Pregnant women especially first timers always ask this question can I drink pasteurized juice while pregnant. Pasteurized juice is safe for pregnant women. So, yeah! You are allowed to drink pasteurized juice while pregnant. Ideally, pasteurized juice is the only kind of juice pregnant women are supposed to take.
They are recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Read on to find out more information on pasteurized juice, what kind of juice you can drink and the ones you cannot drink when pregnant
Fresh fruits from farms are an abode for lots of microorganisms. These microbes find their way into the edible part and eventually get swallowed by humans when blended. Since your immune system is suppressed due to pregnancy, it won’t be able to fight these microbes. This results in illnesses that are sometimes, fatal.
Can I Drink Pasteurized Juice While Pregnant?
Pasteurized juice is safe because it undergoes an extra heating process that helps to get rid of pathogens capable of causing illness and further danger to the fetus.
Pay extra attention to the stuff you buy from the supermarket. Read labels carefully to know which juice is pasteurized or not. Most brands write it boldly to help get you notified.
What Juice Can you Not Drink While Pregnant?
Once you notice that you’ve conceived, you must begin to take extra care of yourself. You must be careful of what you consume, your environment, especially your toilet and kitchen area. You must also avoid some kind of food and drink for your sake and that of your little one.
Here is the list of juice you aren’t allowed to take throughout pregnancy:
1. Unpasteurized milk or juice
Milk consumption during pregnancy is highly encouraged but not unpasteurized ones. While homemade juice contains more nutrients than processed one, it isn’t safe for you. Your immune system isn’t strong enough to fight the pathogens it contains.
2. Wheatgrass Juice
You are free to consume wheatgrass juice as much as you want before pregnancy. Once you become pregnant, you must stop for your sake and that of your baby.
Wheatgrass has lots of nutritional value which is difficult to neglect for nine months but you must push it aside. They are home to molds and other microbes.
During processing, these microbes don’t get ejected. They move into the juice and finally into your system to cause severe damage.
3. Diet soda
This is a NO-NO for pregnant women. It contains caffeine which is dangerous for them. It doesn’t stop there, diet soda is also made with saccharine which easily moves through the placenta to the baby.
You want to know what it does to babies?
It inhibits their growth as well as cause other birth defects. I’m sure that’s not what you want for your baby.
4. Coffee
If taking coffee is your habit before pregnancy, you should try to change that. This is because coffee isn’t safe for you anymore, especially during your first trimester. It leads to miscarriage and low birth weight.
Coffee intake causes the uterus and placenta to tangle and this leads to poor blood supply to your baby which is super bad.
5. Iced tea
I know sometimes you become uncomfortable and crave iced tea to calm your nerve but that isn’t cool for you now that you are pregnant.
The issue here isn’t just the ice in it but also the tea itself. The tea is made with caffeine and so, taking it is as good as taking coffee. You know the implications already, don’t you?
6. Soda
Soda is not safe for you during pregnancy because they contain caffeine and quinine. The combination of this two is super hazardous for pregnant women.
Just because it was your go-to drink before conception doesn’t make it ideal after conception. During pregnancy, your body may not be able to break down caffeine. And this leads to difficulty in sleeping, and heartburn.
Aside from the caffeine content and the harm it causes. Sugar is an active ingredient in soda and when consumed in excess, it can lead to gestational diabetes which may linger even after childbirth. Sugar can also affect your baby’s development both in the womb and outside the womb.
Is Pasteurized Juice Safe?
Yes, it absolutely safe. Both for pregnant women and children. Anyone can consume pasteurized juice except the doctor disputes due to medical issues.
The not-so-negative part of pasteurized juice is that it doesn’t contain many nutrients like unpasteurized juice. During the process of pasteurization, lots of vital nutrients get eliminated.
Nutrients like vitamins such as vitamin C degrade in the presence of heat. Another nutrient that doesn’t survive this process is minerals.
How to Know If Juice Is Pasteurized
Most companies state that clearly on their product package or label. So, it’s left for you to pay attention to the package to know if it is pasteurized or not.
Another indication is that pasteurized juices always come canned and are not always placed in the refrigerator in the supermarket. But unpasteurized juice is often kept in the refrigerator at the grocery section or the farmer’s market.
What Kind Of Juice Can I Drink While Pregnant?
Just as you are supposed to dump some kind of juice while pregnant, there are others that you should take to help your baby’s growth.
They include:
1. Lemon Juice
Lemon juice is great for you because of its antioxidant. It also helps to reduce morning sickness which makes you feel less productive during your first trimester.
Lemon juice is a medicine for colds, flu, and fever. It also helps with constipation and indigestion which most pregnant women witness at a certain stage of pregnancy.
2. Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate is an antioxidant just like lemon. But aside from this aspect, it helps in the development of your baby’s brain and also helps you to relax well.
It is also a source of iron and folic acid which is paramount to babies’ growth in the womb. It also helps to inhibit possible wounds in the placental tissue and prevent preeclampsia.
3. Apple Juice
Consuming apples whether in the processed form or the fruit itself is a plus for you and your baby. Apple helps you to sleep well and also supplies your baby with iron. It helps to fight high cholesterol and aid in digesting your food.
4. Carrot Juice
Carrot is a source of vitamins A and C and lots of vital minerals which help to strengthen the fetus’s immune as well as his bones and teeth. On the other side, it helps to reduce blood pressure and also balances body sugar.
5. Orange Juice
Orange juice is great for you before and after conceiving. It’s a great source of vitamin c, iron, zinc, and folic acid. It also builds your baby’s brain and immunity.
There’s an exception though. If you are an ulcer patient, you should avoid orange juice because it can spike up abdominal pain due to the acid content.
6. Beetroot Juice
Beetroot juice is good too. It is a source of vitamin A and iron and your baby needs them to grow adequately. It is also a source of energy and a good cure for constipation.
Is Unpasteurized Juice Safe?
The only thing that made the safety body declare unpasteurized juice as unsafe is its processing method. Usually, fresh fruits from farm host different kinds of microbe.
If not properly washed, they find their way into the edible part of the fruit which results in disease breakout when consumed.
If the fruits are well washed and treated before juice production, unpasteurized juice won’t be that bad. Anybody except pregnant women can consume it in that state because it isn’t considered high risk.
Pregnant women are excluded because their case is serious. Due to their suppressed immune system, they may not be able to fight even the tiniest pathogen when ingested. It is safe to abstain until after delivery.
Can I Drink Pasteurized Orange Juice While Pregnant?
Pasteurized orange juice is ideal for pregnancy. It supplies you and your baby with vitamin C and folic which are essential for your baby’s brain and spinal column development.
No study proves that orange juice can harm you or your baby. Rather, there are many studies that support orange juice intake during pregnancy. You just have to ensure that you take only pasteurized orange juice.
The case is different if you are an ulcer patient. You must abstain even after delivery. Orange is acidic and it aggravates stomach pain when taken.
One of the health challenges most women have during pregnancy is the problem of high blood pressure, especially within the last trimester. Orange juice also supplies you with potassium which helps to regulate your blood pressure.
Conclusion
During the period of pregnancy, avoid unpasteurized juice at all costs. Even the fruit you buy from the farmer’s market must be thoroughly washed before being consumed.
Your immune system is very fragile due to the little human you are carrying inside of you. Hence, you must take proper care of your health.
Pasteurized juice is safe for you. You can take as much as you want without falling victim to microbial attacks. It also has the nutrients you need. Although not in large quantities as unpasteurized juice. But it’s better to safe than sorry.