foods to avoid... ?

[Anna Marie]

Having read all sorts of books and magaizines I am still confused about what sorts of foods i am not supposed to be eating...

I know the obvious ones like too much caffeine, blue veined cheese, shell fish and raw / undercooked meat and any cheese / milk that is not pasteurised but its very frustrating not having details listed in ingredients..

When I talk to people who have children I get conflicting views and opinions so am just wondering if you guys can help me with a list of NO-NO's for a rather confused and perhaps naiive / ignorant mum to be!!!!!


thanks xxxxx

 

[lmwarr]

Im in the same boat as you.

Am cutting out all what you have already said but its really hard all I ever used to eat was tuna and mayo every day with lots of coffee.

To be honest I think it cant matter too much as our parents gave birth to us and we are fine and in their day they did not have any of this stuff about not eating one thing or the other.

So just cut out the obvious is what i am doing although i could be wrong.

Sorry if i was not much help.

 

[hayley]

i was unsure and concerned.. i was worried about eating everything.. but as Iwarr says "our parents managed to give bith to us okay and they didn't have all the food warnings".

Mayo is okay as long as it's made with pasturised egg - most jars of mayo bought at supermarkets are made with pasterised egg. It will state on the label. Watch out for other dressings like cesar salad and sald cream... also coldslaw - some cafes make their own! they wont be made with pasterised egg. If your gonna eat out best to ask...

Meat should be cooked well. No blood - which is how i like it!!!

Fish is okay (but no shell fish) I did read that cooked prawns are safe thou! I avoid them as i'd be worried sick if i did any harm to my bean... they say to eat oily fish at least once a week... I love makeral.. mmm peppered!

Pate is a no no...

Eggs can be eaten but well cooked. Personally I don't eat too many! i'll have well cooked scrabled egg once every now and again...

Cheese's - there is a list of cheeses we can and can't eat on the first trimester somewhere... scroll down it was about a month ago.. I found that really helpful... be careful with cheese cake... if it's fresh from a cafe they may have made it with unpasterised egg... most supermarkets will have made it with pasterised as it keeps longer...

Hope this helps

x

 

[Anna Marie]

God what a minefield it is!!!

I too love tuna mayo.. they say a can a week is OK so I look forward to a splurge once a week!!!

Didn't realise about salad cream... I love that.. and coleslaw.. I love it on ryvita.. I eat loads of it.. damn!!

I do love my cheeses and eggs ... I eat the hard cheeses and I love philly which is OK but what about mozarella and cottage cheese.. will go search for that thread .. thanks Hayley.

Not a great fish eater but will eat Salmon occasionally... do love fishcakes though.. naughty but nice!

thanks guys.. if you think of any other no nos let me know!!

 

[nicki]

Hiya,

Found this on the Bupa website:

What do I need to avoid?
There are certain things you should avoid during pregnancy for the good of your growing baby. These include:

Alcohol - best avoided. Try to cut out alcohol altogether, and certainly avoid getting drunk. The government recommends no more than one or two units (a unit is a 120ml glass of wine, a single measure of spirits, or half a pint of normal strength beer), once or twice a week.4

High intake of vitamin A - high intakes of vitamin A may harm your baby. Its best to avoid liver, liver sausage and cod liver oil as they are high in vitamin A. The type of vitamin A found in fruit and vegetables is safe to eat.1

Raw or lightly cooked eggs - these may contain Salmonella bacteria, which cause food poisoning. Cook eggs until the white and the yolk are solid, and avoid home-made mayonnaise, ice-cream, cheesecake or mousse.1

Soft ripened cheeses such as Brie, Cambozola, Camembert and blue-veined cheeses for example blue Brie, Danish blue and Gorgonzola. These occasionally contain Listeria bacteria, which can cause miscarriage or still birth.5

Paté - this should be avoided as it may contain Listeria.1

Shellfish - it is advisable to avoid shellfish as they may cause food poisoning.1

Peanuts - one theory is that peanut allergy may be caused by being exposed to peanuts at a young age. Current opinion is that if you, your baby's father or any of your previous children suffer from asthma, eczema, hay fever, or food allergies, it is sensible to avoid peanuts and any products containing them while you are pregnant.1

Caffeine - moderate amounts are okay to drink, but limit what you drink to five cups of normal strength coffee or 10 cups of tea per day.1

Hope it helps.

Nicki.xx

 

[Bagpuss17]

The government has a section on foods and what to eat and avoid in pregnancy. I refer to that, there's also a bit in the pregnancy book my midwife gave me.

Mayo is OK in jars. It's just home made mayo you have to avoid.

Mozzarella and cottage cheese is fine too. it's only the veined cheeses and those with rinds on that are best to avoid.

 

[hayley]

Anne Marie

I found that topic about cheeses.. was gonna cut n paste but there was quite a bit of good info on what we should and shouldn't eat in there - it's called FOOD.... PAIN KILLERS ETC - It was a topic started by me and dated the end of Nov - you might have to go back a page.
x

 

[s]

I find it a minefield too. It's so hard to always remember what you can and can't have. I never knew that feta was classified as a soft cheese and ate is last week. I felt guilty as soon as I was made aware. I was out tonight and had indian cheese as my starter but I didn't eat very much of it - I don't know what category it falls under! I had a glass of guinness as everyone else was drinking but I think a unit a week is okay. I was determined to avoid alcohol completely in pregnancy but I think the odd glass of something is okay when you're feeling social. As one of you wisely said our parents generation were smoking, drinking and eating whatever they wanted with no harm done to us.
I also had a filtered coffee today. One of my cravings is milk and I find hot chocolate too sweet. I didn't enjoy the coffee even though I needed the milk but worry that decaf is actually worse for me.
Any opinions on that one?
Yours perplexed,
S
PS lots of aches and stretching today. Really enjoying it apart from when I'm wondering if there's something wrong

 

[hayley]

cheeses which are SAFE to eat in pregnancy

Hard cheeses: Austrian Smoked, Babybel, Caerphilly, Cheddar, Cheshire, Derby, Double Gloucester, Edam, Emmental, English goat's cheddar, Feta (if bought in the UK), Gouda, Gruyere, Halloumi, Havarti, Jarlsberg, Lancashire, Mozzarella, Orkney, Paneer, Parmesan, Pecorino (hard), Provolone, Red Leicester.

Soft and processed cheeses: Boursin, cottage cheese, cheese spread, cream cheese, Mascarpone, Philadelphia, Quark, Ricotta.

Yoghurts, fromage frais, soured cream and creme fraiche — any variety, including natural, flavoured and biologically active — are all safe to eat.

Cheeses to AVOID in pregnancy

Mould-ripened soft cheeses: Brie, Blue Brie, Cambozola, Camembert, Chaumes, Pont L'Eveque, Prince Jean, Tallegio. Vacherin-Fribourgeois, Weichkaese.

Blue-veined cheeses: Bavarian Blue, Bergader, Bleu d'Auvergne, Blue Shropshire, Cabrales, Danish Blue, Dolcelatte, Doppelrhamstuge, Eldel pilz, Gorgonzola, Manchego, Romano, Roncal, Roquefort, Stilton, Tommes, Wensleydale (blue).

Soft unpasteurised goat and sheep's cheeses: Chabichou, Pyramide, Torta del Cesar.[/b]
_________________

I wouldn't worry about having the odd glass of guiness. I had a glass of champagne of christmas day and a glass of wine in a large glass filled with soda water on new years eve... I think one drink now and again isn't going to cause any harm.I think they recomend no more than 2 units a week... (don't quote me on this thou) up to now i've had 2 units in 10 weeks....