Is It Safe To Eat Mangoes While Pregnant?

Summer is here and with it, my favourite fruit mangoes are flooding the market. The  ‘King of Fruits’ is everyone’s favourite and rightly so. With my pregnancy entering the second trimester, my mango cravings have been hitting an all-time high. But as you all know, advice – solicited and unsolicited- pour in from all quarters the moment friends and family find out you’re pregnant.

One such dilemma I faced was whether it was safe to eat mangoes while I was pregnant. I had heard that eating mangoes increases body heat. There are quite a few foods that doctors advice should be avoided when you’re pregnant. Thankfully, mangoes are not on that list. Happy dance!

This sweet tasting yummy fruit is actually packed with nutrients that will help your unborn baby and you.

Mangoes are rich in:

Vitamin C

• Helps absorption of iron in the body.
• Supports cognitive and neurological functions.
• Packed with beta-carotene and antioxidants which are extremely important to protect the expecting mother against free radicals.

Vitamin A

• It’s important to maintain a healthy mucus membrane and skin.
• Helps in the embryonic growth of the foetus
• Excellent for your baby’s vision health.

Vitamin B6

• It aids the formation of red blood cells and neurotransmitters.
• Help in the development of your baby’s brain and nervous system.

Potassium

• With an increase in blood flow to the body, causes cramps and swelling of hands and feet. Potassium maintains fluid and electrolyte balance in the body.
• It also helps relieve pregnancy cramps

Folate

• It helps in the formation of red blood cells and DNA.
• Deficiency of folate could cause brain and spinal cord defects in the baby.

High Fibre 

• It helps pregnant women with their digestion and constipation.
• The high fibre content keeps a check on the blood pressure of the expectant mother as well.

Low in sodium

• It's extremely important to not consume too much salt and maintain the blood pressure levels in pregnant women.

Listen to Rujuta Diwekar, celebrity nutritionist tell you all the reasons why you should be eating mangoes

So I think that just about ticks all the boxes for me as a fruit I must have while I'm pregnant. While ripe mangoes aid digestion, improve complexion and your appetite, unripe mangoes are extremely helpful in the first trimester when you're constantly battling morning sickness, constipation and acidity.

Eat mangoes just like that, make some raw mango chunda, aam ka achaar and aam ras to eat with your meals, cool down with a mango yoghurt popsicle or drink it in the form of mango lassi, aam panna,  or mango milkshake, it's so good.

Things To Remember  

• Mangoes are very high in sugar, so you should be careful of how many you consume. While this is a good alternative when the sweet craving hits instead of a cookie, you need to be aware of gestational diabetes in the third trimester. So eating mangoes in moderation is key.
• Also if you have a sensitive stomach, be careful of mangoes since it could cause diarrhoea and in turn lead to dehydration.
• Wash the mangoes thoroughly before you sink your teeth into one.
• Remove the skin of the mango since pesticides and toxins remain on the skin and you could ingest it.
• If you're worried that mangoes are full of heat – soak them in a bowl of water for at least half an hour and then consume. 

What Else Should I Know Before I Go Shopping For Mangoes

Make sure you do not buy mangoes ripened with chemicals. The ripening chemicals used are extremely harmful to you and your baby. How can you tell? Look to see if the mangoes give off a garlic smell, have black-grey marks on the skin, look ripe on the outside but hard on the inside. Buy mangoes when they are in season, this will reduce the chances of the mangoes being artificially ripened.

Tip: It's safer to buy unripe mangoes and wait for it to ripen in your own home. At least that way you know they haven't been tampered with.

So eat a mango a day and enjoy the sweet, tangy taste of this seasonal fruit.