Whether with bratwurst, in sauces or in salad dressing, mustard is an indispensable seasoning for many, but what about consuming mustard during pregnancy?
Can you eat mustard during pregnancy?
There’s no reason why you should avoid mustard, and you can even eat it by the spoonful, as much as you like and as much as feels good. There are no harmful effects for you or your baby.
Mustard allowed during pregnancy – In fact, the opposite is true and mustard in a pregnant woman’s diet can have a health-promoting effect.
In this article you will learn why mustard has been used as a medicinal remedy for a very long time, where it comes from and what nutrients it has to offer.
Mustard during pregnancy – A little mustard knowledge
Mustard is traditionally made from mustard seeds, vinegar, water, sugar, salt and spices.
Different mustard seeds are processed by washing, rolling and deoiling them.
The darker the mustard seeds, the spicier the mustard becomes.
If you have ever bought mustard seeds, you know that they have no smell at all and taste mild and nutty.
No trace of sharpness at first.
If you think that roasting mustard seeds makes them spicy, you are wrong.
Then they only develop the nutty taste even more.
Mustard seeds only reveal their spiciness when they swell with water or another liquid.
Grains, water and vinegar are soaked together and then fermented.
Then spices are added and the whole thing is finely ground until the typical smooth and creamy paste is formed.
In England and the USA, in addition to mustard pastes, mustard powder is also produced, which is often used for soups, sauces or for homemade paste.
Mustard comes in a variety of flavors, colors, and shades, from spicy to mild to sweet.
Here we briefly introduce the most popular types of mustard.
Sweet mustard
Especially in Bavaria people like the sweet mustard, which tastes both spicy and hot.
There it is an indispensable ingredient in the white sausage.
Sweet mustard is made by coarsely grinding brown and white mustard seeds and then adding sugar, spices, and often applesauce.
Tafelsenf
When we hear the word mustard, most people imagine the medium-hot table mustard that you can find in virtually any supermarket.
It has a well-balanced taste between spicy and slightly piquant.
It is made mainly from mild light and hotter brown mustard seeds.
In some places, table mustard is also refined with horseradish. It is the most popular mustard for bratwurst.
Hot mustard
Hot mustard is made with hot, dark mustard seeds and is often flavored with chili.
Dijon mustard
Have you ever heard of it or have you already come across it?
Dijon mustard is available in many supermarkets and tastes just as special as its name suggests.
Certain criteria must be met for a mustard to be called Dijon.
Traditionally, it is made from hot black mustard seeds, which are peeled and ground and mixed with salt and spices as well as sour must from unripe wine or grapes.
Dijon mustard tastes both spicy and hot as well as fruity and is great with fish and poultry, in sauces, dressings and stews.
Bordeaux-Senf
Bordeaux mustard is darker than Dijon mustard, but has a mild flavor because it is made from unpeeled, light-colored mustard seeds and refined with special spices such as tarragon.
This mustard is very heat-resistant and is therefore ideal for barbecue marinades, for example.
Mustard has a long history
People have known mustard for thousands of years.
In Europe, mustard spread through Arab plantations in what is now Spanish territory.
For centuries, it served as the only hot spice alongside horseradish and was considered a delicacy.
Pepper was not used in European courts until the 13th century and was worth its weight in gold.
It was soon realized that mustard could also be used as a helpful remedy against pain, germs, inflammation and digestive problems.
In ancient times, philosophers also studied mustard seeds, and Pythagoras is said to have concluded that mustard is also beneficial for the mind.
Incidentally, Indian researchers were even able to confirm this in a study in 2013.
The health-promoting effects of mustard
Mustard can also stimulate the appetite and digestion and neutralize substances that lead to gastrointestinal cancer and bladder tumors.
Mustard for heartburn during pregnancy – Mustard can help pregnant women with annoying heartburn. Not only mustard seeds, but also regular table mustard in tubes or jars can relieve symptoms.
Fluids in the body are either alkaline or acidic and stomach acid, as the name suggests, is one of the most acidic.
When it rises into the esophagus, it causes unpleasant heartburn.
However, since mustard has an alkaline environment, it can neutralize stomach acid.
However, for some people, mustard may actually worsen heartburn, depending on the underlying cause.
Therefore, you should first try smaller amounts before attempting to combat the symptoms with mustard.
Pregnant women can also use mustard to address digestive problems such as constipation.
These are common during pregnancy because progesterone relaxes the intestinal muscles and the growing child puts pressure on the digestive organs.
The aromatic mustard oils stimulate the production of bile and gastric juices, thus stimulating digestion. It’s not for nothing that mustard is often served with fatty dishes.
Mustard during pregnancy – mustard seeds as nutrient bombs
Mustard is healthy, whether you use mustard seeds or table mustard.
However, not all mustard is the same, as many products in tubes and jars, especially table mustard, contain only around 30% mustard seeds and sometimes also preservatives or quite a lot of sugar.
Therefore, it is always worth taking a close look at the label and the list of ingredients.
Good quality mustard has many nutrients to offer, including vitamins B1 and B3, vitamin E, magnesium, calcium, iron and selenium.
With 50 grams of mustard you can cover 20% of your daily requirement of vitamin B3, which is important for energy production and helps prevent birth defects and miscarriages.
Calcium and magnesium are not only essential for bones and muscles, but also act as electrolytes to regulate your water balance, protecting you from edema that can occur at the end of pregnancy.
Homemade mustard with fresh mustard seeds in particular contains a variety of valuable nutrients that are good for you and your baby’s development.
Mustard from a jar has usually lost some of its nutrients during processing.
100 g of mustard seeds contain:
Calories about 60
3,2 g Fett
3.9 g carbohydrates
2.8 g protein
1.6 g fiber
Calcium 130 mg
Magnesium 180 mg
Iron 20 mg
Phosphor 180 mg
Selen 0,1 mg
Vitamin E 20 mg
Vitamin B1 0.54 mg
Vitamin B3 7.9 mg
Final thoughts
Everyone knows the stories about food cravings that women experience when they are pregnant.
Pickles with honey or mustard on a chocolate croissant and other strange cravings are on the diet plan, just like healthy eating and sudden cravings.
Science cannot yet say for sure why this is the case, but it is assumed that the body, especially in early pregnancy, is getting the nutrients it is lacking and that more calories are now needed.
Pregnant women must avoid certain foods such as salami and tea sausage and other raw meat, sushi and smoked salmon, cheeses such as Gorgonzola and Camembert , and the runny yolk in fried and scrambled eggs in order to protect the course of the pregnancy and the development of the baby.
Pregnant women should only consume other foods and spices such as ginger , turmeric and cinnamon in small quantities, as the properties of these spices can lead to premature labor, especially in high-risk pregnancies.
Mustard is not a problem, however, which is very good news for you if you like this spice.
In this country it is often underestimated and only appreciated as a side dish to bratwurst.
However, there are different types of mustard and in this article I have mentioned the most popular ones.
High-quality mustard has many nutrients to offer and can have a health-promoting effect and be used to combat pregnancy-related symptoms such as heartburn or water retention.
So, refine the dressing, sauce, stew and chicken with a spoonful of mustard, whether sweet or spicy, and enjoy according to your taste!
