Though you may know that cranberry juice has the potential to benefit your health -- including helping to prevent urinary tract infection -- it's not uncommon to wonder whether foods that are ordinarily safe might be dangerous during pregnancy. Rest assured that there's no evidence to suggest that cranberry juice is bad for you during pregnancy.
Pregnancy Health
The reason there's so much concern over what you eat and drink during pregnancy is that you're the sole source of nutrition for your unborn child, meaning you need to take in healthy foods. Further, if you take in foods contaminated with bacteria or toxins, there's a risk that you could infect or harm your developing baby. For this reason, there are limitations on what you can eat and drink during pregnancy, explain Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel in their book "What To Expect When You're Expecting."
Cranberry Juice
Thankfully for fans of cranberry juice, there's no evidence to suggest that it can harm your developing baby, notes a 2008 study by Dr. J. Dugoua and colleagues in the "Canadian Journal of Clinical Pharmacology." This is true both with regard to risk of bacterial contamination and with regard to the potential for exposing your fetus to toxins. As such, you can consume cranberry juice without worrying that you're harming your baby.
Benefits
In fact, cranberry juice has the potential to do you good during pregnancy. Murkoff and Mazel note that because of changes that take place in your body while you're pregnant, you may be particularly prone to urinary tract infection. Cranberry juice helps reduce your risk of infection when consumed regularly, according to a 2001 study published in the "British Medical Journal" by Dr. T. Kontiokari and colleagues. You may wish to speak to your doctor about incorporating cranberry juice into your pregnancy diet.
Caution
While cranberry juice won't hurt your baby -- and may benefit you -- it's worth remembering that like all juices, cranberry juice can be high in added sugar. Foods high in sugars can cause you to gain more weight during pregnancy than is healthy for you. As such, when you look for a cranberry juice, select a juice made from 100 percent cranberry as opposed to a "cocktail" of multiple juices; this helps ensure that you're getting the most benefit possible. Further, juices with less added sugar are healthier than very sweet juices.
References
- "What to Expect When You're Expecting"; Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel; 2008
- "Canadian Journal of Clinical Pharmacology"; Safety and Efficacy of Cranberry (Vaccinium Macrocarpon) During Pregnancy and Lactation; J. J. Dugoua et al; 2008
- "British Medical Journal"; Randomised trial of cranberry-lingonberry juice and Lactobacillus GG drink for the prevention of urinary tract infections in women; T. Kontiokari et al; June 2001
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