In Pregnancy What Should Not Eat
There are many things that you need to be careful about during pregnancy. Among them, what you eat is perhaps in the first place. As there are some things that you should eat or drink for a healthier pregnancy, there are also foods and beverages to avoid. In this article, we will look at pregnancy and what should not eat. Pregnant mothers should keep these things out of their pregnancy diet or keep it under a limit for healthy development. Let’s see what these foods and drinks are.
Any Alcohol
Let’s get the obvious ones first. As you probably already know, alcohol is one of the most harmful things for pregnancy. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy cause many problems. First of all, it can trigger miscarriages. But even when the baby can be born, the baby will probably have health issues, disabilities, or deformities caused by alcohol. Keep in mind that, there is no safe limit for drinking alcohol during pregnancy. And, pregnant mothers definitely should stay away from alcohol.
Coffee and Caffeine
Coffee has a constant place in most people’s life. Coffee and other drinks that contain caffeine help us concentrate, stay awake, or energize. However, caffeine can be dangerous during pregnancy. Because of the property of caffeine, it passes to the baby really fast. But the metabolism of unborn babies cannot handle caffeine. So, as the mother drinks more and more coffee, or other drinks with caffeine, the caffeine in the fetus increases over time. If the mother takes too much caffeine, the development of the baby can stop. It can result in a birth where the baby is underweight and has many health issues. The recommended caffeine amount for pregnant women is less than 200 mg per day. This limit allows you to drink about two cups of coffee. But you should not drink any higher than 3 cups.
Raw Meat
As meat is delicious and nutritious for you, it is also nutritious for microorganisms. Meat, especially processed meat, allows bacteria to process quickly on it. These bacteria can cause many infections. So eating meat with bacteria is dangerous for pregnant women. It can cause vital problems for both the mother and the baby. Infections that pass to unborn babies can cause disabilities and chronic problems. Typically, most bacteria reproduce on the surface of the meat while it is exposed. Although there might be some bacteria in the meat fibers too, if you cook the meat well on the outside, you can make it mostly safer to eat. To be safe, be sure that the meat is well-cooked all the way to its core. But some meat products are made by mincing the meat and processing it which takes a while. So the bacteria find time to reproduce deep in these products. Sausages, burgers, patties, or meatballs can be considered such products. So, making these products safe to eat for pregnant women is harder. You should cook them until they get hot in the core, high enough to kill any bacteria in them. Even then, you cannot be sure that you killed all the bacteria it got during processing. So, staying away from processed meat products is safer for pregnancy overall.
Milk and Milk Products without Pasteurization
Just like other animal-based products, milk can contain many bacteria. If the milk is sold directly from the farm, or it is used in the production of dairy products without pasteurization, these bacteria can cause various infections when you consume them. Again, such infections are even riskier for pregnant women and their babies. Infection can put the lives of the baby and pregnant women at risk. And an infection can leave babies disabled or with health issues for their whole lives. While you can boil your milk to reduce such risks, it may not be as effective as the advanced pasteurization process of dairy companies. Also, it is not possible to boil the homemade dairy products you may buy, like cheese or yogurt, to be safe. To get the most health benefits out of the dairy products while being safe, pregnant women should only consume pasteurized milk and other dairy products. So, the things you should not consume in pregnancy include raw milk too.
Under-Cooked Seafood
Seafood offers many benefits for your health. But it also comes with risks if you do not be careful about it, especially during pregnancy. The first thing you should consider about seafood should be how well-cooked it is. Sea creatures can carry so many parasites and bacteria, as well as viral diseases. Moreover, they can get many bacteria that can produce on them during the time they were caught, and they come to your meal. Typically cooking seafood kills these bacteria or parasites and makes it safe to eat. But eating them under-cooked is simply inviting infections to your body. Such infections can be dangerous for pregnant bodies. The immunity system can be weaker during pregnancy and bacteria present a higher risk for the mother than usual. Even worse, these diseases can affect the baby in the womb. Infections can harm the development of the baby, which can result in problems that will last for a lifetime. Even if the mother does not experience any problem after eating such foods, the baby can still be affected. Therefore, if you are worried about “in pregnancy what should not eat”, you can try to stay away from certain kinds of seafood that are known to be often under-cooked or raw. Sushi types and shellfish meals are often considered risky in this manner.
Sprouts without Cooking
Another way that pregnant women can get bacteria is by eating sprouts, at least without cooking. Sprouts like radish, clover, mung bean, and alfalfa require high moisture to grow. This environment causes various bacteria types to produce quickly as well. As they get into the seeds, and the texture, washing does not clean off these bacteria. Fortunately, these bacteria can be killed by cooking these sprouts. So, to be safe, pregnant women should only eat well-cooked sprouts. But, during pregnancy what should not eat includes raw sprouts as well.
Junk Food With Low Nutrition
During pregnancy, women can be attracted to junk food more than usual. Since the pregnant body tent to produce more fat with excess calorie intake, consumption of too much junk food can cause many health issues that risk the baby’s well-being as well. Don’t take this matter wrong. Pregnancy requires gaining some weight for the healthy development of the baby. But there is a limit. Junk food can make pregnant women gain weight at unhealthy levels. This can cause heart issues that can risk the birth and the baby’s development too. Also, since most junk foods make with extreme sugar amounts consuming them can cause diabetes as well. Which can present even higher dangers for birth, and can pass on to the child. When it comes to “things you should not eat in pregnancy”; you can put junk food into the list of things to avoid.
Any vegetable or fruit without Washing
Although it often goes without saying, vegetables and fruits can get many parasites and bacteria on them during their natural life cycle or after they are harvested and stored. Although these may not harm them, they can cause serious problems when people eat those parasites and bacteria in the vegetables and fruits. Most of the time, people do not even notice that they get infected by these parasites or bacteria since their immunity system is strong enough. But this is especially risky for pregnant women and their babies since their bodies are more sensitive to such factors. There are also some chemicals that farmers use to protect their produce from such parasites. But these chemicals can be very dangerous too. Both the parasites and chemicals cause serious problems during pregnancy. Along with the mother getting critically ill, they can even cause the baby to be born with disabilities. To avoid such risks, you can get rid of most of the dangerous organisms and chemicals on the vegetables and fruits by washing them thoroughly. So, in pregnancy, you should not eat non-washed vegetables or fruits.
Seafood with Mercury
If you have a basic level of understanding of chemistry, you probably know that mercury is a dangerous chemical. When mercury is in our bodies, it damages our vital systems. For pregnant women, it presents even larger dangers. The high amount of Mercury in a pregnant body can cause harm to the baby’s development and immunity system as well. You may think that you would be safe as long as you do not drink mercury. But the scary thing is that Mercury is everywhere, for example; in the sea life. Through the other fish they eat, some fish species carry a high amount of mercury in their bodies. Although eating fish is also highly beneficial during pregnancy, consuming the fish species with high mercury can present a risk of building up mercury in your body. So, you should be careful about eating certain fish types that eat many other smaller fish species. For example, Albacore tuna, swordfish, or shark meat carry high amounts of mercury. While doctors would recommend eating other fish species multiple times in a week, such fish species with high amounts of mercury should be eaten no more than a couple of times in a month.
Under-cooked Eggs
One of the most overlooked things when it comes to “Foods to avoid when pregnant”, is the consumption of undercooked eggs. Eggs and egg products that are not cooked well enough to kill any bacteria can cause many infections, just like under-cooked meats. Since their immunity is more sensitive during pregnancy, bacterial infections that can be caused by eating eggs can be critical for both the mother and the baby. In serious cases, it can even result in premature birth, or worse. When we talk about under-cooked eggs, you may only think about drinking raw eggs, or eggs that you do not cook well such as poached eggs or scrambled eggs. But there are more products that pregnant women should avoid. You should also avoid sauces that contain raw eggs, icings on cakes, as well as mayonnaise and ice cream that are homemade. Since commercial alternatives are usually made with pasteurized eggs, you may use them instead.
