Prenatal Vitamins

5 Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy

Eating a well balanced diet should always be a priority, especially when you are eating for two (or more).  While a high quality prenatal vitamin should ensure you get your essential vitamins and nutrients, it should NEVER replace a well balanced diet. Fresh foods are your best source of nutrients but did you know there some foods that should be avoided during pregnancy?

Seafood High in Mercury

Fish is generally a very nutritious food, it contains iron, protein, omega-3’s and B vitamins. But there is a flip side, fish also has dangerous contaminants like mercury- thanks to industrial pollution. Mercury has been found to affect the development of your baby’s brain and nervous system, and nearly all fish contain traces of mercury. The general rule of thumb is, the bigger and older the fish, the more mercury it contains. It is suggested that you avoid these fish during your pregnancy:

• Shark
• Swordfish
• Tilefish
• King Mackerel
• Marlin
• Grouper

If you can’t go without your seafood we suggest sticking to these low-mercury fish and limit yourself to 2, well cooked servings per week:

• Anchovies
• Salmon
• Freshwater trout
• Lobster
• Crab
• Flounder
• Canned Tuna

Raw Meat, Eggs, and Poultry:

With you immune system being more vulnerable, it is harder for our body to fight off food born illnesses. Make sure all  meat reaches a temperature 160°. Your burgers should be ordered well done and your steaks  cooked medium well. Avoid “pink meat” to prevent E.coli or toxoplasmosis which is extremely harmful to your growing baby. The same goes for under cooked eggs, do not eat anything with a runny yolk (sunny-side up, poached and over easy eggs, raw cookie dough, eggnog and hollandaise sauce), raw eggs can be contaminated with salmonella. Cold deli meats and hot dogs should be eaten steaming hot to avoid listeria, a bacteria that can cause miscarriage, or simply avoid them altogether.

Soft Cheeses

Anything containing unpasteurized milk should be avoided. Soft cheeses contain the bacteria Listeria, which may cause  miscarriage. Do not eat:

• Feta
• Gorgonzola
• Brie
• Camembert
• Roquefort
• Blue Cheese
• Panela
• Queso fresco
• Queso blanco

Unpasteurized Juice

Beverages like unpasteurized apple cider found at farmers markets, roadside stands and in sotres are prone to E. coli make sure your juice is labeled “pasteurized”

Alcohol

This one is a n0-brainer. The US surgeon general recommends that you abstain from drinking alcohol during your pregnancy. Drinking alcohol during your pregnancy can cause a spectrum of birth defects known as fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome can cause brain damage, physical deformities, hearing problems and heart, skeletal, liver,  kidney and other organ problems. It is also suggested that you avoid drinking while you nurse as well, remember what ever you are eating gets passed to your baby.