5 Foods to Avoid when You’re Pregnant

Being pregnant is not an easy time. Even the simplest decisions you used to make on a daily basis now feel like huge dilemmas. One of the biggest concerns for pregnant women is what to eat. Not only are you bouncing between nausea and extreme hunger, you also have to worry about food safety.

Eating the wrong foods can pose a serious health risk to you and your baby. Eating contaminated food can cause mental retardation, blindness or even death to your baby. Whether you’re going to your favorite restaurant or dining in your Portland home, it’s vital to note these five foods to avoid when you’re pregnant.

Photo by: Vanessa Pike-Russell

Seafood

There are some seafoods you can eat and some you can’t. Definitely avoid fresh seafood, such as fish from fresh bodies of water like rivers, streams or lakes. These fish may be contaminated with bacteria or chemicals. Also avoid large fish like swordfish, shark, tilefish and king mackerel which can have high levels of methylymercury. This chemical can be detrimental your baby’s brain and nervous system. Avoid refrigerated smoked seafood like salmon, trout, whitefish, cod, tuna, or mackerel. You may find these labeled as nova-style, lox, kippered, smoked or jerky.

Seafood that’s okay to eat is low-mercury seafood such as salmon, shrimp, catfish and canned light tuna. Limit your intake to 12 ounces per week.

Undercooked Foods

Avoid any kind of raw or undercooked meat, like beef or poultry. Don’t eat raw oysters, shellfish, clams or sushi. Uncooked eggs are dangerous, too. If baking, avoid cookie dough and cake batter until after you’ve baked them. Undercooked food can contain bacteria and viruses.

Deli Meats

Meats like ham, bologna, salami, turkey, hot dogs and sausage can contain bacteria that can cause listeriosis. This bacteria can cause serious health problems, miscarriage and stillbirth. If you must eat deli meat, reheat it until its steaming hot. Also avoid refrigerated pates or meat spreads.

Dairy Foods

Soft cheese is a big no-no. Avoid brie, Camembert, feta, any blue-veined cheeses(like Roquefort). These may contain listeria bacteria. If you do eat them, heat them until they are bubbling hot. A safer choice would be a hard cheese like cheddar. To be safe, all dairy products consumed during pregnancy should say ‘pasteurized’ on the label.

Raw Vegetable Sprouts

Items like alfalfa, radish and clover have a high number of illnesses associated with them. Several years ago, the FDA advised all Americans to avoid eating raw sprouts to reduce the risk of food-borne illness.

Symptoms of bacterial infection include headache, nausea, vomiting, fever and chills, developing 2 to 30 days after you eat contaminated food.

So now that you know what you shouldn’t eat, how do you know what foods you can safely enjoy? Review pregnancy tips online and find websites that show you How to Eat Healthy When You’re Pregnant.

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