Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy – Now that you’re eating for two, you’re perhaps focusing on healthy food choices to help you feel better and support your baby’s growth. But what not to eat or drink during pregnancy is just as important.
While your peanut can benefit from all the healthy nutrients you eat, a baby can also affected by disease-causing bacteria that could hiding in certain foods. So, when you’re pregnant, it’s best to err on the side of carefulness and avoid any menu item that might make you sick or affect your little one’s growth and development.
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Why Avoid Certain Foods During Pregnancy?
Certain foods have a higher risk of harbouring pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria, Salmonella or E. coli. Similarly, your immune system has more difficulty fighting off germs during pregnancy.
Put those two together, and you’re extra likely to get sick or suffer complications like miscarriage or premature labour if you accidentally eat something contaminated. Equally concerning is the fact that bacteria that cause foodborne illness can cross the placenta. And since your baby’s immune system isn’t yet strong enough to fight germs, he’s at risk of developing a severe infection or congenital disabilities.
However, not all banned foods are banned due to bacteria. Mercury-rich alcohol and fish, for example, won’t make you sick, but they can harm your baby’s development. And others just haven’t been studied enough to know if they’re safe for your growing baby.
Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy
So what should you foods to avoid during pregnancy these days? These foods and drinks are worth taking off the menu until your baby is born.
Alcohol
Over the next 40 weeks, plan to toast happy events with a mocktail or fruit juice soda. Although you’ve heard that the occasional booze is okay, it’s best to be safe when you have a baby on board.? Alcohol enters your baby’s bloodstream at the same concentration as yours and takes twice as long to get out, so whatever you drink, your baby drinks too.
Did you take a drink or two shortly before you found out you were pregnant? Try not to worry. It happens to numerous moms, and (what a relief!) there’s no need to worry.
Dairy and Unpasteurized Juices
Fortunately, thanks to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), you don’t have to worry about finding unpasteurized milk at the grocery store. But soft cheeses made from unpasteurized milk are a different story: they can harbour Listeria and other pathogens.
To break safe, stick with hard cheeses like Swiss or cheddar, or check a cheese’s label to settle it’s made from pasteurized milk. Want feta, brie, camembert, goat cheese, blue cheese and queso fresco? First, ensure that they are made from pasteurized products or heat them until they bubble.
Too Much Caffeine
Even if you couldn’t live without your vanilla triple latte before you got pregnant, it’s time to swap at least a few caffeinated drinks for decaf.
Although a few small cups of coffee a day is sufficient during pregnancy, you should not consume more than 200 milligrams (mg) of caffeine daily. Too much caffeine can also delay your body’s ability to absorb iron (which can lead to anaemia).
Raw or Undercooked Seafood
Want tuna sashimi? Are you obsessed with these half-shell oysters? Before visiting your favourite raw food bar or local sushi bar, remember that raw or seared seafood is prohibit during pregnancy – the risk of ingesting bacteria and parasites with food is too high.
Rare or Undercooked Meat
When it derives to your meat, now is not the time to see pink or red. (This is true for fowl and pork, but most people eat these well-cooked foods.) So while you may take cooked (or ordered) that rare steak before your baby’s birth, you will now have to abstain from blood-red meat.
