Ketchup is a sweet, tangy sauce of cooked tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and spices. It is safe throughout pregnancy, and the only thing worth noticing is how quickly the sugar and salt add up if it goes on everything.
Why it's good in pregnancy
Ketchup is cooked and acidic, so it keeps well and carries no food-safety concern, and a little makes plain chicken, eggs or vegetables more appealing on days when nothing tastes right. Tomato concentrate brings lycopene, some vitamin C and potassium, though in condiment amounts these are small.
Key nutrients
Vitamin CTomato concentrate retains a little vitamin C, which helps you absorb iron from the meal it is served with.
PotassiumTomatoes are a potassium source and a tablespoon of ketchup carries a small amount.
Serving ideas
A spoonful with oven chips or wedges
With a well-cooked burger or sausages
Mixed into a tomato pasta sauce for sweetness
A dab beside firm scrambled eggs
Stirred into a baked bean and vegetable mix
Safety
Safe; a tablespoon carries about a teaspoon of sugar, so it is the quantity to watch.Reduced-sugar and no-added-salt versions taste almost the same.
Keep ketchup in the fridge once opened and use it within the time on the label, usually a few months. A tablespoon holds around 4 g of sugar and 0.3 g of salt, so if you are managing gestational diabetes or blood pressure, measure it rather than squeezing freely, and look at the reduced-sugar and no-added-salt versions, which use less sugar without changing much flavour. Ketchup is acidic, so if heartburn is a problem later in pregnancy, a small amount or a milder sauce may suit you better. Ketchup is also an easy way to get a fussy appetite to accept plain cooked protein.
Common questions
Can I eat ketchup while pregnant?Yes, ketchup is a cooked, shelf-stable sauce and is safe in pregnancy; the only thing to keep an eye on is the sugar and salt if you use a lot.
Is ketchup OK with gestational diabetes?In small, measured amounts, yes; a tablespoon has about 4 g of sugar, and reduced-sugar versions make it easier to fit in.
Why am I craving ketchup during pregnancy?Sweet, salty and sour cravings are all common in pregnancy, and ketchup hits all three; there is no harm in it, just keep the portions sensible.
Did you know?
Ketchup started life as a fermented fish sauce in south-east Asia; tomatoes did not appear in the recipe until the early 1800s.
Cooking and concentrating tomatoes makes their lycopene easier to absorb, so ketchup has more available lycopene gram for gram than a raw tomato.
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