Tired of Googling which Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy?
Photo: Andrea Piacquadio
Does pregnancy increase your risk of food related illness?
There are many foods that are said to be dangerous to eat during pregnancy. The danger comes from the fact that some foods are at a higher risk of containing harmful bacteria or pathogens. These pathogens have the potential to harm anyone, but pregnancy does increase your risk because some of these pathogens can actually affect your baby. Some pathogens can cause harm to your baby even if you do not feel sick (listeria and Toxoplasma gondii).
This is why many suggest avoiding foods that can potentially contain these pathogens. These foods include, but are not limited to:
Raw or undercooked eggs, meat and seafood
Deli meat, smoked seafood and lunch meat
Unpasteurized dairy and soft cheeses
High mercury seafood
The truth is, there is rarely a 100% safe food, 100% of the time. Remember the romaine lettuce recalls? Pathogens can get in or onto our food during harvesting, processing, storage, cross contamination when preparing, improper handling and so much more.
Let's go through that list again…
Food: Raw or undercooked eggs, meat and seafood/shellfish
Explanation: Cooking animal products (shellfish especially) to the suggested temperature drastically reduces risk. Also, purchase animal products from reputable sources and freeze or refrigerate as soon as possible to cut down on bacteria growth.
Food: Deli meat, smoked seafood and lunch meat
Explanation: Some pathogens can survive refrigerator temperatures - Listeria. If you eat a food containing listeria, you may only feel mild flu-like symptoms, however the infection can reach your baby and cause serious complications. For this reason it is suggested to cook deli or sandwich meat until it is steaming.
Food: Unpasteurized dairy and soft cheeses
Explanation: Look for pasteurized dairy and soft cheeses to reduce risk. However, even pasteurized dairy can contain pathogens. Remember heat is your friend if you want to reduce risk!
Food: High mercury seafood
Explanation: Try to limit/avoid these: bigeye, ahi, bluefin type and fresh albacore tuna, swordfish, king mackerel, mahi mahi. And Add these: cod, pollock, salmon, tilapia, freshwater trout, canned chunk lite tuna, skipjack, sardines.
What about alcohol and caffeine??
Alcohol is a toxin to the body and in certain amounts causes serious birth defects. To detoxify alcohol, our bodies use various micronutrients, which take nutrients away from the baby. Additionally, alcohol provides no nutritional benefit. For these and many other reasons, it is strongly advised to avoid drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
There is conflicting data on the safety of caffeine during pregnancy. Some studies suggest that the maximum limit is set too high, others say there is no conclusive data that suggests the limit is unsafe. The current recommendation for caffeine remains that it should be limited to 200-300 mg/day. For example: an 8 oz. brewed coffee has about 150-160 mg of caffeine, an espresso shot has about 77 mg, 8 oz. of black tea can have up to 85 mg and green tea can have up to 80 mg.
Photo: Ivan Samkov
Source, Storage and Preparation
Where you purchase your food and how it is handled and prepared can have a big impact on whether it contains pathogens.
Here are some tips:
Wash your hands before you prepare food, after touching raw animal products, and before you eat.
When buying produce, wash them thoroughly before using. No need to use soap, water should do the trick! You can use veggie washes, but it is not necessary.
If you are eating at a new restaurant you do not yet trust, it may be a good idea to avoid eating raw vegetables such as romaine lettuce. Heating helps to kill pathogens and salads are not normally cooked. Also, not everyone follows the hand washing rule.
Pre-made salads/sandwiches, pre-cut fruit and veggies at the grocery or convenience store are also at a higher risk of containing harmful bacteria (yes, it’s the hand washing again).
When handling raw meat, fish or eggs, make sure to avoid cross-contamination with foods that are not going to be cooked before eating. Try to designate separate cutting boards, knives and bowls for the raw animal products.
Bacteria grow really fast in temperatures between 40-140 degrees F. Thawing frozen meat in the fridge (not on your counter) helps to prevent bacteria growth in warm temperatures.
Cooking animal products to the suggested temperature also helps to kill unwanted pathogens. Check out this Heat chart from the FDA.
What now?
This is by no means an exhaustive list of foods that may cause potential harm. The goal here is to provide information that can help you along your education journey to making an informed decision.
Follow Athena’s Bump for more tips!
References:
Nutrition C for FS and A. Medical professionals fast facts from food safety for moms to be. FDA. Published online April 10, 2020. Accessed March 4, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/food/people-risk-foodborne-illness/medical-professionals-fast-facts-food-safety-moms-be
CDC. Foods linked to illness. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Published October 1, 2020. Accessed March 4, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/foods-linked-illness.html
Nutrition C for FS and A. Heat chart from food safety for moms to be. FDA. Published online February 20, 2020. Accessed March 18, 2021. https://www.fda.gov/food/people-risk-foodborne-illness/heat-chart-food-safety-moms-be
Qian J, Chen Q, Ward SM, Duan E, Zhang Y. Impacts of Caffeine during Pregnancy. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2020;31(3):218-227. doi:10.1016/j.tem.2019.11.004