Once you discover you are pregnant, you tend to become very conscious about what you eat. It is vital that you follow a nutritious and healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables that will be ideal for a healthy pregnancy and normal delivery. One such herb that you may be wondering about is Basil or Tulsi.
Are you by any chance one of those moms to be who have a deep craving to add basil into your salad or soup but are not sure about how good or bad this medicinal leaf is during this special period? Let’s explore the use of Holy Basil or Tulsi during pregnancy in detail in this article.
In This Article
- What is Tulsi or Holy Basil?
- Benefits of Consuming Holy Basil or Tulsi During Pregnancy
- Warnings of Consuming Tulsi During Pregnancy
- Tulsi Tea During Pregnancy
- Things to Take Care While Consuming Tulsi During Pregnancy
- FAQ’s
What is Tulsi or Holy Basil?
Tulsi or Basil is an extremely popular medicinal herb that boasts of umpteen wonderful properties. Originally from India, Tulsi is an easy-to-grow garden herb and assumes a lot of religious importance as well.
Sun-loving, these lovely small leaves provide an excellent flavor to salads, soups, and other varieties of cuisine too. With Basil being loaded with lots of fibers, minerals, and proteins, it makes an excellent herb that can be consumed (in small quantities) safely during pregnancy.
There are many pieces of research surrounding Basil that it can cause an expectant mother to have a miscarriage or deliver preterm. But then there are other researches that claim Basil is quite safe to consume in moderate amounts and has a lot of benefits when consumed during the pregnancy period too.
Benefits of Consuming Holy Basil or Tulsi During Pregnancy
Given below are some of the benefits of eating basil or tulsi during your pregnancy period. Please be informed that limited research is available on the consumption of Tulsi during pregnancy, hence it is advised to consult your doctor before including the herb in your diet in any form.
1. Aids in Fetal Bone Formation
Tulsi or basil is loaded with manganese and this content is ideal to help the development of your fetus’s cartilages and bones. Manganese also plays the role of an effective antioxidant that aids in lowering oxidative stress, thus averting the chances of any cellular damages in expectant mothers.
[Read : Know Everything About Your Baby’s Skull, Skeleton, and Bones Development]
2. Supports Healthy Development and Growth of the Baby
Basil is also packed with Vitamin A that is very important for the proper development and growth of the baby that is growing within you. Vitamin A is also excellent for the promotion of the proper growth of the lungs, heart, eyes, and nervous system.
3. Proper Blood Supply
Basil also has sufficient traces of folate present in them, which is excellent for generating that extra quantity of blood that is necessary during pregnancy. Folate is also helpful in averting any kind of birth anomalies in the fetus inside you.
4. Averts Anemia
Yet another positive trait of basil is that these leaves are rich in iron content. Iron is vital for a healthy hemoglobin count and is ideal to give the much-required boost in your red blood cell counts during this pregnancy period.
5. Provides the Much Needed Immunity Boost
Tulsi or Basil is also rich in a lot of important vitamins necessary for your body, including riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin C, and E. All these minerals and vitamins help in hiking up your immunity levels and fight against untoward infections, helping to ensure a healthy baby growing inside you.
6. Cleanses Your System
Basil also has antioxidants known as flavonoids that aid to cleansing your system by getting rid of waste materials from your body.
Warnings of Consuming Tulsi During Pregnancy
Although there are numerous benefits of consuming basil during your pregnancy period, overeating basil leaves may cause unwanted adverse effects. Given below are some of the risks associated with excess eating of this wonderful herb.
1. Triggers Health Issues
Eugenol is one of the oils which Basil contains and that can be quite harmful to some people. It can trigger the speedy beating of the heart, makes breathing shallow, and causes burning of the throat and mouth. Extreme cases can even cause bleeding while urinating and coma too.
2. May Cause Hypoglycemic Effects
If basil is consumed in excess, there are chances of harmful hypoglycemic effects which can lower your levels of blood sugar. This may cause irritability, tremors, and even dizziness.
3. Uterine Contractions
Consumption of Tulsi can precipitate contractions of the uterus, and because studies are unclear on the subject, some doctors tell pregnant and lactating mothers to completely avoid the herb.
4. Basil Leaves Can Induce Blood Thinning Effects
Because Tulsi intensifies the blood-thinning properties, anyone with a blood clotting disorder should absolutely avoid consuming the herb. Or else, it could lead to prolonged episodes of bleeding. For this reason, pregnant women in the final stages should abstain from consuming Tulsi in any form.
Tulsi Tea During Pregnancy
If it is an herbal tea that you are craving, opt for safer options like peppermint tea, green tea, chamomile tea, etc., though you must ensure that you do not increase the caffeine content in your diet to more than 200 mg a day.
[Read : Is it Safe to Take Caffeine During Pregnancy?]
Things to Take Care While Consuming Tulsi During Pregnancy
However, as mentioned before, if it is consumed in small amounts like seasoning, basil can be safe and extremely beneficial to add to your pregnancy diet. If you want to incorporate holy basil into your diet and reap the health benefits you must take the following precautionary steps to ensure the safety of both you and your baby.
1. Take Opinion of Your Doctor
It is best you consult your doctor before including any herb into your pregnancy diet. The doctor knows exactly how your constitution and pregnancy state is and advises you about what exactly you can include in your diet. The doctor may even prescribe an alternative or dosage that is safe for you and your growing baby.
2. Wash the Basil Leaves Thoroughly
Make sure you wash these leaves well before consumption. There is every chance Basil may have hazardous parasites and bacteria. This can trigger all kinds of infections, like toxoplasmosis and listeriosis.
3. Limit the Intake
Consume it in moderation. There is no proper guideline on the dosage for adaptogen herbs such as basil. However, according to herbalists, consuming up to115 ml of a basil leave decoction three times per day is safe. Never exceed this limit during pregnancy.
Thus, you can reap the medicinal benefits of tulsi during pregnancy by following the guidelines mentioned here.
FAQ’s
1. Can I Have Tulsi Tea When Pregnant?
Tulsi tea can be refreshing during pregnancy. If your doctor has not asked you to avoid tulsi, you can go ahead. Just ensure you don’t have one too many of this tea in a day.
2. Can I Eat Raw Tulsi When Pregnant?
As long as it is just a couple of leaves, it should be safe. However, consult your doctor first. Some doctors advise against tulsi.
3. How Much Tulsi Can I Consume When I am Pregnant?
Having tulsi in moderate quantities is safe. Do not have everything with tulsi. Ask your doctor for a quantity recommendation.
4. Can Eating Tulsi During Pregnancy Help My Baby?
Yes, it can. It is loaded with manganese and vitamin A which are very important for fetal development. However, do not over consume.
5. Is Tulsi Dangerous During Pregnancy?
Older people don’t consider it to be. However, many doctors do. It is best to go with what your doctor says.
Read Also: Fennel Seeds During Pregnancy – Are They Safe?
