Anemia due to iron deficiency is a major cause of maternal death in childbirth. To prevent these adverse events, many pregnant women are advised to eat bananas.
"During pregnancy, your body requires more energy. Bananas are the best foods because they contain the necessary vitamins. Two bananas enough to meet the patient's intake of iron anemia. Bananas also contain folic acid are easily absorbed by the fetus through the uterus," says Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, director of the Nutrition and Weight Loss Clinic as reported by WebMD WebMD.
Folic acid or vitamin B9 is a type of B vitamin that dissolves in water. Folic acid is naturally contained in food. In humans, folic acid is needed to make nucleic acids and hemoglobin in red blood cells. Folic acid deficiency can interfere with the formation of young red blood cells and cause anemia.
Folic acid is important for the development of the nerve sheath during pregnancy that forms the brain and spinal cord. Folic acid deficiency in pregnant women increase the risk of premature birth, low birth weight infants or having defects in the nerve sheath.
Many studies show that woman who consume 0.4 mg folic acid daily before conception and early pregnancy can reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects by 70%. However, do not eat too much because of the banana contains about 85-100 calories.
Morning sickness during pregnancy is the first sign of pregnancy and often lasts until the first trimester. But the pain can occurs at any time not just in the morning. Bananas are also enriched vitamin B6 can soothe the stomach acid and improve digestion.
One banana contains about 467 mg also potassium, and pregnant women need 2000 mg of potassium each day. Believed that the leg cramps, one of the most unpleasant symptoms during pregnancy, can be alleviated by increasing potassium intake.
"Iron deficiency anemia is the main problem of pregnant women, especially in childbirth, and is one major cause of maternal death in childbirth. Bananas are rich in iron can have a major impact on solving the problem of iron deficiency anemia," said Professor James Dale , director of the Center for Tropical Plant and Biocommodities at Queensland University of Technology.