Garlic in pregnancy: benefits and harms

An expectant mother considers each product very thoroughly, studying whether it is allowed to eat, whether it will not harm the pregnancy and the baby's health? It happens, girlfriends some vegetable or ready meal praise, saying that they ate it all pregnancy and became only healthier, but my mother or grandmother very strongly advise against it. One such controversial vegetable is everyone's well-known garlic.

Is it allowed to eat garlic during pregnancy

Is it acceptable to eat garlic during pregnancy? There is no definite answer to this question, because this spicy vegetable, loved by some and categorically denied by others, has many beneficial qualities, as well as many caveats.

Garlic is prohibited only to those women who have been diagnosed with severe chronic diseases in the periods of exacerbation, especially relating to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Other future mothers will find it useful as an antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agent. For them, the only restriction in the use of garlic is not to overeat. For each pregnancy term, there are specific recommendations for acceptable intake rates.

In the early term

Usually at the very beginning of pregnancy, the expectant mother wants something special: then sweet, then salty, then bitter, then spicy. It is at this period of time garlic is often a desired product for her. Want - do not deny yourself, unless there is nothing that threatens the pregnancy: no oozing or pulling pain in the abdomen.

Garlic will be especially helpful when the first weeks of expecting a child are in late fall or early spring. This is the time when colds and flu are common, and garlic will help women to strengthen the immune system, which will now have to "work" for two, will saturate the body with natural vitamins and minerals. In addition, it will help reduce the unpleasant symptoms of toxicity - such as nausea and vomiting. And thanks to the ability to thin the blood, garlic will prevent the occurrence of blood clots and prevent damage to the veins with varicose veins.

If the stomach of a pregnant woman does not begin to whine after eating this product, in the first trimester you can easily allow yourself 1-2 cloves daily.

In the 2nd trimester

Nausea and toxicosis during the second trimester do not bother anymore, the future baby is already protected by the placenta and there is no need to worry about his health. But there is still a risk of increased uterine tone and bleeding, if the mother eats garlic in unreasonable quantities. This is especially risky for women taking aspirin or curantil by prescription to prevent placental insufficiency and fetal hypoxia. In such cases, the use of garlic should be limited and reduce the acceptable weekly rate to 2-3 cloves. And it is better not to eat it, as they say, "alive", but to add it as a condiment to salads or other dishes.

In the 3rd trimester

In the final trimester there is a danger of premature birth. And since hot garlic stimulates muscle tone and thinning the blood, future mothers should not risk eating this vegetable. In addition, it can aggravate heartburn, which already quite often bothers women in the last weeks of pregnancy due to the fact that the already large baby presses on the stomach and shifts it up.

We should not forget about the risk of hemorrhoids in the third trimester, as well as in the postpartum period, which can be aggravated by garlic. Therefore, regarding its use it is necessary to consult with a doctor, who observes the course of pregnancy. The doctor will draw a conclusion based on the results of tests and examination of the expectant mother.

How to consume garlic correctly

Pregnant women should not overindulge in garlic, taking a bite and eating a piece of black bread. It is better to add it as a condiment in a cooked dish: crush a clove, and then put it in soup, salad or goulash.

Garlic can be eaten in dried, cooked, stewed and pickled form. But the most useful thing is, of course, the fresh vegetable, because it preserves all the useful substances.

It's good to rub garlic on the crust of bread, which the mother-to-be eats with soup or borscht. And tasty, and there will be no danger.

To protect yourself from viruses during widespread colds, garlic should be crushed and left for about 20-25 minutes. During this time, the allicin will be released, which is an organic substance which isn't initially present in garlic, but appears only after its mechanical destruction. It is allicin that gives a specific spicy smell. This compound has the effect of disinfecting and increasing the body's defenses. To strengthen the immune system and get rid of colds, the expectant mother should slowly chew crushed garlic before swallowing the potion.

To strengthen the body's immune system and prevent colds, acute respiratory infections and flu, both medics and folk healers recommend eating a mixture of honey and garlic, taken equally.

Well, if a pregnant woman was not able to get away from a cold, to recover faster it will help the following remedy. Three garlic cloves should be made into a pulp and mixed with a half glass of sour milk or kefir. Drink one teaspoon at a time, stretching the specified amount for the whole day. Heat until warm before drinking.

A minimal amount of garlic will get into the stomach if you make a flavorful spicy sandwich butter with it. You need to put 100g of butter in a bowl and leave it on the kitchen table to soften. Scald a small lemon with boiling water and chop it with a blender along with 3 cloves of garlic. Mix the lemon-garlic mixture with the oil and put it in the refrigerator to cool. That's all, you can enjoy!

If the mom-to-be is allergic to lemon, you can use dill instead. It will also be very tasty.

Very tasty, healthy and nourishing casserole of cooked vegetables with garlic. For it you will need boiled potatoes and carrots in the ratio of 1:8. You should grate them, add beaten eggs (2 eggs per half a kilo of vegetables), 3 tablespoons of whole wheat flour and 2 tablespoons of garlic, passed through a blender. Dried garlic powder will also work, but you should take half as much - 1 tablespoon. 2 tablespoons of finely chopped dill will brighten up the taste of the dish. Mix the ingredients and bake in the oven until the ruddy crust at 180-200 degrees.

Garlic can be added to a salad of beets - both boiled and raw. It is very useful for improving the immune system and preventing constipation.

Just breathing the aroma of finely chopped garlic is also useful! Such a kind of "inhalation" will help the mother-to-be to cope with a runny nose. You need to cut or crush a few cloves and put the pieces in a small container like a test tube. A small glass will also do. It is necessary to hold it near your nose and breathe deeply the garlic vapors.

Or try a method to fight runny nose: 5 garlic cloves cut into 4-5 pieces and put in a small teapot for brewing, pour boiling water into it and breathe the heated garlic vapor - alternately one and then another nostril. It is better to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. The main thing is not to burn yourself. Such methods of using garlic are acceptable even for those who are strictly forbidden to eat it.

How much you can eat per day

The permissible daily norm of garlic depends on the duration of pregnancy and the condition of the expectant mother. If her health is not a concern and there is no threat of interruption of pregnancy, in the first trimester it is acceptable to eat 1-2 cloves a day, and in the second trimester you should reduce the use to 2-3 slices per week. This rate can be maintained in the third trimester, if, of course, the doctor will not forbid the pregnant woman spicy vegetable at all.

Is it possible to eat it at night and on an empty stomach?

Doctors and scientists to the consumption of garlic on an empty stomach in two ways. On the one hand, it is on an empty stomach that it acts more productively and is much more effective in dealing with pathogenic bacteria. But on the other hand, it strongly irritates the mucous surface of the stomach, and this is dangerous for those who have problems with the digestive system - such as gastritis, duodenal or stomach ulcers, etc. This is a very serious load for pregnant women, especially in the later stages, when the organs of the digestive tract are in an uncomfortable, compressed state and work with increased stress, and the expectant mother is often tormented with heartburn. Therefore, on an empty stomach, garlic is contraindicated for pregnant women.

But before going to bed, at dinner, it is not forbidden to eat a clove of garlic. By speeding up digestion, it will help the body to cope faster with the food eaten for the night.

The benefits of garlic during pregnancy

In fact, garlic is a treasure trove of healthy elements. If a pregnant woman will not gorge herself on it, but once in a while to eat a little, then every component in the vegetable will benefit her and the future baby.

1. So, ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, which each head of garlic contains a large amount, will allow the mother to cope with stress and increased stress on the body, strengthen blood vessels, help eliminate harmful substances and toxins, and keep teeth and bones healthy, and skin elastic, protect against stretch marks on the stomach. In addition, vitamin C is known for its ability to stimulate the immune system and increase the body's resistance to bacteria and viruses.
2. A very important property for the future mother of ascorbic acid - it is an active participant in the absorption of folic acid from the intestine, which is necessary for the proper tab of systems and organs of the baby and their formation, as well as the processing of iron and calcium.
3. Carotene present in garlic will help the body of a pregnant woman to get rid of free radicals and resist the negative influences of the environment.
4. Among vegetables, garlic has the highest amount of vitamin B1, or thiamine. For pregnant women, it is valuable for its ability to give energy and vigor. In addition, this element contributes to normal mental development of the fetus.
5. Riboflavin, or vitamin B2, is an active participant in all kinds of metabolism in the body - protein, lipid, carbohydrate. It helps women in a position to keep in shape, not to gain excess weight, forms the baby's bone system, and produces red blood cells, thereby ensuring that pregnant women can maintain normal hematopoiesis. In addition, it helps to relieve headaches and helps to improve sleep.
6. Nicotinic acid, or vitamin PP, is also involved in all metabolic processes and has an impact on blood flow, improving microcirculation, reducing the likelihood of blood clots, which is important for pregnant women because it helps prevent varicose veins, ensure normal placental blood supply and oxygen supply to the embryo.
7. Garlic has also been found to contain 17 mineral elements. In addition to minerals such as phosphorus and potassium, which are known to help build the skeleton and ensure normal heart function, and magnesium, which has a calming effect on the nervous system of pregnant women, this spicy vegetable also contains selenium. Not only is it an antioxidant, but it also restores hair, skin and nail cells.
8. Garlic is a supplier of iodine to the body of the future mother, and actively protects the thyroid gland, whose work in this period of a woman's life quite often fails. Therefore, garlic support is very timely.
9. Garlic is very rich in sulfur: its compounds, of which the vegetable contains more than a hundred, destroy typhoid and dysentery bacillus, staphylococci, fungi. The same effect they have on carcinogens, which allows you to protect the future child from cancer still in the embryonic stage.
10. Phytoncides, for which garlic is famous, are carriers of antibiotic abilities, they destroy viruses very quickly - much faster than synthesized chemicals, so they can be used by pregnant women as natural components of the prevention of SARS during the season of colds.
11. Two aspirin-like substances - adonisite and allicin - thin the blood and prevent blood clots, ensuring effective blood circulation between mother and baby.
12. Such an extensive range of beneficial substances makes garlic not only useful for consumption, but also necessary for treatment. But the future mother, before starting treatment with this product, should definitely consult her doctor. If he allows, you can use the health properties of the plant.
13. Due to its unique composition, garlic is a condiment that can effectively promote health, improve the immune system of a pregnant woman, treat avitaminosis.
14. Its anticoagulant properties make it a good means of preventing atherosclerosis, thromboembolism and heart attack. In addition, the vegetable has the ability to reduce blood pressure, and this problem also often occurs in women in the second half of pregnancy.
15. As a means, which has an antiparasitic effect, garlic has long been used and can cope with a number of helminths - ankylostoma, pinworms, ascarids.
16. Garlic is also used as an antibiotic, it is good at destroying mycobacteria, salmonella, staphylococcus, this property was even officially used to combat amoebic dysentery. And the antiviral properties of the vegetable have been known for a long time, garlic lovers are virtually immune to colds and flu.
17. As an antifungal agent, garlic is used to treat various lesions, even as serious as candidiasis.
18. Scientists have found that regular consumption of this vegetable reduces blood cholesterol levels and also gets rid of atherosclerosis and reduces the risk of diabetes.
19. Many years of folk experience and clinical trials testify to the anti-cancer abilities of the product, in particular garlic lovers are much less likely to suffer from stomach cancer.
20. The antacid properties of the plant help those who regularly eat a couple of cloves of it not to age and keep their figure in good shape.

Garlic for worms during pregnancy

Unfortunately, it also happens that a future mother is found to have worms - ascarids or pinworms. Do not take pharmaceutical anthelmintics, because they are extremely toxic and dangerous for the fetus with their side effects. Since many herbs with anthelmintic properties are no less dangerous than pharmaceutical drugs, the only way out in this situation is garlic. You can be treated with this vegetable both by enemas and by taking it orally.

A mixture of milk and garlic will do for intake: squeeze 15 drops of garlic juice into a glass of liquid. This mixture should be divided into 3-4 doses and drunk throughout the day. The drug is better to take in warm form.

For those expectant mothers whose digestive system does not cause any complaints, it is acceptable to drink about half a glass of heated milk in the morning on an empty stomach, and then eat a few garlic cloves.

Garlic enemas should be done every evening for a whole week. On the first day, take only half a portion - that is, half a cup. If no harm to health follows and especially strong discomfort the future mother will not feel, on subsequent days, you can repeat the procedure already with a whole glass of anthelmintic composition prepared with garlic. To do this, boil a whole peeled large head of the vegetable in a glass of milk until soft. After cooling, strain and apply.

To ensure that the enema does not cause any complications during pregnancy, a consultation with an obstetrician-gynecologist, who observes the expectant mother, is required before starting the treatment.

To get a greater effect, you can combine an enema with taking an anthelmintic composition orally. Of the pharmacy compounds admissible for use by pregnant women is only garlic oil. It can be dripped in 1-2 drops on a piece of bread during breakfast.

Does garlic help with toothache during pregnancy?

Of course, it is necessary to treat the teeth of the future mother at the stage of planning the pregnancy, because the medical solution of dental problems during pregnancy is extremely undesirable and even dangerous. In the early stages, this can damage the correct conception and formation of the embryo's organs and systems. In the third trimester both mother and baby will experience so much stress in the dentist's chair that it can lead to premature birth. In the second trimester the visit to the doctor is allowed, in the rest of the time it is necessary to get rid of the toothache by means of folk remedies. Garlic is considered the best and the most effective of them.

Folk healers recommend to apply the peeled clove directly to the painful tooth. In this way, they say, you can relieve the pain.

It also helps to put the tooth to the vein, which pulsates on the wrist. And if the tooth hurts on the right side, you should put garlic to the left wrist, if it hurts on the left side - to the right wrist. In this case, a garlic clove should be either cut or crushed. In the first case, it is pressed with its slice to the vein, in the second - it is wrapped in a piece of bandage before imposition. To accelerate the effect, you can put garlic in addition to the tooth.

Can garlic harm the expectant mother?

If you do not abuse garlic, there will be no harm from it to a pregnant woman. If you exceed the allowable norms of consumption of the spicy vegetable, a miscarriage in the early terms and premature birth are quite possible - both in the second and in the third trimester, if the future mother is in the risk group.

Because of the spice of garlic, a pregnant woman may experience heartburn and even pain in the stomach if she is prone to gastritis or ulcers.

Garlic should not be eaten by expectant mothers suffering from liver diseases, heart or vascular disorders, as well as those who have been diagnosed with kidney pathologies during pregnancy. The pregnancy is a heavy burden for them, so you should not overcompensate by eating this spicy vegetable.

Such a property of garlic as the ability to thin the blood is dangerous in case of thrombocytopenia, a disease in which the blood is too thin. For women with such a diagnosis, the product is prohibited.

Cases of allergies to this vegetable have been revealed. Although they are infrequent, but if a woman found herself with any allergic manifestations, then the use of garlic should be abandoned.