10 food types to avoid if you’re pregnant

HerFamily

For you gals who are ‘with bump’ and those who are currently mid-horizontal mambo, listen up! This could be pretty handy.

Here’s the concise list of exactly what to avoid when you are pregnant… and how to appease those cravings with another, safer option.

Believe us, it will come in handy!

1. Under-cooked animal foods

Sounds like an obvious one, but you just don’t know when your cravings may win the battle with your willpower. Avoid:

Raw meat
Raw oysters
Unpasteurised eggs
Raw cookie or cake dough (WTFudge – so not fair)

Hack: Test all meat and fish you are cooking with a food thermometer. Cook eggs until they’re hard.

2. Unpasteurised dairy and luncheon meats

These foods are prone to Listeria, a bacteria that causes Listeriosis. This illness may lead to miscarriage and still birth, so it’s best to abstain. You have loads of choices when it comes to delicious non-dairy alternatives. Avoid:

Luncheon meat
Turkey
Salami
Deli ham
Bologna
Paté and meat spreads
Frankfurters (unless they are steaming hot)
Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, Queso Blanco/Fresco/Panela

Hack: Refrigerated smoked seafood is okay to eat as long as it is served extremely hot e.g. fish casserole. Brie, Gorgonzola and Feta are good to eat, though. Awesome.

3. Certain seafood and farmed fish

Pregnant and nursing women can eat up to 12 ounces (340 grammes) of seafood weekly. Large sea fish varieties, like the ones below, can have high concentrations of mercury in their flesh – steer clear. Mercury may interfere with the normal development of a growing child’s brain and nervous system.

King mackerel (pictured)
Swordfish
Shark

Hack: Eat other fish including salmon (farmed and wild), sardines and shrimp. Canned light tuna is better to eat than white tuna – it has less mercury.

4. Raw vegetable sprouts

Removing bacteria from sprout seeds is close to impossible. Here are some to avoid:

Alfalfa
Radish
Clover
Mung bean sprouts

Hack: Thoroughly cook sprouts, if you insist on eating them.

5. Try to avoid alcohol, beers and spirits

OK, well all know this one. Alcohol robs the body of oxygen and nutrients and it is said to hinder normal foetal development. Beyond the usual beers and wines, here’s a further list of what to avoid:

Unpasteurised juices including homemade cider
Spirits (including colourless ones: Vodka, gin, Bacardi, Martini, Pernod).
Caffeinated alco-pops

Hack: Unfortunately, there is no level of alcohol that is deemed 100 per cent safe for consumption if you are pregnant. Welcome to your nine-month detox, gals.

6. Caffeine

Always drink eight glasses of water per day to flush toxins from your system. Filtered or glass bottled water is a more environmentally-friendly approach. Consuming copious amounts of caffeine can raise your blood pressure and make you anxious and irritable – not great when you are probably already suffering both in equal measure. Stay away from these, if possible:

Caffeinated soda drinks
Caffeinated energy drinks, post/pre. workout
Water from a questionable source (i.e on holiday)
Coffee
Tea

Hack: Up your intake of natural vitamin B to beat pesky cravings. Oh, and cool fact: Ginseng is the natural alternative to caffeine. Yay, for nature.

7. Unusual herbal teas or herbal stimulants

Weight-loss stimulants are a no-go during pregnancy. A few more herbs can be hidden in health supplements. Always check that these one are not present in the list of ingredients:

Garcinia Cambogia
Guarana
Kola nut
Black walnut
Large amounts of vitamin A

Hack: Talk to your gynecologist if you are unsure about any herbal or botanical stimulants.

8. Foods that may cause allergies

If you, your child’s father or one of your family has a prevailing allergy to nuts, for example, your baby is more likely to have an allergy. Try to avoid these to reduce the possibilities of passing it on:

Peanuts (if you are allergic to them)
Food made in an environment with peanuts
Snack bars

Hack: Chat to a registered dietician about possible changes to cut food allergens from your diet.

9. Excess calories

Pregnancy is not a time to try to stay trim. Ice-cream, chips and cookies are all fine during this special time. Whatever else takes your fancy and serves the craving Gods during your pregnancy, is fine. Just don’t become a greedy-guts. Here are some healthy alternatives:

Hack: As a rule of thumb, in the second trimester add no more than 340 extra calories per day to the pre-pregnancy food plan you are used to. In the third trimester add no more than 450 extra calories. If you are a little overweight at conception, ask your doctor what nutrition plan is correct for you.