What is useful boiled beets for pregnant women. Beetroot dishes in the diet of a pregnant woman: how to cook and how much to eat. Recipe for beet-carrot drink

Beetroot is a vegetable, the benefits of which have been heard by many. But what about the benefits of root vegetables for pregnant women? Will eating a burgundy vegetable harm the health of a woman in an interesting position and what should a future mother know before starting to consume it? We will talk about this and much more further.

Is beetroot good for pregnant women?

Every woman knows that pregnancy is a special period during which the main emphasis should be placed on vegetables and fruits in nutrition. At the same time, experts note that there is no need to eat expensive overseas exotics at all. You should take a closer look at the local, familiar, no less useful and so loved by many vegetables. For example, to beets.

Science has long proven that beets a universal food product that should be present in the diet of every person, including pregnant women. A lot of useful properties and excellent taste make beets extremely popular among women in an interesting position.

Even after heat treatment, the benefits of beets will be enormous.

The vegetable owes its beneficial properties to its unique composition. So, beets are a large amount of glucose and fructose, pectins, folic acid, vitamins of groups B, C, E, P, fiber, amino acids. The vegetable also contains trace elements that are necessary for the full development of the fetus and the well-being of the pregnant woman herself. Magnesium, phosphorus, iodine, sulfur, zinc is far from a complete list of the main elements that the root crop is rich in.

Beetroot is a low-calorie product, having only 40 kcal for every 100 g of product. But at the same time, the boiled root crop has an increased glycemic index (GI = 64), which promises an increase in blood sugar.

Due to the minimum calorie content, a healthy pregnant woman can safely include beetroot and various dishes from it in her diet without worrying about gaining excess weight.

The main beneficial properties of beets during pregnancy:

  • normalizes bowel function (regular consumption of beets will avoid such a common problem among pregnant women as constipation);
  • fights edema that torments many women in late pregnancy;
  • increases immunity (due to the content of a large amount of vitamin C and other useful micro and macro elements);
  • beneficial effect on the processes of hematopoiesis;
  • improves kidney function (the latter need support, as they experience tremendous stress throughout pregnancy);
  • has a beneficial effect on the work of the heart due to the content of magnesium;
  • provides effective cleansing of the main organs and their systems from toxic components, toxins, and other harmful substances;
  • acts as an excellent energy source (numerous studies have shown that eating beets gives the body a charge of vivacity and strength);
  • has a slight diuretic effect.

When to Eat Beetroot

Beets will become not only a true friend and helper, but also an excellent medicine for women in all three trimesters of pregnancy. Be sure to use beetroot should be pregnant who suffer:

  1. hypertension. Most often, high blood pressure is caused by increased weight gain in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. In such a situation, freshly squeezed will come to the rescue. beetroot juice. To normalize blood pressure, you should drink a miraculous drink half a glass in the morning after breakfast.
  2. Constipation. Systemic constipation in pregnant women is easy to eliminate with the help of microclysters with beetroot juice.
    It is also necessary to periodically include boiled beets in the diet (vegetable salads such as vinaigrette are good).
  3. Cold. Beetroot juice can help with severe nasal congestion, becoming a kind of "Naphthyzinum" for a pregnant woman. To quickly cope with a runny nose, it is enough to drip 2-3 drops of beet juice into the nose 3-5 times a day (in each nasal passage).
    With severe sore throat, rinsing with a solution prepared from a mixture of boiled water and freshly squeezed burgundy root juice (in a ratio of 2: 1) will help.

Video about the benefits and harms of beet juice

Elena Malysheva and her colleagues in the Living Healthy program talk about the benefits and possible harms of beetroot juice for the human body. How to drink juice so as not to harm your own health, we learn from the video:

How to choose a healthy beetroot

In order for the vegetable to bring maximum benefit, preference should be given to whole root crops that do not have signs of spoilage, putrefactive inclusions. Smooth, elastic and dense - this is how a good beetroot should be. You should not buy a limp, pretty wilted vegetable.

It is worth choosing young beets, which contain a maximum of all kinds of "usefulness" and at the same time do not require long-term heat treatment. To understand that it is a young root crop that is in front of you will help fresh shoots (they should be a bright green hue).

How and in what form to eat beets during pregnancy

“Maximum benefit from the root to the very top of the plant” - this statement is fully justified for such a vegetable as beets. Pregnant women should include in the menu dishes not only from the root itself, but also from its fresh green tops. The latter also contains a huge amount of various useful substances and elements. Beet leaves can be eaten stewed and even fresh, adding finely chopped tops in a small amount to vegetable salads.

If we talk about the type of processing of the burgundy root itself, then during pregnancy it is most useful to consume beets:

  • boiled;
  • baked;
  • raw.

It is digested faster, has a milder effect on the digestive tract than a raw root crop. Boiled beets also contain all the main nutrients.

With prolonged cooking for more than 20-30 minutes, some of the beneficial properties of the vegetable are lost, for example, vitamin C.

Baked beets. An excellent option for preparing various salads. Beetroot, which has undergone heat treatment in the oven, has a special taste and at the same time allows you to saturate the body of a pregnant woman with a huge amount of the necessary micro and macro elements, vitamins.

Raw beets. It contains the greatest amount of useful substances and vitamins, but is not always well tolerated by the digestive tract. In some pregnant women, eating raw vegetables can cause problems in the stomach and intestines.

Pregnant women can take 50 ml of beetroot juice once a day (ideally in the morning).

How to cook? To get the healthiest drink, grate the beets on a fine grater and squeeze the juice from the resulting slurry through cheesecloth. The second option is to use a juicer. After preparation, the juice must be removed for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. After this time, the juice is ready for use.

Do not drink freshly prepared beetroot juice. It contains a large amount of volatile substances that can harm the body of a pregnant woman.

Not all pregnant women may like the taste of beetroot juice. To improve its taste, a small amount of juice from other vegetables and fruits (for example, carrot or apple) can be added to the finished drink.

Experts note that beets are a product that rarely causes any allergic reactions, so women in an interesting position can use the vegetable in any form.

Beets: composition, use, indications and contraindications (video)

Beets - good or bad? What useful substances are included in the composition of the miraculous vegetable and what unique properties does the burgundy root crop have in the treatment of various diseases. All this in the next video:

Possible harm from beets during pregnancy

Regardless of which product or vegetable is in question, it should be consumed in moderation. Beets are no exception. Despite all the useful properties and excellent taste of this vegetable, it is not recommended to make it the basis of the diet during pregnancy. Even vegetarians who eat only vegetables and fruits should not consume the root vegetable in excessive quantities.

It is undeniable that beets bring more benefits to the body than harm. Despite this, in some cases, the inclusion of beets in the diet can be harmful to a pregnant woman.

In what situations should a pregnant woman refuse beets?

With hypotension. As we have already said, burgundy root helps to lower blood pressure. In this regard, hypotensive women are not recommended to often eat a vegetable in order to avoid severe weakness, dizziness, and even loss of consciousness.

With a tendency to diarrhea. Beetroot is a product with a mild laxative effect. In this regard, women with a relaxed stool need to give up a healthy vegetable in order to avoid the development of diseases such as colitis, chronic diarrhea, and such a dangerous condition for the body of a pregnant woman as dehydration.

With gallstone disease. Women who have been diagnosed with this should be especially careful to eat beets. Beetroot juice in such conditions is completely prohibited products, as it can cause the movement of stones, blockage of the bile ducts and lead a woman to the operating table.

With diabetes or gestational diabetes. Beetroot is a vegetable with a fairly high content of sugars. The latter contribute to an increase in blood glucose levels. For this reason, pregnant women suffering from diabetes of any type should carefully monitor their condition when including beets in the diet.

Experts say that nutrition during pregnancy should be approached wisely. Any product, including beets, should be included in the diet in small quantities, considering it as a small addition to the main foods - cereals, salads, meat, etc.

Contraindications

Not in all cases, you can use beets during pregnancy, without thinking about the possible consequences. So, the root crop is contraindicated in pregnant women who have the following concomitant diseases:

  • intestinal dysbacteriosis;
  • gastritis and gastroduodenitis (in chronic form or in the acute stage);
  • severe hypotension (low blood pressure);
  • diabetes mellitus (1, 2 types, as well as gestational);
  • nephritis or pyelonephritis in the acute stage;
  • colitis (chronic or acute);
  • cholelithiasis.

Most of the contraindications for the use of beets during pregnancy are associated with the ability of the vegetable to significantly activate the work of the main organs and their systems, which can pose a danger to a woman's health in the presence of serious diseases and chronic pathologies.

To avoid negative consequences for the body of the pregnant woman and the fetus, it will not be superfluous to consult a dietitian about the consumption of beets. It is the specialist who will help determine whether in each case it is possible to include a healthy root crop in the diet and in what quantity.

If at a given time a woman does not experience an exacerbation of any of the above diseases, and the pregnant woman herself consumes beets in small quantities, then the vegetable will not harm her health and the health of her unborn child.

As you can see, beets during pregnancy are a very healthy, tasty and satisfying product that can perfectly complement and diversify the diet of any pregnant woman. Eating beets in any form has a beneficial effect on the body of the expectant mother and the development of the fetus.

During pregnancy, a woman should definitely monitor her diet, food should be not only tasty, but also healthy. During this period, the body should receive as many nutrients as possible. Every day, the expectant mother should eat about 500 grams of fruits and vegetables. This list includes and it contains a large number of nutrients needed by a woman during this period. Many believe that beetroot and juice from it can only relieve constipation, but these are not all of their virtues. She is an assistant in the prevention of many troubles.

Subtleties of juicing

In order for beetroot juice to become your indispensable assistant throughout your pregnancy, you should prepare it correctly. In the store we buy preferably medium sizes. Arriving home, we wash it and put it in a container with water for 20-25 minutes. Next, peel the beetroot and cut into small pieces. We send them to the juicer. Then the resulting juice must be poured into a glass jar or an enameled bowl.

Do not use it right away! We put the glass jar in the refrigerator for 1-3 hours, harmful ones that can cause serious harm to the body will disappear during this time, while it is better not to close the container.

If the house does not have a juicer, do not despair. You can grate the beets on a fine grater, wrap the resulting mass in cheesecloth and squeeze well.

You can store the juice in the refrigerator, but no more than 2 days.

Rules for drinking beetroot juice

In its pure form, you can not use beetroot juice. Before use, dilute it with water, in a ratio of 1: 1. On the day you should drink no more than 130 ml of juice, previously diluted with water, but not in one go, but in several. The maximum dose at one time is 50 ml. You need to drink it half an hour before meals, on an empty stomach. If you have just started drinking this drink, then the first few days a single dose should be no more than 1 tsp, so you will gradually accustom it to its action.

Judging by the reviews left by pregnant women who have tried this drink, the taste of beetroot juice leaves much to be desired. Therefore, I recommend making a beet-carrot drink. So it will be much tastier, and it also contains many useful substances.

In addition, a slice of lemon with a peel can be added to beetroot juice for a more pleasant taste.

What are the benefits of drinking beetroot juice for a pregnant woman?

Beet juice contains or vitamin B9. It plays a very important role in the development of the nervous tissue of the embryo, is involved in the formation of placental vessels. In the first trimester of pregnancy, the consumption of folate (the generalized name for folic acid) increases dramatically, so a woman needs to consume as many vegetables and fruits as possible, which contain this vitamin in large quantities.

Recipe for beet-carrot drink

To prepare this healthy drink, we need the following components:

  • carrots - 3 pcs.
  • beets (medium size) - 1 pc.
  • boiled - 50 ml

First, rinse the vegetables well, then peel them and cut them into small pieces. By the way, you can pre-cut a large number of these vegetables, put them in the freezer and get them if necessary.

First, we pass the beets through the juicer, pour the juice into a jar and put it in the refrigerator for a while. Next, we squeeze the juice from the carrots and mix it with the resulting ingredient. Then we dilute the drink with water, in a ratio of 1: 1. To improve the taste, you can add 1 teaspoon of honey. Mixing 2 types of juice should also be done in a certain proportion of 3:1, i.e. 3 parts carrot and 1 part beet juice.

Such a drink should be consumed no more than 3 months in a row. Then you should take a break (2 months).

It should be consumed before the first meal or after breakfast after 2 hours. The drink should be drunk in small sips, so the vitamins are better absorbed.

Recipe for strengthening immunity

To prepare such a drink, we need the following ingredients:

  • carrots - 4 pcs.
  • (medium size) - 1 pc.
  • beetroot - half
  • celery - 1 bunch
  • parsley - 1 bunch

Rinse thoroughly and remove skins. Parsley and celery should be chopped. All other components are crushed into pieces. We squeeze the juice from our components, mix thoroughly and drink.

Beetroot is a vegetable that many of us love and eat with pleasure. Dishes from it are tasty, easy to prepare and healthy for everyone. But do you know that during pregnancy, the beneficial properties of beets will come in handy not only as a food product, but also as a tool that helps regulate various processes in the body of the expectant mother?

The answer is simple - it is a complete source of vitamins, mineral salts, vegetable amino acids and fiber necessary for digestion.

Cooked beetroot dishes during pregnancy help to cleanse the intestinal tract, providing the effect of a natural and mild laxative, especially when combined with an additive such as prunes, popular in salads.

If your problem is constipation, you don't need to take medication - just eat this boiled vegetable 2-3 times a week and your bowels will improve.

You can resort to raw beets during pregnancy if your goal is to cleanse the intestines of bacteria that cause decay and harm the immune system. Raw vegetable juice is a concentrated solution of salts and phytoncides that stimulate the intestinal mucosa, have a positive effect on hematopoiesis and help with bile stasis, which causes such trouble for pregnant women.

Another solution of beetroot juice during pregnancy is used in folk medicine as drops from the common cold. It is a pure and natural product, so there are no side effects and you don't have to worry about how it will affect the child. Just note that it is the solution that needs to be instilled into the nose, and not pure juice, otherwise you risk burning the nasopharyngeal mucosa.

Homemade drops are made like this: you need to squeeze 1 teaspoon of juice and dilute it with 1 tablespoon of boiled warm water. Instill a fresh solution of 1-2 drops in each nostril 2-3 times a day. Beetroot from a runny nose during pregnancy is used after washing: if the nose is very stuffy, before instillation, you need to rinse it with a weak saline solution to remove mucus as much as possible.

Sometimes there are tips for cleansing the intestines with an enema with a weak solution of beet juice. But it is important to understand that an enema, although it refers to mildly acting methods, can still provoke uterine tone due to a mechanical effect on the intestines and pelvic organs. With an increased tone, it is better not to get carried away with enemas! It is wiser to use this vegetable in food and get a natural laxative effect.

Beetroot dishes in the diet of a pregnant woman: how to cook and how much to eat

The root crop can be consumed in the form of salads, side dishes, added to soups and main dishes, fresh, baked, boiled, stewed. It is better to refuse pickled and sour, because there is a lot of vinegar, lactic acid and spices. You can enjoy such goodies only sometimes, if you really want to, and quite a bit - about 1-2 tablespoons in one sitting.

If you don't mind a fresh root vegetable, then you will like raw beets in the form of a salad. You can crunch on a sweet vegetable with taste if you cook it, for example, according to the following recipe.

crispy salad

  • grate 1 small root vegetable;
  • mix with steamed raisins (1 tablespoon);
  • salt, sweeten with sugar or honey;
  • drizzle with lemon or balsamic vinegar;
  • leave for half an hour or an hour;
  • season with sour cream or yogurt - done!

How much of this salad can a pregnant woman eat? It all depends on the state of the digestive system - if there are no problems, then a small bowl (100-150 g) will not hurt, if the intestines often weaken, then you should limit yourself to a couple of spoons, and if the acidity of the stomach is increased, then you should not experiment with raw vegetables.

As we have already mentioned, beetroot helps with constipation during pregnancy. If you are going to cleanse the intestines, boil 1-2 small root vegetables and eat during the day. Boiled beetroot loses a certain amount of nutrients, but retains all the properties of a fiber-rich vegetable - it enhances the work of the intestines and cleanses it of toxins.

Boiled dietary side dish


Pour cold water over medium-sized fruits and bring to a boil. Autumn vegetables should be boiled over medium heat for a long time - about 1 hour (in the microwave at a power of 800-850 for about 30 minutes), young summer vegetables - half an hour (in the microwave for about 15 minutes).

Then drain the water, let cool, peel and cut into slices. In a plate, sprinkle a portion with lemon juice, salt, add a little dill, parsley or spinach.

Most of all, this vegetable contains vitamin B, as well as magnesium and iodine, and to keep them in a cooked dish, baking is best. Roasted beets can be stored for several days in the refrigerator, eating a little each day, so it saves cooking time.

How to bake beets

We select fruits of the same size, carefully wash the adhering earth (with a brush or a clean sponge for dishes). Spread on a baking sheet and place in the oven on the middle shelf. The temperature in the oven should be about 250-270 °C, time - 1 hour. We look so that the vegetable does not dry out, turn it over, if the bottom begins to bake to the leaf, blacken.

It is better to store a baked vegetable unpeeled, removing the peel only before use. Grated, it is good with sour cream or curdled milk, fermented baked milk, raisins, prunes, nuts, herbs, boiled carrots, potatoes or rice. It also harmonizes perfectly with sea fish and boiled eggs - to your taste!

Is there any harm from beets during pregnancy?

Any product should be consumed in moderation. The beneficial properties of this vegetable are valuable, but you cannot make the basis of nutrition out of it, even if you are a vegetarian and rely on vegetables and fruits.

The mistake some women make is that when they hear about a miracle food, they enthusiastically force themselves to eat too large portions, which sometimes causes discomfort or exacerbates existing health problems.

Always try to approach nutrition wisely and get used to looking at each product as an additive - make compositions of 1-2 tablespoons of different vegetables, herbs, meat, cereals and other things in a plate so as not to overeat the same thing. The more varied the portion, the better all the nutrients will be absorbed and the milder their effect on the body will be.

Know that it is impossible to lean on beets for the following diseases:

  • diabetes mellitus, high blood sugar;
  • arterial hypotension;
  • acute nephritis or pyelonephritis;
  • chronic and acute colitis;
  • acute gastritis and gastroduodenitis;
  • intestinal dysbiosis.


Contraindications from the list are due to the fact that this vegetable has a large amount of sugar and enough magnesium, which reduces pressure, and also because it makes the gastrointestinal tract and urinary system work more actively, which is highly undesirable for current organ diseases.

During pregnancy, nutrients, vitamins and trace elements are needed for nutrition. After all, the health of mother and child depends on proper nutrition. Vegetables contain the necessary amount of these substances. Beets are one of those vegetables that are very beneficial for pregnant women.

The composition and useful properties of beets

Beets contain sodium and calcium in the most beneficial ratio for the body. It contains vitamins A, B, C and PP, trace elements: magnesium, copper, phosphorus, potassium, iodine, iron and betaine. It is also a rich source of fiber, carotenoids, flavonoids and the beneficial lutein.

The benefits of beets during pregnancy

Most importantly, beets help produce red blood cells. It can remove toxins from the body. Thanks to its juice, you can strengthen the immune system, normalize metabolism.

  • Beetroot juice has an antipyretic effect.
  • Beets help improve the functioning of the liver, gallbladder and kidneys.
  • Boiled beets help improve bowel function, have a diuretic effect on the body. It will help with constipation and will not harm the fetus.
  • Beets contain folic acid, which can prevent even some birth defects in newborns.
  • If the expectant mother suffers from urolithiasis, diseases of the bladder and kidneys, then the amount of beets must be reduced.
  • Useful in beets are not only the root crop, but also the leaves. Beetroot leaves also contain a large amount of useful substances.
  • During pregnancy, try to eat not only raw vegetables, but also short-cooked vegetables. Raw vegetables should also be consumed in small quantities.
  • For the expectant mother, raw beetroot salad with nuts is useful. The amount of raw beets should be determined in accordance with the individual tolerance of raw fiber to the expectant mother.
  • Raw beetroot helps to activate the digestive processes. Stewed - the same is suitable if the digestive tract is weak.


Beet Cooking Principles

To keep more useful vitamins and minerals in the beets, try to bake, steam or stew them if you do not want to eat them raw. This will help keep the mineral salts in it. When you boil the beets, place them in water, try not to completely cover the beets. Young beets are boiled for about 20 minutes.

Beet salad recipe for the health of the expectant mother

We make beet salad, which will help cleanse the blood. Finely rub the beets and carrots, all in equal amounts. We cut the cabbage. Dress the salad with unrefined sunflower oil, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. You can decorate with red currants or cranberries.

If you need a large amount of vitamin A, then you simply cannot do without beets. It is a storehouse of nutrients and vitamins. Beetroot is a very useful vegetable, and during pregnancy it will be simply irreplaceable.