Food To Be Avoided During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a really beautiful as well as a very sensitive phase in a woman’s life. Craving for your favourite food in the middle of the night, or even throughout the day, is a perfectly normal phenomenon. Although you deserve to be pampered with your favourite food, however, there are certain foods which irrespective of cravings you really need to avoid for the well being of that tiny little life inside you.

Here is a list of food items to be avoided during pregnancy.

1. Starting with fruits, papaya and pineapples are big negatives. These fruits contain substances that produce uterine contractions inducing labour, and thus, abortion.

2. Sesame seeds also tend to excite uterine muscles thereby causing contractions which may lead to abortion. So it would be an intelligent step to avoid intake of these. Other dry fruits like raisins, dates, almonds, walnuts, pistachios are safe to consume in a moderate amount.

3. Spices that make way into this list include fennel and fenugreek seeds. These may induce uterine contractions too.

4. Although fish is rich in omega 3 and is an important food to include in the pregnancy diet, intake of some sorts of fish might not be a good idea. Here is a list of the kinds of fishes that should be avoided.

   • Fishes containing mercury

   • Smoked or refrigerated seafood.

   • Fishes cultured in polluted water

   • Shellfish that is undercooked. Eg, clams, mussels, oyster

5. Undercooked or raw eggs may be tainted with salmonella bacteria that might cause vomiting and diarrhoea. Desserts or sauces containing raw or uncooked egg should be avoided.

6. Any form of undercooked or treated meat or poultry. This is because a parasite named toxoplasma may be present that might cause excessive food poisoning which in turn could cause foetal damage or miscarriage.

7. Milk is one of the essential foods in pregnancy diet; however, any sort of unpasteurized milk is strictly negative.

8. Sprouts and raw vegetables should be avoided. However, these can be eaten if shallow fried.

9. One major setback for coffee addicts is that caffeine intake is required to be lowered to minimum amounts; that is, not more than one cup a day.

   • Herbal tea

   • Supplements

   • Saccharine

   • Canned food as well as street food.

There are many more little details that should be taken care of but this list would be handy for newly pregnant women. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a dietitian-nutritionist.