Can pregnant women eat spinach? What are the harmful effects of eating spinach?

During pregnancy, pregnant women need to pay close attention to their diet to avoid affecting the health of both mother and child. So can you eat spinach while pregnant? What are the bad effects of spinach on the body of pregnant women? SignsSymptomsList will send you information about eating spinach during pregnancy.

Spinach contains many nutrients that bring many benefits to the body. However, not everyone can eat this vegetable. Can pregnant women eat spinach? The following article will provide mothers with complete knowledge about eating spinach and notes when eating during pregnancy.

What are the health benefits of spinach?

Spinach is also known as vegetable plucking, bougainvillea or suckling. This is a shrub that grows in the tropics. In Vietnam, spinach is processed into many delicious and healthy dishes.

Spinach is considered to contain many nutrients. In 100g of spinach will bring to the body:

• 5.3g protein;
• 3.4g starch;
• 2.7mg iron;
• 169mg calcium;
• 185mg vitamin C;
• 64.5mg phosphorus;
• 100 mcg vitamin B1;
• 400 mcg vitamin B2;
• 2.2g vitamin PP ;
• 6 micrograms of carotenoids.

Spinach contains many nutrients that are good for human health

Spinach contains a lot of protid, vitamins, mineral salts and many essential minerals. According to research, the nutrients in spinach are twice as many as in water spinach, equivalent to some beans that are good for the health of pregnant women and babies. The ingredients in spinach contain a lot of magnesium, potassium, calcium, B vitamins and important amino acids. In Eastern medicine, spinach has cool properties, cooling effects, and is benign for children and the elderly. The high fiber content in spinach is very good for the digestive system. Adding spinach in the diet will avoid constipation .

The nutrients contained in the ingredients of spinach are good for health. However, not everyone can eat this vegetable, especially pregnant women. Pregnant women are often very careful in their diet, so the question of whether they can eat spinach while pregnant is always a concern of most pregnant women. The following shares will help you answer this question.

Can pregnant women eat spinach?

A rich, varied and balanced diet between food groups is always essential to ensure the health of both mother and fetus. In particular, spinach is known as a delicious and nutritious green vegetable. To answer the question of whether pregnant women can eat spinach, we need to analyze more deeply the composition of this vegetable.

The Vietnam Pharmacopoeia 2002 clearly states that pregnant women are advised not to use papaverin. Pregnant women with a history of miscarriage , premature birth or in vitro fertilization should not eat spinach in their daily meals and should limit it to the maximum extent. Pregnant women in the first 3 months should also not eat spinach because the pregnancy is not stable. The reason for this is that the papaverin compound in the vegetable is quite high. Therefore, pregnant women should minimize the consumption of this vegetable.

Pregnant women should limit eating spinach in the first trimester

However, pregnant women with stable and normal health can still eat spinach to diversify foods in their daily diet. Mothers still need to make sure to choose clean food, with clear origin, food safety and hygiene. When processing, the mother can cook spinach soup, boiled spinach. The most important thing is that mothers should eat vegetables when they are cooked to be safe for health.

Here are the things to keep in mind if pregnant women want to eat spinach during pregnancy:

• Pregnant women with a history of miscarriage, premature birth or pregnancy by in vitro fertilization should limit their consumption of spinach to minimize the risk of adverse effects on the health of both mother and child.
• To ensure safety, please avoid eating fresh spinach, raw spinach.
• Please choose to buy fresh, clean spinach to avoid poisoning.

How many months pregnant women can eat vegetables?

Throughout pregnancy, pregnant women often hear folklore that they should not eat spinach. In fact, pregnant women can still eat this vegetable. From the fourth month onwards, pregnant women with a healthy pregnancy can eat spinach to supplement the necessary nutrients. Pregnant women can cook hot water spinach soup or boiled water spinach with a moderate dose, should not eat too many times a month.

If you can't eat spinach, pregnant women can replace it with some other healthy vegetables such as broccoli, bok choy, spinach... These are foods that are said to be very good for pregnant women. They will help prevent birth defects in the fetus, arthritis, enhance resistance, and antioxidant for pregnant women.

Can pregnant women eat spinach is a question of many pregnant women

Harm of water spinach for pregnant women

In the daily nutrition of pregnant women, experts recommend that mothers should add a variety of foods to help the body of pregnant women and the fetus absorb more nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Although spinach has high nutritional value, it is listed on the list of ingredients that need to be limited to minimize the side effects that it brings. 

Eating spinach will expose pregnant women to a number of risks, including:

• Risk of miscarriage : The high content of papaverin in the vegetable will stimulate the uterine smooth muscle to contract, leading to miscarriage. According to folk experience, women after giving birth to a baby, who have just had a miscarriage or after an abortion are often advised to drink raw water spinach so as not to miss the placenta.
• Impedes the absorption of phosphorus and calcium into the body : Glucocorticoid compounds are created after the body metabolizes from the leaves of spinach. This is a factor that interferes with the body's ability to absorb phosphorus and calcium from food.
• There is a risk of causing insomnia, poor eating, breathing difficulty in pregnant women.

Eating spinach during pregnancy can make the mother lose sleep

Hopefully, the above sharing has helped pregnant mothers and their families answer the question of whether or not to eat spinach while pregnant and what to pay attention to when eating. Please pay attention to supplementing the necessary foods during pregnancy as well as adjusting your lifestyle and living habits regularly so that the fetus develops stably, you experience a gentle and healthy pregnancy!