Depending on where you are in your pregnancy, you may love food and can’t get enough of it, or the site and smell of certain things completely turns you off to eating. Maybe your once favorite foods don’t taste the same now. It’s a daily struggle to keep your stomach satisfied so baby isn’t hungry, but still do your best to somewhat still enjoy your food. But are you eating something that you actually shouldn’t be?
There are a few foods that should be avoided during pregnancy because they can cause harm to your baby. Even if the risk is very small, it’s still a scary risk when it is known to cause harm. Many people will argue too that everything you eat should be organic as well, eliminating unnatural substances that are present in our food. But I know this is not always possible for a number of reasons. And essentially due to just our modern world, we have compounds in our bodies (like plastic) that we can’t really get rid of and we can’t fully control how we absorb it. So all we can do is choose to control what we do ingest and surround ourselves with.
Foods That Should Be Avoided During Pregnancy
Raw Meat/Seafood/Eggs - This is obvious. When your seafood, eggs and other meats aren’t cooked to high enough temperatures, many bacteria and parasites can still survive and then infect you-thus infecting your baby. Many times you are not even aware you may be infected until months later. Some infections you know about immediately due to food poisoning symptoms, such as with salmonella. Some parasites slowly eat away at you and you don’t know what’s going on very easily at all because they can go undetected.
True story…..
Years ago when my husband and I were first married, I had started losing weight very slowly, so slow that I didn’t realize it. I’d gone to my regular gynecological appointment and discovered that I weighed a mere 90 pounds! I was shocked so much that I asked the nurse to weigh me again because I didn’t believe it. I never was one to weigh myself, but I have always been a thin and petite person, so I never picked up on it. I hadn’t changed my eating or exercise routines, so I knew something was wrong.
Well months later, I discovered that I had a parasite. I had to take some gross-smelling natural supplements for about a month in order to kill the little things. They came out with my bowel movements and looked like little grains of rice. I’m just glad wasn’t worms or something bigger that would have freaked me out.
But I wondered how in the heck I got them in the first place. I always prepared my food properly and didn’t eat seafood. Then I remembered that there was ONE time I had eaten raw meat.
One our honeymoon in Paris, we went to a restaurant and I order a beef and mushrooms dish. When it came out, the meat was paper thin like lunch meat, and just seared on the edges, not cooked through. I would have ever ordered it had I known it wasn’t fully cooked. I only tasted it, but never finished it. Well, that was enough to gain a parasite and I didn’t know until years later.
So I urge you to ALWAYS cook your food thoroughly. It’s recommended that all foods, especially meats reach an internal temperature of 140° F and that poultry is 160° F.
Deli Meat - This is the difficult one. Every mother I have talked to usually hits a craving for deli sandwiches, meat and cheese, the good stuff. Well, the problem is that cold cuts and deli meats are often containing listeria. This bacteria is known to cause miscarriages, according to UC Berkley and many studies done, because the bacteria can travel into the placenta and infect it easily. We may encounter listeria on a regular basis and do not have symptoms. But when your immune system is suppressed naturally during pregnancy, this bacterium gets through and wreaks havoc.
If you simply cannot avoid your deli meats due to cravings, and I understand completely because they’re an excellent source of all the protein you need to even function, just heat your meat thoroughly until it’s steaming in your microwave or on the grill. This should kill all remnants of the listeria and make it safe to eat.
Certain Fish - There are a few fish that have higher levels of mercury in them. When ingested, the mercury can cause your baby to have developmental issues and even brain damage, according to the EPA. Such fish include:
- shark
- swordfish
- king mackerel
- tilefish
- fish in sushi
- dark tuna (the canned light kind is fine)
Most of these fish aren’t even found in your standard grocery store anyway. But when that server at your favorite restaurant starts suggesting a wonderful special that sounds great, resist the urge. It’s not worth the few moments of a tasty meal to trade a possible lifetime of struggle for you and your little one.
Smoked Seafood - This category of fish and other seafood carry the risk of listeria contamination as well. They’re usually found in the deli at your grocery store.
Local Fish - Depending on where you live, fish caught locally has a risk of industrial contaminants, especially fish in local lakes and rivers. But if you’re keeping to the non-high mercury fish at your grocer, then you’re fine. You may just want to skip the summer fishing trip that may bring home polluted trout.
Soft Cheeses - These carry the same risk as deli meat, infection with listeria. Such cheeses include:
- brie
- camembert
- roquefort
- feta
- gorgonzola
- queso blanco
- queso fresco
But be sure to check the label. If it states being made with pasteurized milk, then there’s no issue. Pasteurization is a process that flash heats the milk, killing the remaining microbes that may be present. So to note, you don’t want to drink unpasteurized milk either.
Pate - Refrigerated pate or meat spreads carry listeria too. Replace them with canned or shelf-safe types instead.
Caffeine - In the past it was believed that caffeine contributed to risk of miscarriages, especially during the first trimester. But further research supports that a low level (such as one cup of coffee per day) will not risk miscarriage. But anything more than that is not good. I personally don’t even drink anything with caffeine, but it may be something you’ll need to reduce for yourself.
Dr. Alan Green discusses in this video both good and bad foods to eat when you’re pregnant.
I’m going to cover great food you should incorporate into your diet in future posts as well, so keep an eye out for them. (*Update: Here’s that post on good foods to eat HERE). But first, immediately remove these things from your diet because I know that you don’t want to do anything to harm your baby that is within your control. Beyond just food, there are many things you can control as well that are associated with other risks for your baby.
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But I’m curious too, what foods have you been told to not eat during pregnancy? I’ve seen listings include sprouts to avoid because of their natural bacterial contamination. But I feel that risk isn’t greater than eating regular fruits and vegetable either, foods that you NEED anyway. But I feel for you when you want that Subway sandwich-mine is the Spicy Italian!
Sarah says
Great informative post. I think sushi and caffeine would be the hardest for me.
Mine is deli meats. Thanks for your comment Sarah!
Krasimir Kirov says
Invaluable information in this article and on your website. It is hard to resist the temptation of these meals, isn’t it?
You have explained very clearly why these foods should be avoided, so it’s wise to be followed.
Cheers,
Krasi
It is hard to resist. I think my worst cravings during pregnancy were for my subway sandwiches and a big bag of potato chips. Occasionally I would give in, but only after thoroughly microwaving the meat until it’s almost ruined from over cooking. But man, it was SO satisfying! 🙂
If you know of anyone that could definitely use the info, please feel free to share. Thanks, Krasimir!
Neil says
Hello, Sarah
I’ve heard from many pregnant friends in the past who told me that they couldn’t stand the sight of some foods but had cravings for others. It’s strange how the body changes like that.
This is a great insight into foods to be avoided during pregnancy and will help to benefit many mums out there. Neil
I know what you mean. One of my favorite things to eat is hot egg sandwiches with mayo and cholula sauce. But during pregnancy they just don’t taste very good and chicken just really turns me off too. But it is what it is. Thanks for your comment, Neil!
Ivana says
Useful info I found here, because I ate allot of fish during pregnancy. If there will be a next time I will not allow myself to even think of the fish.
Sounds like your pregnancy and baby from the first time around still turned out just fine. Let me know when your next comes, if at all. :). I would love to help. Thanks, Ivana!
foodwarrior says
Great article. Sometimes, you can’t take a chance.
I like that, sometimes you can’t take a chance. Thanks, food warrior! I guess you would know more than me, being the food warrior. 🙂 Best.
Judy Lutz says
One tip if you are trying to avoid toxins in fish - stay away from farm raised. Unfortunately that means most fish everywhere that is sold in restaurants and grocery stores. Farm raised fish do not eat their natural food which is krill, they are usually fed gmo corn! Often dyes are added to their food to enhance the color. Finally, check the package on wild caught fish to see where it’s processed. If it’s China or Taiwan put it back!!!
Thank you, Judy. I hate how there are dyes in so much of our food too. I try best to avoid those as well. I just try to stick with what’s found in research and validated literature. But environmental factors are certainly at play depending upon where you live as well. Usually myself, I just take an omega-3 supplement and have a healthy vegetable oil spread with flax instead of butter on a regular basis in order to get that main nutrient acquired from fish. I know we’ve all learned something new today now. I appreciate your educating us.
Lovely information on your Website that can benefit many people, and many people should enjoy. Nice Job!
Thank you for taking the time to make a comment, Michael. Feel free to share and recommend to others.
Nice post as always
Is there anything you may be curious about or have questions on? I’m here to help with anything. :). Thanks!
Dan says
Great article, considering I just found out my wife is pregnant for our third child last night this is a great reminder. I’ll forward her the article. Thanks
I know! I had to remind myself I can’t eat our left over ham from Christmas now. It’s back to boring old chicken. 🙂
Thanks, Dan!
Marie Kiovsky says
Hi, I wasn’t told so much about what I shouldn’t eat. Since I am a vegetarian everyone asked me if my child and I got the nutrition we needed.
I had the same problem when my son was born. When he started to eat everyone was worried. It didn’t matter that I gave him both fish and meat. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard: “Well, you know, it is so important that a child is allowed to eat everything.”
Next time I get pregnant I’ll make sure to print out this information. It is very good. Everything on the same place. Thanks!
Marie
I hate it when others try to tell us how to raise our children and what THEY think is best for them. Your are the best parent for your child and whatever anyone else says doesn’t matter. Thanks, Marie.
Brad says
I would have never thought about deli meats or caffeine! Thanks for the great article!
I never knew about deli meats at first either. But better safe than sorry. Thanks for your comment, Brad.
Poppa Greg says
Great article Sarah. My pregnant daughter is always fretting about what she can and cannot eat. I’m going to email her straight after this with a link to this article.
I appreciate that Greg. I look forward to hearing from her if she has any other questions about her pregnancy and birth. Best to your grandchild!
Interesting…I didn’t know about deli meat. Your article on what foods to avoid during pregnancy reminds me of a story my wife told me. One time when she was pretty far along, she was having lunch with a group of co-workers and she put hot sauce on her food. One of ladies in the group was shocked. She said “You can’t eat that. You’ll burn the babies eyes!” The woman was totally serious.
Oh my heck! LOL 😀
I was at a ladies dinner once two and my friend was pregnant. She’d added a little salt to her food and an older lady said, “You know you’re not supposed to have salt when you’re pregnant! It makes you retain water.” I nearly rolled my eyes. Sure, don’t have a ton of salt no matter if you’re pregnant or NOT. But Dr. Bradley teaches that a little increase is salt is very important because of a mother’s increasing fluid and blood levels. Our bodies cannot function without salt. So keep healthy levels of it.
Thanks for your comment, Dave!
Jim Cashatt says
Very Nice job on your site. I don’t know much about childbirth but I am sure this niche will be a good one for you. Outstanding work!!!
Thanks, Jim.
Sheila says
Hello Sarah, I really like your website, very useful information for people trying for a baby or already having one. During my first 3 pregancies I was told by the midwives to eat liver 3 times a week for extra iron. When I was expecting my 4th child I was told should never eat liver when pregnant because there is too much Vitamin A in it. Good luck with everything and will know where to send expectant parents now for advice.
I read in Dr. Bradley’s book about him suggesting to eat liver as well. I personally think the stuff is gross, so I never eat it. But if my labs come back showing I need more iron, I simply take an over the counter supplement. I did with my first boy, but my levels were fine with my second one. But I have never heard about that with Vitamin A. I’ll have to dig deeper into that.
I appreciate all shares and send this way that you give. You’re welcome to share your stories on the Your Stories page. I look forward to them. I appreciate your comment, Shelia!