5 health benefits that apricots bring to pregnant mothers and babies

Apricots are a healthy food for pregnant mothers and fetuses as well as children. Find out!

You want your baby to be born healthy? Some of the important nutrients in your prenatal diet need protein, folic acid, iodine, calcium, and iron when you are pregnant. These nutrients are found in abundance in apricots. However, it is important that you wash them properly to get rid of the parasites and harmful bacteria that lead to food poisoning caused by listerose and toxoplasmosis infections.

The nutritional value of apricots

Apricots when ripe have a sweet and sour taste, characteristic aroma. Not only that, but this fruit also has high nutritional value with many vitamins and powerful antioxidants:

Calories: 48kcal

Carbohydrate: 11g

Protein: 1.4g

Fiber: 2g

Fat: 0.4g

Vitamin A: 180ug

Vitamin B6: 0.054mg

Vitamin C: 10mg

Vitamin E: 0.089mg

Vitamin K: 3.3ug

Calcium: 13mg

Iron: 0.39mg

Magnesium: 10mg

Phosphorus: 23mg

Potassium: 259mg

Sodium: 1mg

Zinc: 0.20mg

Health benefits of apricots during pregnancy

Apricots have many benefits to help pregnant mothers during pregnancy:

Apricots have the ability to provide calories to meet the increased caloric needs of a pregnant woman while the fetus is growing.

The fiber content of apricots protects mothers from problems such as constipation and hemorrhoids.

Apricots play an important role in maintaining proper blood glucose levels and thus preventing gestational diabetes.

The high iron, copper and cobalt content of apricots helps prevent anemia and reduce oxidative stress during pregnancy.

The folic acid in apricots helps prevent birth defects like spina bifida in babies. In addition, the vitamins and minerals and nutrients in apricots, silicon, phosphorus, potassium, iron and calcium also help optimize fetal development.

Apricots are full of nutritional value in terms of medicine. However, please consult your doctor during pregnancy to stay safe at all times.

Be aware of the risks associated with eating apricots during pregnancy

Although apricots have a very high nutritional value, you need to make sure that you only consume within the limits. Eating too many apricots is not good and you may experience side effects when consumed in excess.

Consuming too many dreams can affect the nervous system and cause very uncomfortable feelings during pregnancy.

If you eat an unripe apricot, it can cause an upset stomach that can lead to a very uncomfortable feeling.

Apricots contain sulfur dioxide, which causes an allergic reaction. So if you are sensitive to sulfites, stay away from them.

Apricot leaves contain a lot of chemical laetrile and can be harmful to your health. So to ensure health, make sure you remove the seeds before eating and only eat 5 fruits per day.

Eating too many apricots can make you feel dizzy and headaches.

The apricot has a bitter taste as it contains high levels of amygdalin. This is a type of toxin released from the glycoside amygdalin during digestion. These acids can cause symptoms such as respiratory failure, vomiting, and cramps. Eating a lot of apricots can also lead to respiratory paralysis in the worst school.

As you can see, apricots have many medicinal properties. If you eat them occasionally, about 1-3 times a week, it shouldn't cause any problems. Pregnancy is the time when you gain weight and you will likely see your weight increase by 11-16 kg. Therefore, you must check not only the apricots but also the amount of food consumed during pregnancy.

To ensure the safety of your health, consult your doctor before adding apricots to your daily diet.

Benefits of apricots for the health of children

Here are some of the amazing health benefits of apricots:

1. Strengthen the immune system

Apricots are rich in vitamin A, which have a very good effect on the baby's eyesight. Not only that, but babies are fed apricot regularly to help improve their immune system, from which they have enough resistance to cope with colds , coughs and many other diseases.

2. Good for the gut

Eating apricots can help reduce constipation . The reason is that this fruit contains a lot of fiber, which helps promote digestion and reduce the risk of common disorders. If your child is constipated, try giving him 6 to 8 apricots.

3. Good for heart health

Apricots have the ability to reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. Not only that, the high amount of potassium and sodium in this fruit also helps maintain a stable blood level, avoid high blood pressure and other heart-related problems.

4. Treat infections

Apricots are rich in vitamin A, which helps to destroy worm eggs in the intestinal tract. Not only that, this fruit is also rich in vitamin C, which increases the resistance against parasites. In particular, the fiber in apricots also helps to remove worms and other parasites easily through digestion.

5. Brain development

Apricots are rich in magnesium and potassium, these two minerals are capable of helping children develop a comprehensive brain.

6. Good for the skin

If your baby is having problems such as soft skin, bad pigmentation ... moms should let him use dreams often. Because the amount of vitamins A, E and oleic acid in the oil of the apricot pulp will help your baby's skin be healthy after only a short time.

When should children start to eat apricots?

You can choose sweet ripe apricots for your baby to learn to eat or puree for babies when they are more than 6 months old. At this time, the baby's digestive system has developed quite stably and can digest solid foods well.

However, if you are still afraid that your baby's digestive system is weak, you should feed your baby steamed or poached apricots. In addition, if you want, you can also start feeding your baby when your baby is 4 months old and don't forget to consult your pediatrician or a dietitian before doing so.

How to choose and preserve apricots

When buying apricots for your children to eat, you should choose to buy imported apricots because they have a sweet taste for your child to eat. In addition, there are a few things to keep in mind when choosing to buy this fruit:

Fresh apricots:

Choose firm, orange-yellow ripe berries, avoid buying light yellow or greenish-yellow fruits.

Choose ripe berries because they provide many antioxidants. You can tell by tasting that ripe apricots usually have a characteristic sweet taste.

Do not choose hard or speckled, cracked, crushed, soft, soft ones.

Dried apricots:

Buy organic dried apricots, carefully reviewing the ingredients to make sure the product does not contain sulfur dioxide, a substance that can cause allergies and breathing problems in infants .

Organic apricots are darker in color, so choose a darker color, the better.

Canned apricots:

Choose sugar-free products to avoid negative health effects.

If buying canned fruit juice, choose the sugar free one.

To preserve apricots, you need:

After buying fresh apricots, you should eat them as soon as possible as they quickly spoil and wilt

Keep fresh apricots in a paper bag lined with foam paper or a paper towel because ripe apricots are easy to break.

Store apricots in the refrigerator at low temperatures to slow down the ripening process, making them last longer.

Do baby apricots need to peel?

When you feed your baby apricots, you do not have to peel the apricots because the peel is soft and contains many nutrients for your baby. However, if you are afraid that this is not hygienic, you can remove the skin by gently scratching a few lines on the apricot, then adding it to boiling water for a while, then taking it out and dipping it in ice to let the peels itself. Slough off.

Can apricots cause allergies to babies?

Allergies are rare while eating apricots, but there are still cases. With an allergy, your baby's tongue, lips, face or throat will swell, sometimes with a tingling sensation in his mouth. Some children also have a serious breathing problem, called anaphylaxis . Usually, the allergy symptoms subside and then go away.

As observed, after eating apricots, some children may also experience colic, flatulence, nausea, and diarrhea. The cause of this condition may be the baby's body intolerance to dream.

Some notes to remember when feeding a baby apricot to avoid allergies

Here are some notes to keep in mind before adding dreams to your baby's diet:

When you first use apricots, let the space between meals so that your baby's body will gradually adapt to the new food. Besides, this also helps you know if your baby is allergic to apricots or if he or she is allergic to another food.

If you store mashed or pureed apricots in the freezer, wait until they melt and return to room temperature, then feed your baby.

Most fruits bought in markets are contaminated with pesticides. Therefore, after you buy it, do not just wash it with water but soak it with salt water for about 30 minutes before feeding your baby.

Feed your baby ripe fruit because green apricots can contain toxins.

To keep apricots dry, they are often treated with sulfur dioxide, a substance that can be toxic to babies. Therefore, before giving your baby dry apricots, soak the apricots in water for at least half an hour.

3 delicious dishes from apricots that you can prepare for your baby

Here are some delicious apricot recipes that you can try:

1. Mashed dried apricots with apples

Dried apricots are rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. When eaten with apples, this dish is extremely nutritious. This dish is suitable for children from 6 months old and up. You need to prepare:

Apricots are dried and soaked in warm water

Apples are peeled

Making:

Cut the dried apricots and apples into pieces, then simmer until tender. Pour into a cup, puree and feed.

2. Mashed apricots with bananas

Mashed apricots with bananas will definitely be an extremely delicious and nutritious dish for young children. Food suitable for children from 6 months and up. You need to prepare:

Fresh apricots

Banana

Making:

Cut the apricots in half and boil for a few minutes. When the apricot is soft and smooth, remove and peel. Put the apricots and bananas in the machine, puree and pour them into the cup for your baby to enjoy.

3. Mango apricot smoothie

This dish is suitable for children from 8 months old. You need to prepare:

1 mango

Dried apricots

Milk

Making:

Peel and chop the mango. Soak the apricots in warm water for at least half an hour and cut into small pieces. Then, put all the ingredients in the machine, puree and let your baby enjoy.

Apricots are one of the best snack foods for babies. However, remember to follow some notes above to avoid the risk of your baby being allergic.