The life of an expecting mother is filled with amazing and surprising experiences throughout pregnancy. One of them is a brand-new diet for pregnancy! A well-balanced diet supports the unborn child's growth and development. Thus, it is critical to eat the right foods. One such food is the sweet potato, which contains simple sugars such as fructose and glucose and is low in processed carbs but high in vitamins such as folate and minerals, including iron.
Is It Okay to Have Sweet Potato During Pregnancy?
Eating sweet potatoes during pregnancy is healthy and can be a delicious alternative to your regular diet. They contain more carbohydrates than ordinary potatoes, the body’s primary energy source. Furthermore, sweet potatoes contain a lot of beta-carotene, necessary to grow a healthy fetus. Here are some ways by which sweet potatoes can be beneficial during pregnancy:
- Storehouse of nutrients: Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of nutrients, such as vitamins A, C, and E, essential for the baby’s immune system, eyes, and organ development. They also contain a lot of folates and vitamin B, crucial for developing neural tubes in infants and helping prevent congenital disabilities.
- Digestive health and fibre: Pregnancy is often associated with constipation and other digestive problems. Sweet potatoes provide high dietary fibre, improving digestion and relieving constipation. This enables mothers-to-be to manage pain while ensuring regular bowel movements.
- Blood sugar control: A common illness that affects expectant women is gestational diabetes. But sweet potatoes have a low glycaemic index (GI), meaning sugar enters the bloodstream slowly, thereby lowering the risk of gestational diabetes and helping control blood sugar levels.
- Iron boost: Iron deficiency, common during pregnancy, can result in anaemia. Eating sweet potatoes promotes the formation of haemoglobin in the mother and the unborn child and helps keep iron levels in check.
What are the risks of consuming sweet potatoes when pregnant?
Sweet potatoes are typically regarded as safe to consume during pregnancy. But there are a few possible hazards to be mindful of:
- Sweet potatoes contain a lot of oxalates, which can cause kidney stones. Serious discomfort and problems with the kidneys and gallbladder might be the outcome.
- A sugar found in sweet potatoes called mannitol can give people stomach aches. Gas and diarrhoea may also cause problems.
- As sweet potatoes are heavy in carbohydrates, they can cause health problems among women with diabetes or those who are overweight.