Every mother who has a chance to experience pregnancy will agree that being pregnant is a blessing. A chance to carry a baby inside the belly is a lifetime experience that even words cannot describe how wonderful the feeling is. That’s why every mother will do their best in order to give birth to a healthy baby and diet during pregnancy has prominent role to reach that goal. There are a lot of foods that are recommended to be consumed during pregnancy and saffron is one of the spices you should add to your diet. What do you know about saffron and why this spice is great for pregnant mother?
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Saffron is a spice. Saffron derived from a certain flower called saffron crocus which has scientific name Crocus sativus. Saffron is widely used as spice for seasoning and food coloring. This spice is native to Asia especially from Southwest Asia. Crocus sativus is flower from where saffron is derived and since only three strands of saffron from each flower that is taken; saffron becomes the most expensive spice or herb in the world. For many years, saffron has been well known for its benefits to human health and recent studies have found that saffron is packed with nutrients that are prominent during pregnancy.
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Nutritional Value of Saffron
| Saffron Serving Size: 100 gr | |
| Energy | 310 kcal – 15.5% |
| Carbohydrate | 65.37 g – 50% |
| Protein | 11.43 g – 21% |
| Total Fat | 5.85 g – 29% |
| Dietary Fiber | 3.9 g – 10% |
| Vitamins | |
| Folates | 93 µg – 23% |
| Niacin | 1.46 mg – 9% |
| Pyridoxine | 1.01 mg – 77% |
| Riboflavin | 0.267 mg – 20% |
| Vitamin A | 530 IU – 18% |
| Vitamin C | 80.8 mg – 135% |
| Minerals | |
| Calcium | 111 mg – 11% |
| Copper | 0.328 mg – 37% |
| Iron | 11.1 mg – 139 % |
| Magnesium | 264 mg – 66% |
| Manganese | 28.408 mg – 1235% |
| Phosphorus | 252 mg – 36% |
| Selenium | 5.6 µg – 10% |
| Zinc | 1.09 mg – 10% |
| Sodium | 148 mg – 10% |
| Potassium | 1724 mg – 37% |
Why Saffron is Great for Pregnancy? From the table above, you could see that per 100 g of saffron contains about 93 µg folic acid or well known as folate which could fulfill up to 23% the daily intake of folate. It is a common knowledge that folate is essential for pregnancy. Furthermore, saffron is also packed with other nutrients like vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin C and vitamin A that are best known as the source of powerful antioxidants. To find out more about why saffron is great for pregnancy, some list below will tell you the reasons. Thus, here are the health benefits of saffron during pregnancy.
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During pregnancy when the fetus is developing every day, the room in your belly is also getting narrow and affects the movement inside the bowel. Consuming foods rich of fiber is the solution to aids digestion back to normal and saffron is one of the spice that is also able to sooth the gastrointestinal acidity to improve digestion.
Every pregnant mother must have suffered such mood swings when sometimes they feel oversensitive toward simple matter. Well, if you find your wife is crying like a baby toward something that look nonsense to you, don’t worry, it means she is just not in the right mood. To calm them, you could make a glass of warm milk with a pinch of saffron.
Don’t take the spike of blood pressure during pregnancy for granted because the effect could be really fatal. A mother with high blood pressure is not recommended to have a normal labor and you must have known how high the risk of c-section surgery is. Consuming saffron during pregnancy could help mothers managing their blood pressure.
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It is natural for pregnant mothers to suffer cramps especially in the leg parts. It is because the weight they should carry is not easy especially for mothers who are still working during their pregnancy. As anti inflammatory and the soothing effect that saffron will give could help mothers alleviates the cramps.
Most of pregnant mothers must have suffered from morning sickness in the early trimester. Well, the problem is during the first trimester is the crucial period when the fetus’ brain and nerve system is under development. It means body should get enough nutrients to support the development; however morning sickness could affect the mothers’ appetite during this period. Saffron could help calming the morning sickness and at the same time is able to improve appetite.
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Folate is essential for pregnancy because folate contributes in making sure baby brain is developed optimally as well as the nerve system. Folate could prevent baby born with birth defect and support all the development of the fetus. Folate is like a super food for the brain and luckily saffron contains folate in relatively high amount in single serving.
Red blood cells are essential to the development of the fetus as well as the body metabolism of the mothers. If the stock of red blood cells are not enough the chance of baby born with birth defect is higher and mothers are unlikely suffering from anemia. In severe condition, anemia could be fatal for both mother and baby. Saffron which is rich of iron is great source for the production of red blood cells and vitamin C contains in saffron will make sure the optimal absorption of iron.
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During pregnancy, a mother should have enough rest for optimal development of the fetus. However, sometimes a good night sleep is a rare case during pregnancy especially when the estimation date is getting closer because mother will always feel uncomfortable with their body and waiting the due date could be really stressful. Saffron in your diet is a natural solution to a good night sleep for pregnant mother.
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During pregnancy, mothers should make sure that their body is getting all the nutrients required for the fetus development as well as to maintain their health. Foods are the only source recommended for the nutrients because it is better to avoid food supplements during pregnancy due to some side effects that might affect the fetus. Saffron could help mothers improving their appetite to make sure the stock of nutrients.
One of the problems that most pregnant mothers will face is anemia. It is because red blood cells inside their body are not only used to maintain their body metabolism but also to support the fetus development. Consuming foods rich of iron is the solution to prevent anemia and saffron is one of the recommended spices to add in daily diet.
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Hormonal imbalance could lead to conditions like dull skin, dark spots and acnes. Well, since mothers should avoid all cosmetic products that contain chemicals that might be harmful for their fetus, fighting acnes and dark spots becomes something impossible unless they consume saffron which could treat hormonal imbalance and prevent conditions like acnes and dark spots effectively and naturally.
One of the side effects of being pregnant is sometimes the immunity system weaker and mothers are vulnerable to allergies. Just by adding saffron to the daily diet could help mothers improving their immunity system and fight allergies. It is because saffron is so rich of vitamin C and antioxidant that will provide one additional protection for mother and the baby.
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As mentioned above, during pregnancy, body metabolism sometimes is not working optimally and immunity system is getting weaker. One of the things that might occur during pregnancy is hair fall. Well, saffron is packed with nutrients that are great for skin and scalp. Just a pinch of saffron in regular basis could prevent hair fall.
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When you have reached 5 months, you will be able to feel the baby movement inside your belly. To improve your sense to the movement, you could add saffron to your diet. It has been proven scientifically but you have to know the right dosage and don’t consume saffron too much during pregnancy.
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Sore gum is one of the conditions that most pregnant mothers will suffer and brushing teeth regularly is not the solution because it could make the condition worse. What you need is just some grinded saffron and massages it to your sore gum to solve the problem.
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The fifteen benefits of saffron mentioned above are just the least of benefits of saffron especially during pregnancy. It is because saffron is packed with high nutrients like vitamins and minerals. However, though no matter how beneficial saffron is for pregnant mother but consuming it in large amount could be dangerous.
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Though saffron is great for pregnancy but if conditions like bleeding from nose and lips, numbness, blood in urine and blackout after consuming saffron, it means immediate response from doctor is required. So, to be in the safe side is better for you to consume saffron in moderate amount only or you should consult your condition first with your doctor before you decided to put saffron as part of your daily diet during pregnancy.
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