3 Tropical Fruits That Can Cause Miscarriage

Tropical fruits are a delicious component of a healthy, balanced diet. These sweet, tangy treats are loaded with fiber, micronutrients, digestion-supporting enzymes, anti-inflammatory agents, and powerful antioxidants. Although it's safe to eat almost all fruits and vegetables in moderate quantities during pregnancy, some tropical fruits can cause complications-- including miscarriage-- if eaten in excessive quantities.

Avoid eating the following tropical fruits in large amounts, particularly during the earliest stages of pregnancy. If you have experienced pregnancy complications, such as threatened miscarriage, your health care provider may recommend avoiding these tropical fruits entirely.

Papaya

Throughout Asia-- particularly including Sri Lank, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan-- women have historically used papaya as an emergency contraceptive and abortifacient. Unripe papaya is particularly dangerous to developing embryos, since its compounds trigger powerful uterine contractions. Animal tests involving rats have confirmed that large amounts of papaya can increase the risk of miscarriage, but have not found any adverse effects from moderate amounts of ripe papaya

Pineapple

Pineapple contains the protease enzyme bromelain-- which is chemically similar to papain in papaya. Because of this, it's likely that pineapple could exert an abortifacient effect similar to that associated with papaya. If you are pregnant, do not eat pineapple in excessive quantities, especially during the earliest stages. Also consider minimizing your use of meat tenderizer, which is made from the protein-digesting enzymes found in pineapple and papya. The National Institutes of Health explicitly urges pregnant women to avoid supplements containing isolated pineapple enzyme.

Pomegranate

An occasional pomegranate or glass of juice won't harm a developing embryo. However, large amounts of pomegranate can trigger contractions in the uterus, potentially leading to miscarriage. The contraction-stimulating compounds occur in the highest concentration in pomegranate seeds, so eating a whole pomegranate and swallowing the seeds may be the most hazardous to a pregnancy. If you are pregnant, do not swallow pomegranate seeds and consume the fruit only in moderate quantities.