5 foods to avoid when pregnant

During pregnancy, it is essential to maintain a healthy, balanced, and varied diet that provides the nutrients needed both for you and the baby. However, as important as it is on betting on foods rich in vitamins, minerals, and proteins, it’s also important to avoid food products that can affect the development of your baby.

Here is a list of top five foods to avoid when pregnant.

Liver

The liver of an animal is rich in vitamin A, which is dangerous for your baby. If you take four times the daily vitamin A dose, your pregnancy will be in danger. Since the liver is rich in vitamin A, it is much easier to exceed the recommended dose much faster than you believe.

Caffeine

Caffeine has a bad reputation for increasing the risk of miscarriage. Although this is not 100% sure that this is true, it is advisable to avoid it in large doses. Just give yourself a cup of coffee in the morning and maybe during the evening.

Fish

When you are pregnant, you have to be careful with fish. Avoid all fish that eats other fish such as shark, swordfish, Blue-fin tuna, etc. Why? Such fish contain a much higher dose of mercury which is dangerous for the growth of the baby. However, this is not a reason not to eat fish at all because they contain nutrients like omega-3 that you will find nowhere else. Just be careful of those cold water fish which may have the traces of mercury…

Unpasteurized milk and its derivatives

Raw or unpasteurized milk is one food that has a high risk of being contaminated with bacteria called Listeria. Experts now recommend avoiding consumption of unpasteurized milk and its derivative as this bacteria increases the chances of miscarriage.

Raw or under-cooked meat

It is known that raw or under-cooked meat can cause toxoplasmosis. This is a very dangerous parasitic disease that can cause serious problems in the baby’s development. Pregnant women are advised to consume only meat cooked at more than 66 degrees, or that has been frozen at less than 20 degrees. This is because it is known that the toxoplasmosis parasite cannot survive in extreme temperatures.

Conclusion

Numerous studies have shown that the foods mentioned may be harmful to the mother’s health and also to the baby. Be on the lookout on the kind of food you take into your body especially when you are pregnant.