My friend (let us name her Grace) walks into her salon, gasping for breath like she just finished an olympic marathon and throws her weight in the red fluffy chairs she finds in the lobby. Grace cannot believe that just two flights of stairs could get her this weary, but when you are pregnant and in the final lap, even a stroll in the backyard will leave you feeling like a hike to the top of the hill.
As soon as she is settles her now enormous weight that she carries around like a drum, the hunger pangs begin to dig in. They bite so hard that she muffles a silent groan as she asks her stylist to get her the waiter from the built-in restaurant. At this moment in time her taste buds are craving for liver, so she orders for french fries and liver.
As if not sure whether to say it or not, the waiter leans in and whispers to Grace, “I would not advise you to take liver in your state’ and briskly walks away like his job is on the line for this one statement he has made. Grace eventually changes her order but she is greatly disturbed because no one has ever warned her against eating liver especially when she is pregnant. Grace quickly sends me a text telling me the whole ordeal and asks me to clarify.
LIVER and PREGNANCY
From time memorial Liver is generally considered a healthy food that is rich in minerals, vitamins and protein, but it contains high amounts of preformed vitamin A. (A more scientific name is called retinol). Preformed vitamin A is found in animal products like eggs, milk, and liver. Too much of this type of vitamin A in your pregnancy diet can cause birth defects in your developing baby, especially during the first months of pregnancy. The other type of vitamin A is called provitamin A (carotenoids), which are found in fruits and vegetables. There’s no limit to the amount of carotenoids an expectant mother can safely consume, so you don’t have to worry about getting too much vitamin A from fruits and vegetables.
Benefits of eating Liver during pregnancy
Liver contains some vital elements that are considered essential for a mother and her baby during pregnancy, which makes consumption of liver quite a beneficial choice. (This is done with caution like we have discussed above)
- Liver is a good source of proteins which are the core source of energy every pregnant woman must have in good amounts through out pregnancy, and she can get enough of them from the liver.
- A child’s neurological development is one of the first things that happen as soon as conception takes place. Liver contains folic acid which plays a key role in the protection of the child within the womb as well as boosting the child’s neurological development.
- Vitamin A directly impacts the development of eyesight and immunity of a developing child and there is no doubt that liver has plenty of this.
- The mere fact that liver has an overwhelming presence of iron, is one of the major reasons why pregnant women need to consume liver since it reduces risks of anemia and keeps the blood healthy.
How much liver is safe for consumption?
If I told you, this is how much of the liver you can eat in a day, I would be telling a lie. There is no benchmark at how much proportion of liver is considered safe in which form for a pregnant woman. The proportions of vitamin A in it are quite substantial so it is quite easy to overdo them if one has regular consumption of liver. Therefore, it is generally advisable to keep its consumption restricted to once a week or twice a month.
The ball is now in your court, take that bite in your liver with caution the next time you are pregnant
