Foods to avoid during pregnancy



Foods to avoid during pregnancy.

Foods to avoid during pregnancy

When you're pregnant, there are certain foods that are best avoided. Here's what to leave out of your diet and why.

  Some cheeses 

 Soft cheeses can contain more moisture than hard cheese, allowing bacteria such as listeria to grow. Listeriosis can harm a growing baby. Avoid mould-ripened soft cheese made with both cows' or goats' milk. This includes brie and camembert. Also avoid soft blue-veined cheeses, including Danish blue, gorgonzola and roquefort. Hard cheeses, such as cheddar, parmesan and stilton are usually safe. Softer cheeses made from pasteurised milk are usually OK too, including cottage cheese, mozzarella, feta cheese, cream cheese, paneer, ricotta, halloumi, goats' cheese. Processed cheeses, including cheese spreads are also OK. Thorough cooking can also kill bacteria in cheese if they are included in dishes or recipes.

Pâté 

 Avoid pâté which can contain listeria, even vegetarian versions.

  Raw or partially cooked eggs 

 Raw and uncooked eggs can cause salmonella food poisoning. Make sure eggs are thoroughly cooked. Check that both the whites and yolks are solid after cooking. Avoid homemade mayonnaise.

Raw or undercooked meat 

 Pregnancy is not a time to enjoy meat dishes rare. All meat and poultry, including sausages, burgers and mince, needs to be cooked thoroughly making sure it is steaming hot with no traces of pink or blood left. Proper cooking of meat and avoiding cross contamination with raw meat in the kitchen helps avoid food poisoning from salmonella, campylobacter and E.coli 0157 and complications from toxoplasmosis in meat from parasites. Cold meats, including salami, Parma ham, chorizo and pepperoni may contain parasites that can cause toxoplasmosis. These meats are cured and fermented rather than cooked. Freezing or cooking can kill the parasites. Check the label, and ask about meats in restaurants if you have concerns.

Liver products 

 Liver and food products containing liver may contain too much vitamin A, which can be harmful to a baby. For the same reason, avoid high-dose multivitamin supplements, fish liver oil supplements and other supplements that contain vitamin A.

Some types of fish and shellfish 

 Some types of fish have been found to contain high levels of mercury which is bad for a growing baby's nervous system. Limit yourself to no more than two portions of oily fish a week, including salmon, mackerel, sardines and trout. For tuna, limit the amount eaten to no more than 2 tuna steaks a week (about 140g cooked) or four medium tins of tuna a week (140g when drained). Avoid shark, marlin, swordfish and raw shellfish. Raw shellfish can contain bacteria and viruses. Sushi is usually fine as long as the fish was thoroughly frozen first. Freezing kills of any parasitic worms in the fish.

Peanuts

Pregnant women are only advised to avoid peanuts if they have a nut allergy themselves. There's no current evidence that eating peanuts during pregnancy increases the baby's risk of having a peanut allergy.

Unpasteurised milk 

 Only drink pasteurised or UHT (ultra-heat treated or long-life) milk. If unpasteurised or raw milk is the only option, boil it first. This also applies to unpasteurised goats' or sheep's milk as well as cows' milk. Soft ice cream is usually made with pasteurised milk, so should be OK, but avoid it if you are concerned.

  Dirty fruit and vegetables 

 All traces of soil and visible dirt need to be thoroughly washed off fruit, vegetables and salads.

  Caffeine 

 Too much caffeine in pregnancy can lead to low birth weight babies and an increased risk of miscarriage. The NHS advice is to limit caffeine to 200mg a day. That's about two mugs of instant coffee, but other coffees may be stronger. It isn’t just coffee to monitor for caffeine. It is also found in tea, chocolate, fizzy drinks, energy drinks and even some cold and flu remedies. Consider changing to decaf coffee or other soft drinks.

 Source: www.webMD.com

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