Is It Safe To Eat Blueberries During Pregnancy?

Blueberries are excellent sources of folate, potassium, and antioxidants. Having blueberries during pregnancy could offer a number of nutritional benefits for the expecting mother. Apart from boosting your maternal health and helping manage weight, they may be beneficial for your growing fetus too. So, are you keen to include these nutrient-dense, delicious berries in your pregnancy diet? Delve into this post as we explore the benefits, safety aspects, interesting recipes, and some tips to consume blueberries while pregnant.

What Are Blueberries?

The indigo-colored berries are the fruit of a flowering plant that grows in North America.

Blueberries are relatives of cranberries and bilberries i.e. all the three berries belong to the same family. (1)

Are Blueberries Good For Health?

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Blueberries are a great inclusion for prenatal nutrition as they are a rich source of vitamin K, vitamin C, manganese, dietary fiber, phytochemicals, and copper (2). These nutrients are essential for your and your baby’s health during pregnancy.

Quick tip

Choose dry, smooth-skinned, plump blueberries that have deep purple-blue to blue-black hues with a light frost.

Are Blueberries Good For Pregnancy?

Blueberries are one of the best fruits to eat during pregnancy. Here are some of the common benefits of consuming blueberries.

1. Keeps weight-gain in check

• Pregnant women dread excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Blueberries are low-calorie and low-fat, so you can munch on them without worrying about gaining those extra pounds as they promote healthy weight gain.

2. Strengthens the immune system

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• Are you pregnant and dread illnesses and infections? Fret not! During pregnancy, your immunity is at an all-time low. In addition, you want to avoid popping pills while expecting. The delicious blueberries are rich in Vitamin C and can help boost your immune system. The essential nutrient also aids the absorption of iron in your body.

3. Reduces stress

• Are you suffering from the ‘pregnancy brain’? Do not worry. Blueberries are a storehouse of antioxidants. Regular consumption of the fruit can help protect your nerves from oxidative stress and boost your brain’s cognitive development and function!

4. Alleviates constipation

• The toilet ordeal every day adds to your pregnancy blues! Blueberries are a natural remedy and delicious cure for constipation and support digestive health. The fruit is also a rich source of dietary fiber and can help regulate your bowel movement.

5. Boosts heart health

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• Blueberries are a wonderful source of antioxidants and help to protect you from developing cardiovascular complications. Eating blueberries while pregnant keeps the threat of preeclampsia at bay! Also, being a low-glycemic index fruit, it helps reduce the risk of gestational diabetes. In addition, these berries are rich in folate, which aids in preventing birth defects in babies.

6. Lowers blood pressure

• Blueberries are rich in bioactive compounds with antioxidant capacity, which may help mitigate oxidative stress, a critical factor in hypertension. A study revealed that regular consumption of blueberries by pre-hypertensive individuals has shown a significant reduction in diastolic pressure (3). As per another study, continued consumption of blueberries for eight weeks decreased arterial stiffness, lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 5-6% (4). Thus, including blueberries in the diet during pregnancy could help manage blood pressure.

7. Improves cognitive function

• Blueberries, rich in polyphenols, can potentially improve measures of cognitive performance, specifically in short and long-term memory and spatial memory (5). The flavonoids present in blueberries have also been shown to improve mental health, concentration, focus, and brain activity (6).

Did you know?

Certain studies indicate that blueberries may help regulate blood sugar levels and reduce triglycerides (12).

Do Blueberries Offer Any Health Benefits For The Baby?

Blueberries can work wonders for the growth and development of the little one in your womb in the following ways:

1. Aids bone development

• The blueberries contain polyphenols, a compound that aids the development of the bones in the fetus and can be beneficial for the baby’s overall health and brain development.

2. Prevents premature delivery

• According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the preterm birth rate experienced a 4% increase from 2020 to 2021, reaching 10.5% compared to the previous 10.1%. Including blueberries in your healthy, well-balanced diet may help prevent issues that can cause preterm birth.

3. Prevent low birth weight baby

• Consuming blueberries may reduce the risk of low birth weight of your newborn.

Things To Remember

• Blueberries have innumerable health benefits, but one has to be careful while selecting the fruit. That means while you are going for blueberry shopping do ensure that you pick organic ones since they are pesticide free.
  

  Image: Shutterstock

• Wash and rinse them well to remove any pesticides or contaminants.
• Also, please consult your doctor before adding blueberries to your pregnancy diet.
• Remember that consuming anything in moderation does not spell danger. 

Blueberries Recipe For Pregnant Women

Here is a yummy treat to pamper your taste buds during pregnancy in a healthy way:

Blueberry salad

Image: Shutterstock

You Will Need:

• ½ a cup of Strawberries (Chopped)
• ½ a cup of Blueberries (Chopped)
• 1 Banana (Sliced)
• 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
• 3 Tbsp Sugar

How To:

• In a bowl mix strawberries and blueberries together.

• Add some sugar and lemon juice into the bowl and toss the berries again. Now put the bowl in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

• Add banana slices before serving.

• Now you know you can binge on blueberries as a healthy snack! Why wait? Go ahead and grab a bowl!

Describing how she satisfied her craving for blueberry muffins during pregnancy, Lindsay, a mother, states baking them herself using a simple recipe, “I spent much of last week thinking about the perfect blueberry muffin, so much so that I went up to my cafeteria at work two mornings to see if they had any to offer. But, alas, their muffin selection was restricted to banana nuts and chocolate chips. So I made up my mind to make some this weekend instead.”

She discloses this step-by-step process of baking the blueberry muffins: “Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in baking powder. Alternate flour and milk until everything is well incorporated. Mash up 1/2 cup of the fresh blueberries and mix into the batter. Fold in vanilla and remaining blueberries. Fill muffin tins 3/4 or so of the way full. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan for five minutes and then either remove from pan or tip the muffins on their sides (to avoid steaming the muffins). Eat and enjoy (i).”

Quick tip

You may blend chopped blueberries, strawberries, banana slices, and unsweetened Greek yogurt to make a refreshing smoothie snack.

Infographic: Health Benefits Of Blueberries During Pregnancy

Blueberries are rich in vitamins and minerals essential for the mother and baby’s health during pregnancy. You can consume blueberries by adding them to your salad or blending them in a smoothie. Scroll through this infographic to discover the various health benefits of blueberries during pregnancy.

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Illustration: Is It Safe To Eat Blueberries During Pregnancy?

Image: Stable Diffusion/MomJunction Design Team

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Reda ElmardiRD

Reda Elmardi is a registered dietician, certified nutritionist, and certified strength and conditioning specialist trainer. The 32-year-old is a certified nutritionist from the UNC's Online MPH with Nutrition concentration, and has around ten years of experience.

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Ria SahaB.Tech

Ria is a techie-turned-writer and writes articles on health, with special emphasis on nutrition. She did her B.Tech from West Bengal University of Technology and was previously associated with IBM as SAP ABAP technical consultant.

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Swati PatwalM.Sc. (Food & Nutrition), MBA

Swati Patwal is a clinical nutritionist, a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) and a toddler mom with more than a decade of experience in diverse fields of nutrition. She started her career as a CSR project coordinator for a healthy eating and active lifestyle project catering to school children.

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Lorraine TeronMSc

Lorraine is a postgraduate in Life Science from Mount Carmel College and previously worked as a freelance scientific illustrator. As a project associate and lab technician at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Lorraine received valuable insights into Covid-19, transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, and neuro-degenerative diseases.

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