3rd Trimester: CRANBERRIES
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00Angela00
Posts: 1,077 Member
Pucker up to a glass of cranberry juice and kiss your bad bacteria goodbye. Cranberries are not only a great source of vitamin C and other antioxidants, they also have a unique ability to keep your body free from bad bacteria that can cause problems such as urinary tract infections, a common problem for pregnant women.
AT A GLANCE:
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 51
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Protein: 0 g
Fiber: 5 g
Calcium: 1%
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 22%
Iron: 2%
* One of the symptoms of your growing uterus is a lack of space in your gut. And one organ that really feels the squeeze is your bladder. The effect on your bladder is minor - it just doesn't have the same room it used to in order to expand and hold more urine, making your potty breaks more frequent. This can also lead to urinacy tract infections. Here's why: Because you're urinating more frequently and in smaller amounts, there's a lack of gushing urine, which blasts out bad bacteria.Luckily, cranberries can fight back! Cranberries are great protectors of your urinary tract.
* Scientists have found that cranberries can prevent bacteria from binding to your bladder lining, which is why they can prevent urinary tract infections. They do this because they contain proanthocyanidins, a powerful phytonutrient that inhibits bacteria's ability to attach to the lining of your urinary tract.
* One common cause of heartburn is a form of bacteria called H. pylori. These nasty bacteria live in your stomach where, under certain circumstances, they can grow, cause damage to your stomach lining, and even lead to ulcers. Cranberries can prevent bacteria from adhering or attaching to your stomach lining.
* Here's some good news: During pregnancy, your heartburn is usually from the upward pressure on your stomach from your growing uterus and not from this bacteria. But better safe than sorry!
* You're more likely to drink your cranberries as cranberry juice than raw. This is still a great source of vitamin C, but ou do lose the fiber found in the berries. If you dodrink cranberry juice, be sure to look for pure cranberry juice, not a cranberry cocktail. Let's face it, cocktails are just sugar and water: Don't buy them.
*If you find pure (not from concentrate) cranberry juice too sour, mix it with some orange or grape juice to sweeten it up a little.
* As for the traditional canned cranberry sauce that accompanies the family turkey dinner, it lost most of it's vitamin C and fiber content when it was manufactured, and has a lot of sugar added. A better option is to simply boil fresh cranberries in a bit of water and then add a pinch of sugar or honey to sweeten to taste.
TASTY TIPS
Love your dried cranberries (a.k.a. Craisins)? Better bear in mind that you're takng in a lot of extra calories, as in 370 per cup compared to 51 per cup for raw cranberries. Instead, enjoy cranberries' flavor and healthy benefits the way I do: in smoothies. I add the raw berries to my smoothies and sweeten them up wth xylitol, a healthy natural sweetener. You can find it at health food stores and some local groceries stores too.
Don't forget that cranberries dont HAVE to be sweet to taste good! True, you wouldn't want to munch on a handful of raw cranberries. But you can toss them in dressing for baked chicken or turkey or in a rice dish and enjoy them as a savory, colorful addition to your meal. Cranberries really shine in wild rice dishes. They're also good in dal (Indian lentil stews) and stewed fruit soups. Challenge yourself to think of new ways to use cranberries!
AT A GLANCE:
Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 51
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Protein: 0 g
Fiber: 5 g
Calcium: 1%
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 22%
Iron: 2%
* One of the symptoms of your growing uterus is a lack of space in your gut. And one organ that really feels the squeeze is your bladder. The effect on your bladder is minor - it just doesn't have the same room it used to in order to expand and hold more urine, making your potty breaks more frequent. This can also lead to urinacy tract infections. Here's why: Because you're urinating more frequently and in smaller amounts, there's a lack of gushing urine, which blasts out bad bacteria.Luckily, cranberries can fight back! Cranberries are great protectors of your urinary tract.
* Scientists have found that cranberries can prevent bacteria from binding to your bladder lining, which is why they can prevent urinary tract infections. They do this because they contain proanthocyanidins, a powerful phytonutrient that inhibits bacteria's ability to attach to the lining of your urinary tract.
* One common cause of heartburn is a form of bacteria called H. pylori. These nasty bacteria live in your stomach where, under certain circumstances, they can grow, cause damage to your stomach lining, and even lead to ulcers. Cranberries can prevent bacteria from adhering or attaching to your stomach lining.
* Here's some good news: During pregnancy, your heartburn is usually from the upward pressure on your stomach from your growing uterus and not from this bacteria. But better safe than sorry!
* You're more likely to drink your cranberries as cranberry juice than raw. This is still a great source of vitamin C, but ou do lose the fiber found in the berries. If you dodrink cranberry juice, be sure to look for pure cranberry juice, not a cranberry cocktail. Let's face it, cocktails are just sugar and water: Don't buy them.
*If you find pure (not from concentrate) cranberry juice too sour, mix it with some orange or grape juice to sweeten it up a little.
* As for the traditional canned cranberry sauce that accompanies the family turkey dinner, it lost most of it's vitamin C and fiber content when it was manufactured, and has a lot of sugar added. A better option is to simply boil fresh cranberries in a bit of water and then add a pinch of sugar or honey to sweeten to taste.
TASTY TIPS
Love your dried cranberries (a.k.a. Craisins)? Better bear in mind that you're takng in a lot of extra calories, as in 370 per cup compared to 51 per cup for raw cranberries. Instead, enjoy cranberries' flavor and healthy benefits the way I do: in smoothies. I add the raw berries to my smoothies and sweeten them up wth xylitol, a healthy natural sweetener. You can find it at health food stores and some local groceries stores too.
Don't forget that cranberries dont HAVE to be sweet to taste good! True, you wouldn't want to munch on a handful of raw cranberries. But you can toss them in dressing for baked chicken or turkey or in a rice dish and enjoy them as a savory, colorful addition to your meal. Cranberries really shine in wild rice dishes. They're also good in dal (Indian lentil stews) and stewed fruit soups. Challenge yourself to think of new ways to use cranberries!
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