useful properties during pregnancy are especially important to consider. And in the case of this fruit, they are simply unique. The fruit contains a large number of folic acid derivatives, which are essential for the formation of the child's body. Insufficiency of folate leads to the development of anemia, abnormal formation of blood cells and other malformations.
It is known that there is a lot of iodine in seafood. It was always believed that these products have no rivals. However, it has now become known that feijoa contains no less than this useful substance. Very often, this fruit is used in therapy in the treatment of the thyroid gland, introduced to the menu for diabetics and so on. In addition, they certainly recommend using feijoa during pregnancy.
In addition to iodine and folic acid, the fruit is rich in various groups of vitamins and minerals. Its saturated composition is supplemented by plant fiber, catechins, pectin compounds and leukoanthocyanins.
Absolutely safe
Feijoa during pregnancy is absolutely safe, both for the mother and the baby. An exception may be only women with individual intolerance, but they are not so common.
What is the use?
Feijoa during pregnancy is able to solve several problems that arise in the body of a woman. So, it helps to eliminate toxins, plays the role of an antioxidant, significantly improves immunity, protecting against colds and seasonal allergies. Due to the high iodine content, it eliminates the development of iodine deficiency in the child and mother. In addition, feijoa stabilizes the functions of the digestive system, prevents constipation, and helps maintain optimal blood pressure.
Potassium, present in the composition of the fruit, positively affects the work of the heart muscle, normalizing pressure. Interestingly, with equal efficiency, the fetus acts on high and low blood pressure. In addition, a high iron content makes it possible to exclude the development of anemia, and prevents depression.
With the regular use of feijoa during the period of bearing a child, hormonal imbalance is excluded. The optimal ratio of essential vitamins and trace elements streamlines the production of hormones.
Contraindications: do they exist?
Almost all women can consume feijoa during pregnancy. Contraindications occur in three cases: diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and individual intolerance. Therefore, with a reasonable approach, eating fruit does not have negative consequences.
Before the first purchase, you must weigh the risks of using feijoa. Useful properties and contraindications during pregnancy are ambiguous, therefore, if at least one of the listed cases occurs, you should refuse to use this fruit. A large amount of sucrose and iodine can worsen the condition of diabetics with hyperthyroidism, causing sudden and severe attacks. As for individual intolerance, it is quite rare, since feijoa is included in the group of low-allergenic fruits.
How is it?
You can eat this fruit in different ways: mix the grated fruit with sugar, add it to salads and pies.
Raw feijoa, especially its peel, is most useful. That is why it is preferable to eat whole fruit, chopping it, to prepare "raw" jam.