What foods should I avoid or limit during pregnancy?
When you are pregnant you carry the responsibility of making sure your unborn child has adequate high quality nutrition. You need to be more conscious of your overall nutritional regime more than at other times in your life. Your nutritional intake has to be adequate fro your changing body, and the health of your unborn child. An additional factor is to be sure the food you eat is free from toxins that may cross the placenta or that may affect your overall health. This means organic where possible.
As a general rule, whether pregnant or not, but especially when pregnant, avoid the following foods:
Processed Sugar: Confectionery, chocolates, cakes and biscuits are high in sugar and usually contain high amounts of calories and low amounts of nutrients. Although you don’t need to eliminate these foods from your diet it is a good idea to limit them.
Caffeine: When pregnant it is highly recommended to cut back to a minimum or completely if you can, your intake of caffeine. During pregnancy your body needs extra fluid and for this reason, as well as others, caffeine needs to be limited. Caffeine is a diuretic. Caffeine is in tea, coffee, chocolate and caffeinated soft drinks such as colas.
The following foods are advised against:
- Raw and undercooked meat. Meat, unless cooked properly, is at risk of E. coli contamination. E. coli bacteria are located on the outside of whole meats. Ground meat takes longer to cook because of its lack of surface.
- Raw fish, clams, raw oysters, shellfish. Fish and shellfish can be contaminated with parasites and harmful bacteria.
- Shark, swordfish, king mackerel. These fish are higher on the food chain and may contain high levels of methyl mercury which can be dangerous to both us and to the developing baby.
- Raw eggs and runny yolks. These may contain salmonella
- Soft cheeses and unpasteurised dairy products: they may contain listeria
- Cured meats such as bacon, sausage and ham. They may contain listeria.
- Unpasteurised juices. Unpasteurised juices may contain E.coli. Homemade freshly squeezed juice is ok.
- Unorganic food