There are lots and lots of benefits for pregnant women who eat okra soup. Okra in itself is very nutritious, then, think about when it is cooked into soup with all the proteins from fish, meat and the vitamins from the peppers and all. Okra soup has many health benefits for everyone not only in pregnancy.
We are focusing here on the health benefits of okra soup in pregnancy because I have received mails from pregnant women asking if it’s ok to eat okra soup during early pregnancy. Others asked if okra soup can help induce labour. There is a mail I read and smiled because this is from a first time mom who is scared that okra soup may be bad for her unborn baby because of it’s thick slimy nature.
WHO ELSE SHOULD EAT OKRA SOUP?
Okra soup has great health benefits not only for our pregnant moms but for the whole family including grandparents. Okra is good. Eat some more okra so
up but remember not to eat too much at a time. Too much of everything is not good and that includes okra soup. If because we say that okra soup is healthy, you go sit down and eat only okra soup for breakfast, Lunch and dinner, just get ready for a runny stomach. Some diarrhea and cramps.
When you enjoy okra soup as an expectant mom, do so in moderation. Eat okra soup and eat other foods too because okra alone cannot supply all the nutrients needed to kep mom and baby healthy and strong.
I love okra soup a lot. If I had a favourite soup in my life, perhaps okra would have been . But, I don’t. I only enjoy my soups depending on the taste. No favourite, no least favourite. If okra is cooked the way I like it, it becomes my favourite for that moment. The day I eat a bad tasting okra soup, it becomes my least favourite. That goes for all other Nigerian soups and foods we eat. When I hear people list the favourite foods, I wish I have one.
Do you know I can cook okra soup with tomatoes?
Below is our yummy list of the 10 benefits of okra soup in your pregnancy.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF OKRA SOUP IN PREGNANCY
It is very ok to eat okra soup while pregnant. It won’t abort your baby. I ate okra soup right from early pregnancy till delivery. If you want to use okra soup to have an abortion, sorry because that is when it won’t even respond to you sef. You’ll drink the soup and tire and even ask yourself if it’s water you have been drinking.
These okra soup health benefits shouldn’t make us oblivious of the facts that everything that has good will also have some side effects. Okra has a few side effects but that’s not our topic for now. There are stories of people who ate excess okra soup to help induce labour and it worked. Having that in mind, we try our best not to eat too much. Don’t spend the whole day swallowing okra soup from morning to night UNLESS and EXCEPT your baby has enjoyed past due delivery date and you want him out of your lovely stomach. Okra soup cooked with uziza is a delicacy for pregnancy.
10 OKRA SOUP HEALTH BENEFITS IN PREGNANCY, LISTED BELOW:
- Okra is very rich in fiber and so helps with bowel movement. After eating a bowl of okra soup today, when you visit the toilet tomorrow, try to observe the ease at which everything rushes out of you. You don’t have to push much in the toilet. It flows with so much ease. That’s what okra does. The rich fiber content helps put good pressure in there.
- Another health benefit of okra soup is that it is rich in vitamin K. The vitamin K in okra soup helps in preventing excessive bleeding. It helps your blood to clot easily. Also helps in regulating your blood calcium levels. For pregnant women who are prone to bleeding during child delivery, I’ll advise you make okra soup your friend while pregnant and please do not overcook the okra. Wait until your soup is almost ready before adding okra. Don’t let the pot boil and boil and boil ooooo after you have added okra, please.
- Research has shown that eating okra while pregnant can help ease labour. Can help with quick delivery. I guess it’s the slime in okra… The slimier the better as the baby needs to slide out without hold up or road block.
- Sha since okra helps with blood clotting, if you are using drugs like aspirin or other blood thinners, try not to eat too much okra as that might work against the drug. Imagine trying to make the blood thin while okra wants it thick for easy clotting.
- Eating okra soup can protect you against cancer.
- Okra soup can promote heart health. Okra has no cholesterol whatsoever. No fats. It’s great for a healthy heart.
- If you want strong bones for your unborn baby and even yourself, enjoy okra soup.
- Okra has very low caloric content so, there is no fear of gaining too much weight while pregnant. It helps control weight gain. It’s very filling but not fattening.
- Another very important health benefits of okra soup; Okra has folate, calcium, potassium, Vitamin A, Sodium, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C. Remember okra is green in colour. You can expect to get all the benefits, the nutrients we look for in green vegetables. Over cooking might destroy some of these nutrients in okra soup. Do not let the okra cook till it changes colour. Good okra soup remains green when it’s cooked and served. Good okra soup shouldn’t look yellowish or brownish. Enjoy the green vitamins and a little crunch.
- Okra is a good source of antioxidants. That means okra soup has the power to protect us from damage caused by free radicals and to help you age more slowly. Do you know that okra soup can also help in controlling diabetics in pregnancy? Enjoy some more green okra soup and have a safe delivery!
Check out our guide on HOW NOT TO COOK OKRA SOUP
SEE our list of Nigerian foods for pregnant women to lose weight.
Is it ok to drink garri while pregnant?
If you would like to see all our different okra soup recipes, you can click on this OKRA SOUP RECIPES link and scroll down to see all of them.