11 Foods to Avoid During Early Pregnancy in 2022
Always remember your baby’s growth is depends on your diet. Whatever you eat, your baby gets a share of it. It’s your responsibility to choose food wisely.
You must know what is the best food for you and your little one. It’s also mandatory to know the Foods to Avoid During Early Pregnancy that harm your baby’s health.
list of Foods to Avoid During Early Pregnancy
Food items that you should avoid or restrict during pregnancy are listed below: –
- Cheese
- Meat
- Egg
- Fish
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Herbal teas
- Licorice
- Unwashed fruits, vegetables & salads
- Peanuts
- Vitamin
Cheese
- soft cheeses ripened with mold which has a white coating on the exterior, such as brie, camembert, and chèvre (unless cooked until steaming hot)
- soft blue cheeses like Danish blue, gorgonzola, and Roquefort (unless cooked until steaming hot)
- any unpasteurized milk of cow, goat, or sheep
- any foods prepared from unpasteurized milk, such as soft goats’ cheese
Meat
- raw or undercooked meat
- liver and liver products
- all types of pâté, including vegetarian pâté
- game meats like goose, partridge, or pheasant
Egg
- raw or partially cooked eggs except for British Lion
- duck, goose, or quail eggs, unless cooked properly until the whites and yolks are solid
Fish
- swordfish
- marlin
- shark
- raw shellfish
- no more than 2 portions of oily fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, or herring per week is allowed
- no more than 2 tuna steaks (about 140g cooked or 170g raw) or 4 medium-size cans of tuna (about 140g when drained) per week is allowed.
Caffeine
- Limit your caffeine intake not more than 200mg/day.
There is:
- 100 mg found in a mug of instant coffee
- 140mg found in a mug of filter coffee
- 75mg found in a mug of tea (green tea can have the same amount of caffeine as regular tea)
- 40mg found in a can of cola
- 80mg found in a 250ml can of energy drink
- less than 25mg found in a 50g bar of plain dark chocolate
- less than 10mg found in a plain milk chocolate bar of 50g weight
Alcohol
- It is always safe not to drink alcohol at all.
Herbal teas
- You should not exceed 4 cups of herbal tea a day.
Licorice
- Licorice is safe to eat. But you should avoid Licorice root.
Unwashed fruits, vegetables & salads
- Thoroughly wash all fruits, vegetables, and salad ingredients before eating.
Peanuts
- Avoid eating peanuts in case you’re advised by a healthcare professional or you have a nut allergy.
Vitamin
- Prevent high-dose multivitamin supplements or any supplements with vitamin A in them.
Reason to avoid these foods during Early pregnancy:
- Many unpasteurized dairy products may contain listeria. This causes listeriosis and there’s a small chance of listeriosis can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, or make your newborn baby unwell. Soft cheeses with a white coating on the outside contain high moisture, creating a suitable environment for bacterial growth.
- Raw, undercooked meat, cured meat may contain parasites that produce a risk of getting toxoplasmosis, which can cause miscarriage.
- Vitamin A is high in Liver and liver products. Game meats may contain a higher amount of lead. This can be harmful to an unborn baby.
- Raw eggs may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can cause food poisoning and infection of the amniotic fluid.
- Sharks, swordfish, tuna, and marlin contain a high amount of mercury. Put a limit on the intake of oily fish because of pollutants such as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls present in them. It can be harmful to the baby if you eat too much. Avoid raw shellfish because harmful bacteria, viruses, or toxins in them can cause food poisoning.
Avoid street foods as the unhygienic conditions can contaminate the food. It may lead to food poisoning. Processed junk foods have empty calories, higher amounts of salt, sugar, and preservatives which is not good for health.
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Conclusion
Food plays a key role in the health of the mother and baby. Bad choices of food are risky for mother and baby too. So, it is of utmost essential to avoid these foods during pregnancy.
Don’t worry! Your list of foods you can eat is lengthier than the list of foods you should avoid.
