List of Foods to Avoid When Pregnant

Have you been wondering about the right foods to avoid during pregnancy for a smoother and more comfortable experience?

Many expecting mothers feel confused about what is safe and what is risky. This guide clears the air and gives you the answers you are looking for.

Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy

The period of pregnancy is a time to care about diet, going down to every minute detail. Whatever you eat is going to affect your health and also the health of your baby.

Some women may need to take special care of their diet if they have any intolerance or allergy towards particular types of foods. Any food poisoning or food-induced toxicity can be hazardous.

Certain types of foods are recommended to avoid during pregnancy for all women in general. These foods have certain properties that a woman’s body may not be able to handle while she has to take care of another soul.

During pregnancy, hormonal secretion is on overdrive; chances are high that your body may react to any dietary issue overtly and with higher intensity.

During pregnancy, medical experts are not going to fill you with heavy doses of antibiotics or other medicines to control the problem, which may lead to a longer stay for the problem, thereby posing a higher danger to your health and the fetus. Here is a short list of foods to avoid during pregnancy.

List of Foods to Avoid When Pregnant

Fish – Generally, these are recommended as a healthy diet for men and women due to their nutritious value and health-promoting properties. But this is one of the types of foods to avoid during pregnancy.

Some fish have higher mercury levels, some are stored and cooked in a way that makes them high in certain substances and metals. Excessive presence of these metals and reactive substances can be hazardous to health.

During normal times, eating fish known to have higher concentrations of mercury in controlled quantities is declared safe. Still, while you are expecting, even a small amount can be dangerous.

So, avoid eating shellfish like oysters and clams, all types of undercooked or raw fish, and completely avoid fish having higher mercury levels like tuna, king mackerel, shark, swordfish, and tilefish.

Other than these, avoid refrigerated, smoked, and pickled unpasteurized fish, and do not eat more than 6 ounces of fish in one serving.

Eggs – These, too, are foods to avoid during pregnancy, but not all types. You need to prevent runny, undercooked, and raw eggs in all forms.

Avoid foods that are made after using raw eggs, such as home-made spreads and dressings. But you can eat eggs after boiling and cooking when the egg yolk is firm.

Cheese – Varieties of cheese, like feta, which are unpasteurized and soft, are foods to avoid during pregnancy. You should even avoid foods that are made after using such types of cheeses.

Apart from these, avoid foods that may contain any variety of cheese and that have been cooked for 2-3 hours.

Foods prepared containing a combination of cheese and eggs, ham, chicken, and seafood, too, are foods to avoid during pregnancy. Do not eat uncooked sprouts and unwashed raw vegetables like lettuce and cabbage, etc., as well.

Drinks – Unpasteurized milk, canned fruit juices, or even fresh fruit juices, which are unpasteurized; completely avoid alcohol and alcoholic beverages.

Avoid excessive caffeine intake, not more than 200 mg per day. All of these drinks are foods to avoid during pregnancy.

Organ Meats – Meats are not good foods to eat, but organ meats are foods to avoid during pregnancy completely.

Even if cooked well, organ meats like liver may contain dangerously high amounts of vitamin A, which, if consumed during the early months of pregnancy, can cause congenital disabilities in the child.

Nuts – It is not only dairy products and non-veggie foods that are foods to avoid during pregnancy. Some types of nuts also need to be avoided during pregnancy due to their allergy-causing properties.

Peanuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts, pecans, walnuts, and pistachios are foods to avoid during pregnancy as these can cause mild to moderate allergy, which forms rashes on the skin.

Herbal Teas – These days, drinking herbal tea is recommended everywhere. But these may be drinks and foods to avoid during pregnancy, just because they are herbal.

Drink only the herbal tea that you have been drinking before becoming pregnant. Do not switch to any other herbal tea while you are expecting, as herbs are a sort of natural medicine that possess strong properties and supplement compounds and substances in bulk.

If any of these compounds has negative effects on health, the results can be devastating.

Canned Foods – All types of canned foods are foods to avoid during pregnancy. The inner lining of cans used to preserve foods contains BPA, which is a compound that affects the endocrine activities of the foetus.

Secondly, canned food may be harbouring bacteria for a long time. Both ways are not good for any expecting woman, hence they should be avoided completely.

Other Foods – Avoid all sorts of nitrate-rich, fat-rich, and foods high in sugar. Do not eat street foods and those that contain artificial sweeteners. Throw away last dinner’s leftovers, avoid the use of licorice even as a spice in cooking, and curtail the consumption of foods containing simple carbs.