A pregnancy is a very sensitive period. Throughout this period, your body experiences several changes. Therefore, you need to take extreme care of what you eat daily because now, not only you are concerned, but your baby is also dependent on your diet. Fruits are encouraged to be considered an essential portion of your daily food, but bananas have a few things you should care for. Ever wondered why to avoid banana during pregnancy?
It is true that a banana is a bundle of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. They are also considered a high fiber food, and from this aspect, they are beneficial for pregnant women as they prevent constipation. However, if you consume too much banana, it can reverse the situation and serve as a cause for the onset of constipation along with some other digestive problems.
Moreover, bananas are a very good source of energy, which is needed in pregnancy, as this situation involves energy fluctuations. But still, it is famous that during pregnancy, women should avoid taking bananas into their diet. What is the reason behind this? Is it a rumor or a truth? We’ll cover such confusions and questions in the following article.
What Harm Can a Banana Bring to Pregnancy?
Despite being a powerhouse of nutrients, bananas can pose some harmful alerts for pregnant women. Following are some of the reasons:
1. Unripe Bananas contain Resistant Starch
An unripe banana contains a higher starch content as compared to a ripe one, making 70–80% of its dry weight, much of it being a resistant starch.
This makes them undigestible in the small intestine, causing bloating and discomfort in the stomach as well. However, bananas progressively lose their starch content as they ripen.
Unripe bananas also contain several bacteria that can adversely affect both pregnant patients as well as their babies.
2. High Potassium level/hyperkalemia
Bananas feature high amounts of the mineral potassium. Although potassium is good for the development of your baby’s brain, bones, and nervous system.
But if you eat a large number of bananas in a single day, it can respectively elevate potassium levels beyond the required levels, causing a condition known as hyperkalemia, and everything in excess is bad for pregnancy.
Therefore, it is necessary to consult your doctor to know what your recommended daily amount of potassium is.
3. Latex Fruit Syndrome
Latex fruit syndrome occurs when people who are allergic to latex develop allergic reactions to specific fruits and vegetables. This happens because there are a few proteins present in some vegetables and fruits that are identical to those found in latex.
Consequently, our immune system may wrongly interpret many fruits and vegetables as hazardous, leading to an allergic reaction.
This reaction can be harmful to fetal development and may lead to cardiovascular diseases. This allergy has affected around 2.7 million out of 16 million people.
Females are three times more prone to latex allergy than males, and bananas are connected to this allergy more often. Therefore, pregnant ladies should take precautions when going for a banana.
4. Acidity
If you eat bananas when your stomach is empty, they can induce acid reflux and bowel disturbances. This causes heartburn, which is one of the symptoms pregnant women most commonly face.
The bowel disturbances may lead to IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), causing dehydration and diarrhea. All these symptoms can make life difficult for an expecting mother and increase the chance of miscarriage.
5. Rapid weight gain
A single banana of medium size contains 105 grams of calories. Eating one or two bananas per day is considered normal to some extent. But if you exceed 2 bananas daily, it can lead you to gain weight rapidly.
How many Bananas can you Normally Eat a day During Pregnancy?
Eating bananas during pregnancy might bring numerous benefits for you and the nourishment of your baby as well. But there is a limit you should keep an eye on. During pregnancy, experts suggest that you should not exceed the limit of 2-3 bananas a week.
One of the main reasons why doctors do not recommend eating bananas during pregnancy is that they contain a high level of potassium, which can lead to heart disease and high blood pressure by interfering with medications.
The other reason is that bananas contain a chemical known as furanocoumarin. This chemical is naturally present in vegetables and fruits, which helps protect them from insects. But in humans, specifically during pregnancy, furanocoumarin can be harmful for the fetus due to its phototoxic action.
Bananas have low to moderate levels of fat and calories but are rich in potassium, manganese, magnesium, copper, vitamin B6, fiber folate, as well as dietary fiber. It might be possible that you are allergic to several minerals and nutrients, and you don’t even have an idea for it. Being unmindful of your allergies can cause serious damage and even lead to miscarriage.
On the other hand, it is also possible that you have a deficiency of a certain mineral or nutrient, which you can overcome with bananas, and you are unaware of it.
That is why, it is necessary to keep yourself in touch with your doctor or healthcare provider and keep track of all the extremities and deficiencies you might be ignorant of, which can cause severe problems.
Conclusion
Bananas are a powerhouse of nutrients and energy. They provide several minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients that keep pregnant women and their babies healthy. However, for everything, there is a limit. If the limit is exceeded, it can become harmful instead of beneficial.
In light of this, the fact that people suggest avoiding eating bananas during pregnancy is correct and noteworthy to some extent.
If you eat more than two bananas per day, it can cause serious problems such as heartburn or acid reflux, diarrhea, diabetes, weight gain, hyperkalemia, disturbance in bowel movement, and other digestive problems. But for normal progress and development, eating 1-2 bananas per week is considered normal and appreciated during the pregnancy period.
Related Articles
Want to know more about pregnancy and staying healthy during this time? Check out these articles:
- How to Use a Pregnancy Pillow: Learn about the benefits of using a pregnancy pillow and how to use it properly for a comfortable night’s sleep during pregnancy.
- What Drinks Can Help Prevent Pregnancy: Learn about natural methods to help plan your family and avoid pregnancy. Discover what drinks might assist in this process.
- Signs of Ectopic Pregnancy: Understand the signs and symptoms of ectopic pregnancy, a serious condition that needs immediate medical attention.
- When to Tell Your Employer About Your Pregnancy: Learn the best time to share your pregnancy news with your employer. Get tips on how to handle this professionally.
- Interpreting Pregnancy Test Results at 4 Weeks: Get insights into reading pregnancy test results. Find out what a dark line on the test means at four weeks into pregnancy.
- Changes in Smell During Early Pregnancy: Explore unique aspects of pregnancy, like changes in your sense of smell. Find out what hCG, a hormone related to pregnancy, might smell like in early pregnancy.
