Avocado During Pregnancy: Benefits Of Eating This Fruit!

Did you know that consuming avocado during pregnancy is a great choice for pregnant women due to its high content of folic acid?

Avocado is, despite general belief, a fruit and not a vegetable. It grows in trees with heights of up to 65 meters, and fruits vary from 150g to 3kg.

Avocado has amazing properties for health, and the Guinness Book has named it the most nutritious fruit in the world. So, don`t be afraid to start using it in the foods or salads you are preparing for your family. You can easily introduce it in your pregnancy diet because both taste and texture are ideal for you and your baby.

What Is Avocado?

It`s believed that avocado has been cultivated for the first time by humans in Central and South America. In time, people have realized the great benefits of this amazing fruit and started cultivating it in warmer regions such as Hawaii, Florida or California. Mexico is at present the biggest producer of avocado in the world.

Avocados are in essence “berries” with a shape in form of a pear. Also, they are known under the name of “butter fruits” or “alligator pears” due to their slightly scaly appearance.

Avocado: Safe during Pregnancy

Avocado is considered a great miraculous fruit for your health during pregnancy, so it should be included as often as possible in your diet. The consumption of avocado brings a series of benefits for the organism due to its contained substance.

Fatty Acids

You should know that the avocado fruit is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids which increase the level of serotonin. It helps in regulating the level of cholesterol and prolongs life. In April 2009, BBC has made a report in which has explained in detail the fact that this fatty compound from avocado improves memory and brain activity. The fruit contains between 5% and 25% good fats which help in preventing cardiovascular diseases.

Vitamins

Avocado is great to be consumed during pregnancy also because it offers to the organism an increased intake of vitamins. Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K are extremely important for the good development of your pregnancy. Thus, an avocado of 100g ensures 4% from the recommended daily dose of vitamin B6, C and E, as well as 1mg of iron. They greatly assist the body in strengthening immunity.

Minerals

The avocado fruit can make wonders for your organism while pregnant. It contains magnesium, phosphorus, niacin and riboflavin, elements which ensure around 2% from the recommended daily dose. Proteins from avocado are easy to digest, so encourage yourself to consume this fruit as often as you can.

Potassium

In case you didn`t know, an avocado has more potassium than a banana. This fruit has 975mg of potassium while the banana which is known for its increased content of potassium has only 487mg. Potassium is a very important element which helps in eliminating the surplus of fluids from the organism.

Natural Fibers

The avocado fruit is rich in natural fibers, which are essential for a digestion without problems. When you find out you are pregnant and you start diversifying your diet, the digestion changes as well. It`s important for your organism and your baby to receive enough fibers for the digestion to function properly. An avocado of medium size contains 10g of fibers, meaning 8% from the recommended daily dose.

Benefits of Eating Avocado during Pregnancy

If you are wondering what are good foods to eat when you are pregnant, than you can rest assure that including avocado in your diet will only bring you lots of benefits.

Avocado Is Healthy for the Brain and Eyes

Consuming avocado is beneficial for eyes and brain, due to its high content of Omega 3 fatty acids, as already mentioned above. Neurologist and psychiatrist Dejniel Dz. Ayman, the author of bestselling book “Change your Brain, Will Modify your Life” considers avocado as one of the best foods that protect the heart and brain, and which can help in preventing the Alzheimer`s disease. And not only to its high content of Omega 3 fatty acids, but also due to the high content of vitamin E about which experts sustain that in high doses can neutralize free radicals and protein deposits in the brain, which are associated with this disease.

Also, the richness of nutrients protects the eyes from the damages caused by oxidative stress which leads to weakened eyesight, macular degeneration and the appearance of cataract.

Alligator Pears Are Good for the Heart

The consumption of avocado has benefic effects for the heart`s health. Due to the fact that is rich in monounsaturated fats, it helps at the good function of the heart and lowers the blood pressure. It was proven that monounsaturated fats from avocado contain phytonutrients such as beta-sitosterol, which decreases LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and triglyceride levels from blood, and at the same time increases the HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).

The vitamin B6 and folic acid from its composition help in regulating homocysteine, which if it has higher levels can harm the proper function of the heart. Also, glutathione, vitamin E and oleic acid are recognized as nutritive elements that are beneficial for the heart`s function.

Avocado while Pregnant: Do Avocados Have Folic Acid?

As mentioned above, it`s very beneficial for pregnant women due to its high content of folic acid which helps in the baby`s development of the brain and vital organs. And because experts recommend to avoid supplements with extract of folic acid, it`s good to turn to foods rich in folic acid such as avocado.

It Has Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Avocado has anti-inflammatory properties. The organism`s inflammations are considered the starting point of most diseases. Well, avocado has lots of necessary nutrients to prevent them from appearing, being rich in phytonutrients and flavonoids.

Avocado is among the few foods that contain a considerable quantity from the known antioxidant known as glutathione, which helps the liver and nervous system. Glutathione is responsible for the interaction of other oxidants in the organism and is vital from a good immune system, and thus a good anti-aging agent.

It`s a Positive Influence of Digestion

The nutrients and enzymes from avocado can reduce the inflammation from the stomach and small intestine, which can lead to an improved absorption of nutrients. The studies done by now have shown for those who consumed avocado salad, the quantity of carotenoids (including betacatoren and lycopene) and other absorbed nutrients was higher than for those who didn`t consumed avocado. It`s known that betacatoren is a precursor of vitamin A, and lycopene is a compound that reduces the possibility of prostate cancer and stroke.

How to Choose the Avocado Fruit?

Most types of avocado have at first the dark green color, but after they ripen, they turn black. The interior of the fruit has a color of yellow to green, has a consistency similar to butter and an aroma that makes you feel like you`re eating nuts.

As most fruits, the avocado fruit isn`t left to fully ripen, and we sometimes encounter problems in the stores because we don`t know how to choose them. Didn`t you ever asked yourself when you saw an avocado if it`s ripe or not? Well, you should know that it isn`t difficult to find out at all.

There`s a simple method that you should apply every time when you go shopping for groceries. If you notice that the avocado fruit is of a brown color, you should know that it was harshly handled and was crashed, so don`t purchase it. The surest method of testing if the fruit is ripe is to take it in your hand and press it gently with your finger. If it`s ripe, it should remain a small dent. In case you feel the fruit is hard, it means that it needs a few more days to completely ripe.

Avocado Nutrition

• Energy – 160Kcal
• Carbohydrates – 8.53g
• Protein – 2.0g
• Total Fat – 14.66g
• Cholesterol – 0mg
• Dietary Fibers – 18%
• Folate – 81mcg
• Niacin – 1.738mg
• Pantothenic Acid – 1,389mg
• Pyridoxine – 0257mg
• Riboflavin – 0.130mg
• Thiamine – 0.067mg
• Vitamin A – 146IU
• Vitamin C – 10mg
• Vitamin E – 2.07mg
• Vitamin K – 21mcg
• sodium – 7 mg
• Potassium – 485mg
• Calcium – 12mg
• Copper – 0.190mg
• Iron – 0.55mg
• Magnesium – 29mg
• Manganese – 0.142mg
• Phosphorus – 52mg
• Selenium – 0.4g
• Zinc – 0.64mg