Why are Pregnant Woman at Greater Risk of Getting Foodborne Illnesses?
When pregnant, both the mother and the unborn child’s immune system is weakened, which makes it harder to fight off harmful foodborne microorganisms.
If food poisoning is contracted, it can cause serious health issues – even death.
In a healthy diet during pregnancy, you are expected to experience nausea. But food poisoning symptoms include stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache or body aches. Sometimes you may not feel sick, but you can still pass the illness to your unborn child without even knowing it. Learn these tips in order to have a safe pregnancy diet.
The 3 Most Dangerous Foodborne Risks in a Pregnancy Diet
1) Listeria
Listeria is a harmfu bacteria than can grow at refrigerator temperatures when most other bacteria do not. It causes an illness called “listeriosis”.
Pregnant women are about 20 times more likely to get listeriosis than other adults, making a diet during healthy pregnancy even more essential.
An estimated 1/3 of all Listeria cases occur in pregnant women. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
“How Could Listeriosis Affect my Baby?”
It may cause miscarriage during the 1st trimester of pregnancy. Later on, Listeriosis can lead to premature labor, a low birth weight infant, or infant death.
Fetuses who suffer a late infection may develop a wide range of health problems, including mental retardation, paralysis, seizures, blindness or impairments of the brain, heart or kidney.
2) Methylmercury
Mercury, as it’s most commonly called, is a metal which can be found in certain fish. At high levels, it can harm an unborn baby’s nervous system.
How to Prevent: For a healthy diet during pregnancy, don’t eat large, long-lived fish, such as shark, tilefish, king mackerel, tuna steaks and swordfish.
Fish that are OK to Eat: In a pregnancy diet, you can eat up to 12 oz. a week of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
5 Most Common Low Mercury Fish/Shellfish:
· Shrimp
· Canned light tuna
· Salmon, Pollock and catfish (just not the ones caught in thelocal canal)!
6 oz. Of albacore tuna may be eaten per week for a healthy pregnancy.
3) Toxoplasma
Toxoplasma is a harmful parasite that causes toxoplasmosis and can be difficult to detect. Contracting it can be harmful to a healthy pregnancy.
Where It’s Found: raw and undercooked meat; unwashed vegetables and fruits; dirty cat litter boxes; outdoors where cat feces can be found.
How to Prevent: Cook meat thoroughly.
COOKING FOOD TEMPERATURE CHART for a PREGNANCY DIET
|
Foods to Heat
|
MinimumTemperature Fahrenheit
|
|
Whole Poultry
|
180 Degrees
|
|
Poultry Pieces
|
170
|
|
Stuffing, GroundPoultry, Reheat Leftovers
|
165
|
|
Meats-medium EggDishes
Pork
Ground Meats
|
160
|
|
Finfish
Veal
Lamb
|
145
|
|
Hold Hot Foods
|
140
|
Be EGGS-tra Careful
- Never eat raw eggs in a pregnancy diet.. You can contract Salmonella poisoning. Cook eggs until the yolks and whites are firm
- Don’t taste foods that contain raw eggs, such as:
Raw cake or cookie batter
Caesar salad dressing
Bearnaise sauce
Hollandaise sauce
Aioli Sauce
Eggnog that is not cooked thoroughly
Homemade ice cream
Merinque
Tiramisu
JUST DON’T EAT IT!
- Raw fish, especially shellfish (oyster, clams)
- Refrigerated pates or meat spreads. Canned versions are safe.
- Don’t eat too much liver: it can contain too-high amounts of Vitamin A
- Refrigerated smoked seafood unless it has been cooked (as in a casserole). Canned versions are safe.
- Soft cheese made with UNPASTEURIZED milk. Examples: Brie, Feta, Camembert, Roquefort, Blue-Veined, Queso Blanco, Queso Fresco and Panela.
- Be Sure Dairy is Pasteurized! (heat-processed to kill harmful bacteria). Products that are produced or sold locally, such as a dairy farm may not be pasteurized.
- Check the label to see if the milk used to make the cheese was pasteurized.
- Raw vegetable sprouts, including alfalfa, clover, radish and mung beans.
Make Sure You Eat Enough!
A healthy pregnancy means a good pregnancy diet and exercise as well. Do not decide to go on a diet to lose those unwanted pounds when you’re pregnant. This is so crucial, as studies have shown (Chinese Famine of 1959-1961) that women who haven’t eaten enough have hurt their children irreparably.
In that study, the offspring have twice the risk of schizophrenia later in life.
Vitamins as Part of a Pregnancy Diet
Vitamins and minerals help your body use the energy provided by foods for both yourself and your unborn child. They also help repair and maintain cells and tissue. Because our modern diets are lacking in all the necessary vitamins needed, especially in a healthy pregnancy diet, supplementation is necessary.
A good prenatal vitamin is essential in a pregnancy diet. Pregnancy women need more of certain vitamins than normal women, so make sure you don’t take a regular vitamin.
The Institute of Medicine suggests the following 2 Most Important Vitamins for a pregnancy diet:
Folic Acid – 600 micrograms – this is usually in your pre-natal vitamin
Calcium - 1,000 millligrams (mg) per day for the first trimester; more for the last two trimesters and during breastfeeding.
Tips on Choosing & Using Calcium Supplements
- Check the label for the amount of “elemental calcium” per tablet.
- Calcium Carbonate has the highest amount of elemental calcium
- Take them with meals. The body can only absorb 600 mg at one time, so you may need to take them more than once a day.
- Avoid ones that contain bone meal or dolomite. They may also contain lead, mercury, arsenic and other toxic substances.
- Avoid “chelated” calcium. They offer no special advantage and cost more.
Foods That Contain Calcium
· Dairy products are the bests food sources: low-fat milk and yogurt; hard cheeses
· Dark Green Leafy Vegetables: broccoli, kale, turnip and collard greens
· American cheese, 2 oz
· Ricotta cheese, part skim
· Fruit Yogurt
· Canned Salmon with bones
· Almonds, dry-roasted
· Orange Juice with added calcium
· Soy milk
· Rice milk
Food Temperature Safety
Your refrigerator should be no warmer than 40 Degrees Fahrenheit and the freezer at O Degrees Fahrenheit.
Do not leave food out at room temperature for over two hours. If temperatures are above 90 Degrees F, no longer than one hour.
In summary, to have a healthy pregnancy, you need to have a pregnancy diet that is safe and nutritional, in order to ensure the best for you and for your child!
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Sources:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Information Line at: 1-888-SAFE FOOD. Call with questions concerning dairy foods and shell eggs, produce, seafood, and processed foods (not made with meat and poultry products).
The FDA's Food Information Line provides answers to questions on food safety, nutrition, dietary supplements, food labeling, cosmetics, food additives and food biotechnology.
To speak with an FDA Information Specialist, call between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. More than 200 hours of recorded messages are available 24 hours a day.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Hotline at: 1-888-MPHotline. The TTY number for the hearing impaired is: 1-800-256-7072.
Centers for Disease Control
March of Dimes
