You need to be smart about the things you eat and drink when you are pregnant. So, if you are someone who consumed turmeric milk regularly, you must be wondering if you should continue the habit of drinking turmeric milk during pregnancy as well. Here is everything you need to know about it.
Many things that are safe and great to consume before pregnancy becomes food items to avoid when pregnant (For more about this, read 8 Indian Foods That Can Be Dangerous During Pregnancy.
In This Article
- Health Benefits Of Turmeric Milk During Pregnancy
- What Are The Problems Associated With Drinking Turmeric Milk During Pregnancy?
- Is It Safe To Drink Turmeric Milk During Pregnancy?
- Turmeric Use: Asia vs. Rest Of The World
Health Benefits Of Turmeric Milk During Pregnancy
In Indian cuisine, turmeric is one of the basic spices used every day and pregnant women are no exception. The use of turmeric is continued as a spice, owing to the many health benefits it offers, such as:
- Helps in joint pain. Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties. This gives relief to pregnant woman’s swollen legs and joint aches
- Helps in bowel movement. Constipation bothering you? Turmeric milk is known to improve digestion and bowel movement
- Helps in fighting infection. Turmeric is anti-bacterial in nature and hence kills the bacteria in your system
- Helps build immunity. Turmeric milk is antioxidant-rich. It removes free radicals from the body and helps improve immunity by keeping infections at bay
- Helps maintain cholesterol. Cholesterol levels tend to spike during pregnancy. Turmeric milk is known to maintain a healthy cholesterol level
- Helps cure a sore throat. Turmeric milk is a go-to home remedy for cold, cough, sore throat, and chest congestion. If you have an infection, turmeric milk is better medicine than store-bought chemicals. The warm milk mixture will also help you to sleep well
- Helps in blood circulation. Turmeric milk improves blood flow and purifies the blood
- Used externally for beauty treatments. Not all pregnant women get that pregnancy glow, and some instead battle acne and dull skin. Turmeric is often used with milk, curd, and gram flour to make a face pack that can help your skin get better
That said, turmeric milk in large amounts can also lead to some complications.
What Are The Problems Associated With Drinking Turmeric Milk During Pregnancy?
Too much turmeric is not advised in a pregnancy diet as turmeric is also known to cause:
Although turmeric used in Indian food preparation and even one glass of turmeric milk per day may be normal, it is advised not to take any additional turmeric supplies such as turmeric herbal capsules or turmeric herbal tea. This is because turmeric is known to cause uterine bleeding.
Turmeric can cause uterine contractions and may even cause menstruation due to the stimulation. Turmeric may also cause abnormalities in the developing fetus, putting your pregnancy at a huge risk. Some women who have taken turmeric supplements during their pregnancy mention they experienced spotting as early as 2 days after consumption of turmeric supplements.
Is It Safe To Drink Turmeric Milk During Pregnancy?
It depends on the quantity. A glass of warm milk, with a pinch of turmeric, once in a few days or even daily, is considered alright. Since turmeric is also part of your daily diet in other Indian foods, you do not need more turmeric in your body. This is because turmeric is known to stimulate the uterus, resulting in heavy periods.
So when you consume too much turmeric during pregnancy, it can have a harmful effect on the growing fetus and sometimes, even cause miscarriage. The key thing to note here is “too much turmeric“. We are not asking you to take turmeric off your diet. As you would have read before, turmeric has lots of benefits that you, as a pregnant woman, can leverage. So, keeping the intake at an optimum level is the best thing to do.
Turmeric Use: Asia vs. Rest Of The World
Many of the problems associated with turmeric supplements and “over” consumption of turmeric are studies based in the western world. We, in India, are used to consuming 1-2 teaspoons of turmeric in our everyday diet as it is a key cooking spice in our kitchens. This is true in many parts of Asia (e.g. Thai food has a lot of turmerics).
So Asian women are genetically predisposed to taking in more turmeric than Westerners. In fact, turmeric is so common in our diet that we do not ever think of “turmeric supplements“. We do not take turmeric supplements – and that is something we should avoid doing if we are pregnant. But we do not discontinue turmeric in our daily diet.
Do not discontinue turmeric in your daily diet. You can also have a glassful of warm turmeric milk daily, made with a pinch of turmeric. But try to limit this to just one glass and not more. There are plenty of other food groups you have to include in your diet, now that you are pregnant. You do not need to fill your calories of the day with turmeric milk alone. Eat a good variety of food with different and balanced nutrition.
