Nutritional Benefits of Bananas During Pregnancy: What Expectant Mothers Should Know

Pregnancy is a stage of transformation—physical and emotional. To control these changes, you must ensure that have a nutritious and balanced diet, stay active, and stay hydrated. The essential nutrients are packed with minerals, vitamins, and fibre. 

Therefore, in the pregnancy platter – you may include veg, non-veg and fresh fruits. You can have oranges, mangoes, avocados, lemons, apples, and bananas in fruits.  

As expectant parents, with the nutrition week approaching, you might consider bananas among the other fruits, not without knowing their nutritional benefits. 

How Good are Bananas For Pregnancy?  

Bananas have an impressive nutritional profile – calories, fat, sodium, carbs, fibres, protein, magnesium, and so on. Consuming bananas also gives you relief from pregnancy-induced complications. There are following other benefits below:

Getting Relief From Nausea

During the first trimester, suffering from nausea and morning sickness can be problematic. But, bananas could be of your help, and rescue with Vitamin B6 contents in it.  Vitamin B6 is crucial in regulating neurotransmitters and hormones linked to nausea, which can offer expectant mothers relief during the initial stages of pregnancy.

Reduces the Risk of Swelling

Due to hormonal fluctuations, and water retention during the second and third trimesters, you will feel swollen in the legs, hands, and face – a condition known as swelling or oedema. You need to avoid salty food and include bananas in your pregnancy platter. 

Keeps You Energised

To nurture another life inside you, you’d have to keep yourself physically and emotionally boosted. Pregnancy can naturally make you feel tired. Although you can have other food, various kinds of fruits and veggies to make you feel strengthened, amidst other fruits, bananas can offer a combination of digestible carbs, and natural sugars. Bananas provide sustained energy that can help mothers-to-be stay active and combat pregnancy-induced fatigue, unlike sugary snacks.  

Keeps the Pregnancy-induced Blood Pressure Regulated

Pregnancy-induced high blood pressure or hypertension is when the blood flows through the artery at high speed. 1 out of 12 to 17 of you between the ages of 20 to 44 suffer from pregnancy-induced high blood pressure (hypertension), leaving you swollen hands or feet, headaches, bleeding nose, vomiting, etc. While you can’t ignore this condition, try to take good care of it by including nutritious food, meditation, and yoga; including fruits in your daily pregnancy platter can keep your blood pressure under check. Amidst other fruits, potassium-rich bananas can help you maintain healthy blood pressure (hypertension) levels. 

Battles Acidity, Heartburn, and Constipation During Pregnancy

There is no denying that, due to hormonal fluctuations, as well as diet acidity, heartburn, and constipation, are common during pregnancy. Just a lit change in your diet, and including fruits – mostly bananas on your pregnancy platter can ease the symptoms of heartburn, acidity and constipation.

However, moderation is the key when it comes to consuming bananas during pregnancy. Try not to have more than 2 to 3 bananas per week. So, go ahead and enjoy a banana smoothie, banana oatmeal, and banana chips, or just the whole fruit, and enjoy a healthy pregnancy.