Do you like avocado? If you don’t, please, find a place in your heart to accommodate this amazing fruit.
It is a blessing to everyone, most especially women Trying To Conceive.
The avocado is a seasonal fruit in Nigeria.
Although different studies say its origin is south-central Mexico, it is also in Nigeria.
From the flowering plant family, Lauraceae, avocado fruit is a large berry containing a single large seed.
If you are someone who care about the nutrient a fruit offers, you don’t have to love avocado to eat it.
We know some women care less about the nutrient in their food. It is not a good practice because you will be making the wrong choice of food.
Sometimes, your food should have a target when you feed your body.
In fact, eating yourself to pregnancy requires that you give attention to your choices.
For a woman Trying To Conceive, we do not expect that you would remain careless about your food after 6 months of trying.
Your food and lifestyle should be the next areas to consider when a doctor says all is well with you.
Truly, you could be eating foods that are making conception impossible.
For this reason, being deliberate about what you eat is of great benefit.
Focus on food that boost fertility and your result will come faster than you can imagine.
Studies have shown that maternal nutrient intake can affect every major aspect of reproduction.
From the early peri-conceptional period to the later post-natal stages what you eat matter a lot.
How Avocado Boosts Fertility And Helps During Pregnancy
In essence, maternal nutrient status influences the entire range of maternal functions – the ability to conceive and maintain a healthy pregnancy.
It also affects that ability to produce an effective placenta, assist the offspring’s brain and body development, and manufacture adequate and nutritious breast milk (1).
Based on the findings of a study, it is important that a woman finds the right foods and eat them.
To help women make the right food choices, we look out for food items that have great nutrients.
We found avocado and we offer it to you here.
This fruit is unique among fruits and vegetables.
It contains much higher amounts of the key nutrients that help boost a woman’s chances of conception.
Apart from that, they also help foetus development. Find below the nutrients in Avocado that are beneficial to a woman.
1. Folate
This is one of the nutrients that women need in maternal diet. Not so many get enough of it.
While a woman looks forward to conceiving, she also has to be sure her baby would develop fine.
Most times what your body will develop with in the first week of conception are the things you have eaten prior to that time.
Furthermore, when conception happens, it is important to feed your body foods that are beneficial throughout the period.
Physicians often recommend folic acid (folate) to women who are trying to conceive or pregnant.
A study highlights that folate (vitamin B9) is an essential nutrient that is necessary for DNA replication.
It is also a substrate for a range of enzymatic reactions that promote amino acid synthesis and vitamin metabolism.
Furthermore, folate deficiency has been associated with abnormalities in both mothers (anemia, peripheral neuropathy) and fetuses (congenital abnormalities) (2).
Also, experts refer to folic acid is a pregnancy superhero.
Interestingly, avocado is rich in this mineral. Eating it means that you are preparing your body with the right nutrient that will aid the development of the foetus.
2. Potassium
One of the very issues that could hinder conception is ovarian cysts. One of the causes of this condition is deficiency in potassium.
Therefore, it makes sense to have adequate potassium level while you look forward to getting pregnant.
While you wait, it is important that the nutrients you feed your body is properly distributed to the cells.
This is another function of potassium. It helps move nutrients into cells and waste products out of cells.
While having adequate potassium in your body is necessary, it is also very important that you maintain a low level of this nutrient once you are pregnant.
This is because a study says high potassium levels during the first half of pregnancy are associated with higher risk for the development of Gestational diabetes mellitus and severe pre-eclampsia (3)
3. Magnesium
This is another good nutrient that you get from avocado.
A 2017 study says women who receive magnesium tablet plus multimineral showed a better result than other groups.
Also, frequency of complications of pregnancy was fewer in women who take magnesium (4).
4. Vitamin B3, B5, B6
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) is a good one for women who are pregnant.
According to studies this vitamin can help prevent miscarriages and birth defects.
In a study, the lead author, Sally Dunwoodie, said: “Not only have we identified a cause of miscarriage, and of birth defects where the babies affected have heart and vertebral and kidney defects among others, but we’ve also discovered a prevention in the form of niacin, also known as vitamin B3 (5)”.
Also, it is recommended that you do not take too much of this vitamin B3. Interestingly, 100 grams of avocado only offers you not over 20% of your daily need.
Another B vitamin that is beneficial before and during pregnancy is the pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5).
It helps create hormones and alleviate cramps that occur due to pregnancy, especially leg cramps.
Taking foods that are rich in vitamin B5 would help lower your need for leg massages during pregnancy.
Avocado also contains pyridoxine which is vitamin B6. This vitamin helps women deal with morning sickness, as it greatly lowers nausea feeling.
5. Vitamin C
In fact, 3 avocado fruits will give you 100% of your daily vitamin C need. this helps boost your immune system to ward off antibodies that could lower the chances of conception.
According to the World Health Organization, vitamin C has antioxidant properties, and is additionally involved in the synthesis of collagen and metabolism of iron and folate (6).
Sadly, oxidative stress during pregnancy has been linked with the development of pre-eclampsia, and increased risk of intrauterine growth restriction and pre-labour rupture of membranes (PROM).
Oxidative stress can also cause disorders common to preterm infants – chronic lung disease, necrotising enterocolitis and others.
Other Nutrients In Avocado
Avocado is also rich in vitamin E, vitamin K.
Basically, vitamin E functions as a lipid-soluble antioxidant.
This antioxidant protects cells of the body from damage by harmful free radicals (i.e. reactive oxygen molecules) and may have other physiological functions.
Interestingly, taking a certain amount of vitamin E per day (>or=400 IU/day) has shown to attenuate or even prevent the damaging effect of ethanol and diabetes on the fetus in experimental animal models (7).
On the other hand, vitamin K also helps with blood clot and reduces chances of serious bleeding during delivery.
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Also, Avocado contains higher amounts of several non-essential compounds, such as fiber, monounsaturated fats, and lipid-soluble antioxidants.
These antioxidants and nutrients have all been linked to improvements in maternal health, birth outcomes and/or breast milk quality (8).
Interestingly avocado do not contain empty calories from added sugars, saturated fats, or alcohol, and they are also sodium-free.
If you have not been taking this fruit while you try to conceive or during pregnancy, it is important that you consider doing so.
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