http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/nutrition/a-food-guide-for-pregnant-women/
Foods to Avoid
So to be safe, avoid the common culprits of food-borne illness:
Raw Eggs/undercooked eggs: Because raw eggs may be tainted with salmonella, a bacterium that can cause fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, watch out for restaurant-made Caesar salad dressing, homemade eggnog, raw cookie dough, and soft scrambled or sunny-side up eggs -- any dish in which the eggs (both yolk and white) are not cooked completely.
"If eggs are cooked, the risk is gone," adds Madeleine Sigman-Grant, PhD, maternal child health and nutrition extension specialist at the University of Nevada.
Some Varieties of Fish: Fish, which boasts omega-3 fatty acids that help baby's brain development, is a great meal choice right now.
But some varieties of fish should be shunned due to high levels of methyl-mercury, a pollutant that can affect baby's nervous system.
These include swordfish, shark, and tilefish -- all big species that live longer, accumulating more mercury in their flesh. (You may want to avoid these fish entirely during your childbearing years because your body stores mercury for up to four years, Ward advises.)
In fact, most types of fish contain traces of mercury, so you'll want to limit your weekly consumption of safer varieties too. According to the newest guidelines from the FDA, you can enjoy up to 12 ounces a week (roughly two meals) of lower-mercury fish such as salmon, catfish, pollack, shrimp, and canned light tuna. Of those 12 ounces, only 6 should come from canned "white" albacore tuna, which tends to contain more mercury than light tuna. If you're eating fish caught in local waters, check online with your state's department of health for advisories (if you can't find any information, limit yourself to 6 ounces).
Soft Cheeses: Soft cheeses such as Brie, feta, and Gorgonzola were once considered potentially harmful because they can harbor listeria.
Listeriosis, an illness caused by the bacteria listeria, can be passed to the fetus, leading to miscarriage, premature delivery, or stillbirth.
However, the FDA now allows soft cheese during pregnancy, as long as it's made with pasteurized milk. Most cheese sold in the United States is, but "don't ever take that for granted," says Ward. It's still important to check labels, especially with imported brands. If you live in a border state, steer clear of soft Mexican cheeses like queso blanco in markets (they aren't typically pasteurized).
No comments:
Post a Comment