Calcium is crucial for a healthy pregnancy. This is why many women want to include more dairy products.
Since certain dairy products are high in fat and sugar, they aren’t always the healthiest choices.
Can pregnant women eat sour cream?
Sour cream is a popular condiment.
Today, we will cover if pregnant women can still enjoy sour cream on their favorite foods.
We’ll cover any benefits or risks pregnant women should know about this creamy condiment.
Keep reading to find out more.
Can Pregnant Women Eat Sour Cream?
We have good news for you!
Sour cream can be included in the pregnancy diet. However, there are some rules of thumb that every woman should follow to ensure this condiment remains healthy.
- Only eat sour cream in moderation. Try to stick to the recommended serving size suggested on the container.
- Choose a good quality sour cream. Always review and compare the ingredients list to choose the best one.
- Avoid spoilt sour cream. Ensure it has a smooth off-white appearance and doesn’t smell rancid before consuming.
Is Sour Cream Safe During Pregnancy?
There is no reason that you need to avoid sour cream while pregnant. You can still enjoy sour cream on tacos and baked potatoes.
It’s also safe to enjoy a sour cream dip.
For the most part, the sour cream you will find at the grocery store is safe to consume. This is because it has been pasteurized.
If you make homemade sour cream, there may be a risk because it’s unpasteurized.
Always speak to your healthcare provider about including homemade sour cream (or other unpasteurized products) in your pregnancy diet.
Nutritional Value of Sour Cream
One of the reasons that sour cream is recommended to expectant mothers is that it contains many essential nutrients for a healthy pregnancy.
One serving of sour cream is two tablespoons. Two tablespoons of regular sour cream (18% full fat) have just over 5 grams of fat, 52 calories, and 2% of the daily recommended calcium intake.
It also contains many vitamins and minerals expecting mothers can benefit from, such as:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin C (small amounts)
- Protein
- Thiamine
- Riboflavin
- Niacin
Nutritional Benefits Of Eating Sour Cream While Pregnant
Women don’t have to eat much sour cream to enjoy the benefits. Since there are many vitamins and minerals in a single serving, there are a lot of reasons why women could benefit from eating more.
1. Dental Health
One of the benefits of consuming sour cream is that it contains lactic acid. This compound is essential for good dental health.
Lactic acid bacteria are known to promote healthy teeth and gums. It may also prevent tooth decay and other dental problems.
2. Strong Bones
Calcium is essential for strong bones. Ensuring you include enough sources of calcium in your diet keeps your bones healthy and supports the development of the baby’s teeth and bones.
3. Maintain Blood Pressure
Pregnant women are at risk of developing high blood pressure. This can negatively affect their health and their baby’s health.
One way to help regulate your blood pressure is to eat potassium-rich foods. Sour cream is an excellent source of potassium.
4. Ease Heartburn
A lot of pregnant woman experience heartburn. Sour cream is an effective way to ease heartburn. This is because it has a soothing effect on the digestive system.
If you want to eat something acid or spicy, consider having it with sour cream (or a delicious sour cream dip) to prevent heartburn.
5. Reduce Stomach Discomfort
Sour cream is very friendly to the digestive system because it contains probiotics.
During the third trimester, pregnant women often experience digestive issues, such as bloating, constipation, and blocked gas.
Eating sour cream and fiber-rich foods could help relieve some of these stomach discomforts.
6. Calm Acid Reflux
As mentioned above, sour cream contains lactic acid. This compound is known for neutralizing stomach acid.
Sour cream can help soothe the symptoms and relieve the discomfort caused by acid reflux.
7. Probiotic Benefits
Whether pregnant or not, you can benefit from the probiotics in sour cream. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria known to boost a person’s overall health naturally.
The live cultures in sour cream help the stomach balance microbiome. When this occurs, it can improve digestion, boost the immune system, and reduce the risk of certain diseases.
8. Healthy Fat
Did you know that sour cream contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids? Pregnant women should include sources of healthy fats in their diets.
This is important during pregnancy because they support the baby’s growth and development.
It’s also believed that the healthy fats in sour cream can help the fetus absorb other essential nutrients. We encourage you to add a dollop of sour cream to your vegetables and potatoes.
Does Eating Sour Cream During Pregnancy Present Any Risks?
Most pregnant women that eat sour cream in moderation don’t have any risks to worry about. However, women that have a lactose intolerance should avoid eating sour cream.
Lactose-intolerant people aren’t able to digest sour cream properly. If they eat it anyways, they can end up bloated, gassy, and possibly get diarrhea.
Excessive sour cream consumption could have side effects, even for people who can digest dairy products. Too much sour cream can cause weight gain.
While weight gain is expected during pregnancy, it must happen at a healthy rate. Too much too soon can lead to health problems.
Overeating can also put a person at risk of health complications.
There are many benefits of sour cream in moderation. But, when a person regularly overeats, all of the calories, fat, and sodium could lead to health complications.
This includes:
- Higher risk of heart disease
- Water retention
- High blood pressure
- Digestive issues
Pasteurized Sour Cream vs Unpasteurized Sour Cream
It’s perfectly okay for pregnant women to eat pasteurized sour cream. Unpasteurized milk products, like sour creams, are not recommended for the pregnancy diet.
Pasteurized dairy products have been heated to a high temperature before being packaged. This temperature kills off any harmful bacteria that can be present in the product.
Unpasteurized products aren’t heated to this temperature. They are popular with people because the heating process of pasteurizing foods can kill off some essential nutrients such as probiotics and antioxidants.
For expecting moms craving sour cream, always choose pasteurized to avoid bacteria. Pasteurized sour creams can be found at most grocery store locations.
On the other hand, unpasteurized sour creams are usually only sold at specialty stores.
How Much Sour Cream Can Pregnant Women Eat?
We can eat so many delicious sour cream recipes with every meal (and snack too). However, for pregnant women to avoid health complications, it’s important to only eat sour cream in moderation.
A serving size of sour cream is two tablespoons. The number of servings you eat daily will ultimately depend on how many other dairy products you consume.
A pregnant woman needs to eat dairy products and other calcium-rich foods. They should aim to consume 1000 mg of calcium each day.
Always speak to your doctor or a healthcare professional for the best advice on how much you should eat in a day.
How To Choose The Best Sour Cream While Pregnant
Choosing the suitable sour cream for your pregnancy diet will ultimately depend on your current health situation and your doctor’s recommendations for weight gain.
If you’re currently at a healthy weight, you can choose the one you enjoy the most. However, if you’re overweight, the most nutritious choice may be low-fat sour cream or fat-free sour cream. A restaurant sour cream may be the best option if you’re underweight.
When buying sour cream for your diet, you should review the labels. This will let you know how much fat is in them.
Ordinary sour cream usually contains around 15% milk fat. A light sour cream typically contains around 5% milk fat white fat-free will range from 0 to 1%. However, the restaurant style is higher, with 18 to 20% milk fat.
Are There Any Healthier Alternatives For Sour Cream?
Sour cream is good for most pregnancy diets. However, it’s not right for everyone. Luckily, there are some healthier alternatives if you want to eat something with less fat.
The best alternative is Greek yogurt. It’s high in protein, a good source of calcium, and low in fat. Greek yogurt also has a similar flavor and texture to sour cream.
Many people don’t notice a difference when they put a dollop of Greek yogurt on their baked potato.
Cottage cheese is another great option. Blending cottage cheese to make it smooth before using it as an alternative is recommended.
However, some people can’t have sour cream because of the dairy.
If you’re not able to eat dairy, some of the tastiest alternatives are:
- Mashed avocado
- Cashew cream
- Coconut cream
Final Words
Consuming sour cream during pregnancy is safe if you eat it in moderation.
Sour cream is a great source of calcium and other essential nutrients that support a healthy pregnancy.
When you pair sour cream with other healthy foods, it has many nutritional benefits. However, you should only eat pasteurized sour cream while pregnant to avoid harmful bacteria.
Sour cream is a must-have in our house on taco night. What foods do you prefer with sour cream? Let us know in the comments below.