For nine months you’re off the hook when it comes to cleaning out the litter box. It’s just one of the surprising things you can’t do while pregnant. Other no-nos include cleaning the inside of an oven and eating deli meat.
Hey, it’s nice to take a break from cleaning. It makes sense to limit your exposure to toxoplasma in the kitty poo and the toxins in the oven cleaner. But why is there a prohibition against sliced lunch meat?
Sliced lunch meat is just one of the foods to avoid when pregnant. There are several others. Keep reading to find out what a first-time mom needs to know.
What should I avoid eating in the first trimester?
Let’s talk about the different types of food that you should start avoiding as soon as you know you’re pregnant and while you’re nursing.
Don’t eat sushi and certain kinds of cooked fish
Skip the sushi and the shellfish throughout your entire pregnancy, not just the first trimester. Raw fish, oysters, and the like can carry dangerous microbes that can make you and your baby very sick. However, some kinds of cooked fish can be deadly, too.
Some types of large marine fish have a lot of toxic mercury in their flesh. If you eat this type of fish, the mercury can accumulate in your kidneys and damage your nervous system and immune system. Just as bad, mercury can seriously harm a baby developing in the womb.
Stay far away from swordfish, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, tilefish, shark, and tuna.
Don’t worry, if you’re a seafood fan, you’re not completely out of luck.
Go ahead and enjoy these fish instead
Eating low-mercury fish like salmon, cod, anchovies, tilapia, freshwater trout, flounder, and haddock adds healthy omega-3 fatty acids to your diet and those help the baby’s eyesight and brain develop properly (1).
Chicken of the Sea Pink Salmon
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Swap your tuna for salmon while you’re pregnant and give your baby the nutrition she needs to grow up strong. The omega-3 fatty acids are also good for your heart and mood.
It can be pretty smelly to cook fish, and if you’re dealing with morning sickness, it might be nearly impossible to do. Try this ready-to-eat salmon instead. It comes in natural or flavored versions including lemon pepper, lemon chive, and cracked pepper. All three are protein-rich and perfect for putting in salads.
FYI, the brand is keen on ocean sustainability so this salmon is MSC-certified.
Now that we’ve covered fish, what other foods should a mother avoid during pregnancy?
Fruits and vegetables to avoid during pregnancy
It’s smart to avoid eating anything raw when you’re pregnant. At least, don’t eat fresh fruits and vegetables if they haven’t been thoroughly washed.
For example, raw sprouts are notorious for harboring Salmonella. By sprouts, we mean mung bean, alfalfa, radish, and clover. If you must have sprouts, please wash and cook them before eating them.
Just as gross, unpeeled vegetables and fruits can have all sorts of bacteria and parasites lingering on the surface. We’re talking E. coli, listeria, and toxoplasma (the same parasite that lives in cat poo). Simply rinsing with water may not remove these unwelcome trespassers. Consuming food contaminated with them can make you very sick with diarrhea or sepsis. Sadly, babies infected with toxoplasma may end up with brain damage or blindness.
Don’t risk it when the solution is so straightforward. Use a safe, non-toxic disinfectant on your fruits and vegetables and wash them thoroughly.
BRIOTECH Sanitizer + Disinfectant
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What smells a little like a swimming pool and exists inside your bloodstream? The answer is hypochlorous acid, also known as HOCl.
It’s the world’s safest disinfectant as our own bodies use it to kill off invaders. Eye doctors, dentists, and surgeons use it to cleanse our injuries and the food service industry uses it to sanitize surfaces.
It’s a little like bleach in that it contains chlorine, but it’s not caustic and won’t fade dyes or burn the skin. Instead, the pH is similar to our own skin’s pH or just slightly acidic (depending on the formulation).
You can use hypochlorous acid to wash fruits and vegetables and it will eliminate 99.99% of all bacteria and viruses that it comes in contact with but it won’t harm the food or the people eating it. Some moms use HOCl to disinfect their babies’ toys and pacifiers – all you have to do is spray it and let them air dry. There’s no need for rinsing (2).
And there are other solutions to get nutrients from fruits and vegetables without all the effort of washing, peeling, and cooking.
Brad’s Plant-Based Organic Crunchy Kale
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Is it cheating to bolster your diet with kale chips? After all, each snack sack is made with half a pound of real kale. The delicious green leaves are air-dried instead of baked or fried in order to maintain the maximum quantity of enzymes, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. We’d like to know how they end up so crunchy!
Moreover, the snacks are oil-free and made with organic and non-GMO plants, spices, and seeds. The regular flavor features kale with red bell pepper, sunflower seeds, cashews, and chickpea miso with Himalayan salt. There are two servings per bag and each one is only 90 calories with 4 grams of protein.
Even when you get to the bottom of the bag and all you have are crumbs, it’s tasty to sprinkle them on mashed potatoes.
All types of meat need to be properly cooked when you’re pregnant
Your inner werewolf might crave rare or medium rare steaks but you need to tame the beast for a few months. Make sure that any meat you eat is medium well or well done. Use a meat thermometer or wait until the juices run clear.
Raw and undercooked meat can infect you with all sorts of nasty parasites and bacteria that can make you and your baby severely ill or even kill you. It’s crucial to cook the meat all the way through to make sure all the bad guys are dead.
This is especially true when it comes to cut meat like ground beef. Even sliced deli meat and hotdogs can be dangerous if they aren’t heated until they are steaming hot. Just ask your doctor about what happens if you get listeria during pregnancy. If you must have a sandwich, toast it.
And if you love liver or other types of organ meat, cut way back on it while you’re pregnant. That’s because it has a lot of vitamin A and too much vitamin A can lead to birth defects and miscarriage.
Lightlife Smart Dogs Vegan Hot Dogs
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All this nonsense about how meat is dangerous isn’t a problem if you eat vegan hot dogs instead. Yes, you’ll still have to cook them, but put them in boiling water for a couple of minutes or grill them for 5 and they will be delicious.
Each hot dog has 7 grams of protein and it all comes from plants. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about all the cholesterol and saturated fat in a regular hot dog.
These dogs have a little bit of a smoky flavor and they’ve fooled meat-eater friends in a blindfolded test. The only downside is that they have about 15% of the daily value of sodium.
Meanwhile, there are other things to avoid when pregnant to prevent miscarriage.
Raw eggs are dangerous to eat when you’re expecting
You’ve heard about Salmonella. One of our friends had it and she was super sick with vomiting and diarrhea for two weeks straight. She had to spend time in the hospital on IVs. But at least she wasn’t pregnant because this infection can cause premature birth or worse, stillbirth.
The moral of the story is that you need to avoid raw eggs. It’s unlikely that you would voluntarily eat or drink raw eggs, but you might find them hidden in homemade mayonnaise, hollandaise, salad dressings, homemade ice cream, and cake icing.
One way to solve the problem is to make sure that the raw eggs are pasteurized. If you purchase ready-to-use eggs in liquid or powder form, check the label to see if they’ve been pasteurized. Otherwise, raw eggs in the shell need to be cooked before eating.
Judee’s Whole Egg Powder
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You know that game where you have to guess how many jellybeans are in the bottle? Could you even imagine that there are 105 eggs in this bag? It’s mind-boggling, but not so much when you realize that they are powdered dried eggs with no shell. If you take 2 tablespoons of powder and mix it with 2 ½ tablespoons of water, it’s the same as one fresh egg.
Egg powder like this is perfect for baking, but it can also be used to make scrambled eggs and omelettes. You can also put the powder in smoothies for extra protein.
Not only are the eggs pasteurized, but they are also going to last a lot longer like this than in a carton in the fridge. You won’t have to throw out eggs anymore.
Drinks to avoid during pregnancy
Speaking of smoothies, some things are healthy during pregnancy and others should be avoided. Caffeine falls into the gray area. If you love your morning coffee or tea, all you need to do is limit it.
For example, doctors recommend that pregnant women don’t consume more than 200 mg of caffeine per day. What does that mean?
Well, the 200 mg includes coffee, tea, and chocolate, too. So, a cup of filter coffee would be 140 mg and a cup of instant coffee is 100 mg. Meanwhile, a mug of green or black tea has around 75 mg while a can of Coca-Cola has about 40 mg. At least a bar of chocolate has 25 mg or less.
What happens if you drink too much caffeine while you’re pregnant? It can cause low birth weight and stunt the baby’s growth. It passes through the placenta and babies don’t have the enzymes to metabolize it.
Alcohol isn’t like caffeine – there’s no safe amount that you can drink while you’re pregnant. It harms the baby’s brain development and can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome that causes heart defects and intellectual disabilities.
What about fruit juice? Unfortunately, fruit juice tends to be high in sugar, which is bad news if you’re trying to deal with gestational diabetes. And unpasteurized fruit juice carries the same risks as raw eggs or unwashed fruits and vegetables (3).
Hmm, might be a good idea to stick with water until you have a chance to talk with your OB/GYN or nutritionist.
Tree Tribe Stainless Steel Water Bottle
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We’ll be honest. It’s hard to switch to drinking more water. We’re prone to forgetting. Plus, if you’re used to sodas, tea, and juices, water is boring. And if you drink too much of it with a meal, it makes indigestion worse. But if you have a nice insulated water bottle like this, maybe you’ll remember to sip on it all day long.
If you put cold water in it in the morning, it stays cool all day long. And if you put hot liquid in it, the double-walled, vacuum-sealed design keeps it hot for anywhere from 6 to 12 hours. In either case, the outside of the bottle doesn’t get hot or cold to the touch and doesn’t sweat.
Furthermore, the stainless steel material is rugged and leakproof. The lid has a silicone gasket that prevents drips even when it’s turned upside down.
Choose from a variety of colors and sizes. The largest holds 1 liter or 34 ounces, enough to keep you hydrated for hours.
Conclusion
When you sit down with your doctor or nutritionist, they should be able to give you a detailed list of what foods to avoid when pregnant and nursing. The list might contain items we didn’t cover in this article because it should be customized to your unique needs (like allergies).
We hope our article helped you find the answers you need today. You’ll only need to forgo certain foods for a few months but the payoff is a lifetime of health and happiness for your baby.
Sources:
1. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-foods-to-avoid-during-pregnancy 11 Foods and Beverages to Avoid During Pregnancy – What Not to Eat, medically reviewed on August 13, 2020
2. https://www.hfmmagazine.com/articles/4458-exploring-the-use-of-hypochlorous-acid-for-disinfection Exploring the use of hypochlorous acid for disinfection, by John Scherberger, FAHE, T-CSCT, published April 30, 2022
3. https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/good-food/10-foods-to-eat-and-avoid-during-pregnancy/2019/09 10 foods to eat and avoid during pregnancy, published September 20, 2019
