Among the fruits with health benefits, grapefruit is undoubtedly one that comes to mind, and grapefruit juice is derived from grapefruit.
As an expectant mother, being curious about what goes into your mouth is ok.
Some foods and drinks can harm you and your unborn child during pregnancy.
If you’re wondering whether you can drink grapefruit juice while pregnant, the answer is yes! Grapefruit juice contains many beneficial components that help you navigate your pregnancy journey smoothly.
Read on to learn more about drinking grapefruit juice, how much to drink while pregnant, and its health benefits.
Table of Contents
- Can I Drink Grapefruit Juice While Pregnant?
- How Much Grapefruit Juice Can One Consume During Pregnancy?
- Health Benefits of Drinking Grapefruit juice While Pregnant
- Drinking Grapefruit Juice While Pregnant: Safety Measures
- Alternative Ways To Include Grapefruit in a Pregnancy Diet
- FAQs
- Wind Up
Can I Drink Grapefruit Juice While Pregnant?
Yes! Grapefruit juice is good for pregnant women because it contains many beneficial components that help you navigate your pregnancy journey smoothly.
It’s a low-calorie, nutrient-dense fruit with a higher density than fresh apples, bananas, and peaches, which could benefit pregnant women.
It also gives your body lots of minerals and vitamins, especially vitamin C, essential to your body during pregnancy. It aids digestion, boosts immunity, and regulates blood pressure and blood sugar level.
When taking grapefruit during pregnancy, ensure that it is pasteurized because pasteurization help in reducing the level of contamination to the barest minimum by killing contaminating microorganisms.
The consumption of juices in packaged bottles must be done cautiously since they are made from concentrates with almost no nutritional value and may include added sugars.
If you want to consume unpasteurized ones, probably those prepared at home, ensure that the grapefruit juice is clean and proper hygiene is maintained.
If grapefruit juice is poorly prepared, there are risks of it causing food-borne illness, which may be disastrous for the pregnant mother.
Before adding grapefruit juice to your diet, you should consult a nutritionist, and fruit juice should never replace whole fruit in your diet.
Certain drugs interact with grapefruit juice, which can be lethal at times. Therefore, consult your doctor before drinking grapefruit juice if you take medication.
Read Also: Can I Drink Tropicana Juice during pregnancy? Explained
Nutritional Value Of Grapefruit
| Nutrients | Amount | RDA (Daily) |
| Water | 90g | – |
| Energy | 39Kcal | – |
| Carbohydrates, by the difference | 9.2g | – |
| Calcium, Ca | 9mg | 1000mg |
| Iron, Fe | 0.2mg | 27mg |
| Magnesium, Mg | 12mg | 360mg |
| Phosphorus, P | 15mg | 700mg |
| Potassium, K | 162mg | 2900mg (AI) |
| Sodium, Na | 1mg | 200mg (7-12 months) |
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid | 38mg | 85mg |
| Folate, total | 10µg | 600 μg |
| Vitamin A, IU | 440 | 2567IU |
How Much Grapefruit Juice Can One Consume During Pregnancy?
The question of how much grapefruit one can consume during pregnancy depends on certain factors.
Some people prefer sipping processed grapefruit juice or even preparing their own, while some would like to consume grapefruit and then get their juice from it.
For those who prefer to drink grapefruit juice, you should consume 8 ounces of grapefruit juice daily.
If you are more at home eating grapefruit and getting your juice from it, then you should eat one medium-sized grapefruit daily.
Please do not exceed the daily limit because it could harm your pregnancy.
As the English cliché says, “Too much of everything is bad” in essence, no matter how nutritious grapefruit juice or grapefruit is, consuming above the daily limit can be harmful.
Risk Of Excessive Drinking of Grapefruit Juice While Pregnant
Although grapefruit is low in fructose, too much consumption can harm the placenta and alter fetal growth.
Also, if you have the following illnesses, it is not recommended to eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice.
- Cystitis
- Kidney illnesses
- Stomach ulcers
- A history of allergies
You should not consume grapefruit on an empty stomach or with certain medications. Even otherwise, you should regulate the amount of grapefruit you consume.
Read Also: 15 Safe & Non-Alcoholic Wines To Drink While Pregnant
Health Benefits of Drinking Grapefruit juice While Pregnant
Research has shown that the intake of grapefruit juice during pregnancy comes with a lot of benefits.
Grapefruit has a lot of water, vitamins, and minerals in it. Because grapefruit juice is a product of grapefruit, it should contain high amounts of water, vitamins, and minerals.
During pregnancy, one is always expected to consume food and fruits that will give one lot of nourishment, and grapefruit and its juice will surely give one this nourishment.
The low sugar content of grapefruit makes its juice suitable for pregnant mothers with diabetes because there is no risk of increasing blood glucose levels.
The juice from grapefruit also helps reduce indigestion and heartburn, which is one common sign in pregnancy. Grapefruit juice can also reduce nausea, which is also common in pregnancy.
The vitamin C content of grapefruit juice also boosts the immune level of the pregnant mother.
The calcium content of grapefruit juice also aids the expectant mother in maintaining bone density and aids good bone formation in the developing baby.
Other benefits of drinking grapefruit juice while pregnant include the following:
Preeclampsia
Preeclampsia causes premature separation of the placenta from the uterus (before the baby is born), heavy bleeding, liver rupture, and in rare cases, death.
Grapefruit is believed to effectively control preeclampsia as a good source of potassium and flavonoids.
Insomnia
It has been suggested that grapefruit can help ease the symptoms of insomnia, which most pregnant women suffer from during pregnancy.
However, some medical research indicates that it is not grapefruit but the essence of the flowers which aids in overcoming insomnia.
Cholesterol
In a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, eating a cup of fresh red grapefruit (or half a cup of fresh grapefruit juice) can reduce cholesterol levels in the body.
The red variety of grapefruit had higher antioxidant activity than the white variety.
Grapefruit contains antioxidants such as naringin and lycopene, and its high fiber content may help manage cholesterol.
Healthy weight
Pregnancy can lead to rapid or gradual weight gain. A concern-free pregnancy depends on keeping it within acceptable limits.
Grapefruit is a highly nutrient-dense fruit, especially vitamin C, and is low in calories. It also contains a fair amount of fiber, making it a good choice for weight management.
Anemia
During pregnancy, mild anemia is not uncommon, but if you don’t include the right foods in your diet, it can become severe.
Grapefruits are rich in vitamin C, which helps the body absorb iron, reducing the risk of anemia.
Read Also: Can I drink Boba Tea While Pregnant?
Drinking Grapefruit Juice While Pregnant: Safety Measures
If you are pregnant, there are times when you should be careful with the consumption of grapefruit juice.
You must consult your doctor or health care provider whenever you are on medication before consuming grapefruit juice or grapefruit.
You need the advice and expertise of your doctor or health care provider because grapefruit and grapefruit juice show very prominent drug interactions.
The juice from grape and grapefruit has the unique ability to react with the drugs or medication you are taking.
So please discuss with your doctor whether it is ok and acceptable to consume grapefruit juice or grapefruit itself while taking the drugs or medication.
Your doctor is the right person to know if the consumption of grapefruit or its juice at that moment will be ok for you and your unborn baby.
Do not forget to stick to your doctor’s advice. If they say, you can consume grapefruit or its juice while on medication, you can go ahead.
But if your doctor says you shouldn’t consume grapefruit or its juice while on the medication for your interest and your unborn baby, let go of grapefruit or grapefruit juice until your doctor says otherwise.
Alternative Ways To Include Grapefruit in a Pregnancy Diet
You can include grapefruit in the following forms:
- As fresh juices, smoothies, or fruit salads
- Healthy mocktails. You can make this with a combination of grapefruit with other of your favorite fruits.
- Tea
Here are a few healthy grapefruit recipes you may try when pregnant. They take about 5-10 minutes to prepare
Grapefruit green smoothie
Ingredients:
- One grapefruit, peeled and deseeded
- One sweet apple, peeled and cored
- 2 cups spinach
- One large banana, ripened
- 1-2 cups unsweetened almond milk, orange juice, and water
- 2-3 ice cubes
- 1/2tsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped (optional)
How to Prepare:
1. Get all the ingredients and pour them into a blender.
2. Now blend until you get a smooth and creamy texture.
3. Add more water or ice if it is too thick. You can add an apple or banana to sweeten the taste.
Grapefruit and peach salad
Ingredients:
- One large grapefruit
- Two large peaches ripened
- 1tbsp agave nectar
- ½tsp orange blossom water
- Ten mint leaves, fresh
- 50g pistachio nuts, finely chopped
How to Prepare:
1. Mix agave nectar and orange bloom water in a small bowl.
2. Take the skin off and pith of the grapefruit. Cut it into slices.
3. Slice the peaches and take out the pith.
4. Mix all the ingredients in the bowl.
5. Finally, add the mint and sprinkle chopped pistachios before you serve the salad.
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FAQs
Why Do I Crave Grapefruit Juice While Pregnant?
Grapefruit is a very common craving. Although some believe craving grapefruit or citrus could indicate vitamin C deficiency or a cold, research has not supported this.
It is not a sign of illness or malnutrition if you crave grapefruit; cravings are just part of pregnancy, as hormone changes can alter what foods you crave.
There are also theories that cravings may be influenced by culture, changing hormones, or active ingredients in the foods you can find yourself craving.
Nevertheless, no one knows why you might crave grapefruits or anything else.
Does craving grapefruit juice while pregnant tell something about a baby’s gender?
According to old wives’ tales, cravings for acidic foods like grapefruit may indicate you’re expecting a boy. However, it is only a way of guessing gender, not a reliable way of predicting gender.
Is Grapefruit Oil or Grapefruit Seed Extract Safe in Pregnancy?
Grapefruit oil is obtained from the actual grapefruit as it is extracted from the glands in the peel of grapefruit, while grapefruit seed extract is a by-product of juicing. It is made from seeds, pulp, and added vegetable glycerin.
Wind Up
I hope this article was helpful and you feel better about consuming grapefruit juice while pregnant.
You can drink grapefruit juice while pregnant because it is suitable for pregnant women and contains many beneficial components that will help you navigate your pregnancy journey smoothly.
When taking grapefruit during pregnancy, please ensure that it is pasteurized because pasteurization help in reducing the level of contamination to the barest minimum by killing contaminating microorganisms.
Also, if you want to consume unpasteurized ones, probably the ones prepared at home, ensure that the grapefruit juice is clean and that proper hygiene is maintained while preparing it.
Conclusively if grapefruit juice is poorly prepared, there are risks of it causing food-borne illness, which may be disastrous for the pregnant mother.