Many a times my patients have exhibited hesitation in eating papaya and pineapple during pregnancy, as they have heard from other mothers or pregnant women that these two fruits can lead to miscarriages and/or foetal distress.
Is it then really true that these two fruits should be avoided during pregnancy? To answer this, numerous studies carried out in animal models have shown that eating ripe papaya and pineapple have no untoward effect on pregnancy.
Further, papaya is an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of carotenoids) and vitamin C. It is also a very good source of folate, and contains good amounts of dietary fiber, magnesium, potassium, copper and vitamin K. Eating 1 cup of papaya provides 50% of daily requirement of vitamin C and 30% of daily requirement of vitamin A.
Pineapple is an excellent source of vitamin C and manganese. It is also rich in copper, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, dietary fiber, folate and pantothenic acid. Eating 1 cup of pineapple provides 25% of the daily requirement of vitamin C.
And both papaya and pineapple can help in improving your digestion!
Given these benefits, in optimal amounts, pineapple and papaya could provide balanced nutrition for expecting mothers.