The whole nine months for a pregnant lady can be tiring. As soon as the initial phase of difficulties vanish by the second trimester, food cravings, leg cramps and backache arise.
List of Foods To Avoid During Pregnancy:
There are food items that shouldn’t be consumed/ to be taken in moderation by a pregnant woman as they could pass on to the baby as well causing harm to both.
The general category of such foods include caffeine, colas, aerated drinks, liver, fish having high mercury content and others.
Let’s take a look at the foods to avoid during pregnancy one by one.
1. Coffee and Tea
Foods containing caffeine should not be taken or restricted to 200 mg/ml a day which is equivalent to 2 cups of instant coffee.
Pregnant women who consume more than 2 cups of coffee or any other caffeine product are found to deliver low weight babies / suffer miscarriage. So its better to be safe than sorry.
2. Fish with high mercury content
Fish having high mercury content like shellfish, king mackerel, swordfish etc should be avoided as it can cause mercury poisoning.
It would be better if food containing raw fish like sushi is avoided.
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3. Raw / under cooked eggs
Raw, soft or under cooked eggs contain salmonella bacteria which causes poisoning called Salmonellosis.
Make sure both the white and yellow yolk is well cooked before consumption
4. Raw salad dressings / salads
Raw salads / salad dressings like Caesar salads should be avoided as the raw eggs are used in it .
5. Maida
Personally I dislike maida. The non fibrous by-product of wheat affects the proper functioning of intestines.
Pregnant women should limit the intake of maida based products like bakery items , cakes , puffs, Malabar porotta etc.
6. Unpasteurized/ Raw milk
Raw milk which is not homogenized or pasteurized should not be consumed by a mom to be to reduce the risk of still birth, pre term delivery and meningitis in new borns.
The harmful bacteria Listeria is found in the raw milk.
7. Cheese made from Unpasteurized Milk
Soft cheese like blue cheese, feta etc if made from unpasteurized milk should be avoided by mom to bes.
8. Green Tea
Green tea should not be taken in excess by pregnant women due to the caffeine content.
9. Coke or Colas
For the same reason caffeine, cokes and colas should be avoided. Alcohol consumption is to be avoided during and after pregnancy.
10. Chocolates
The intake of chocolates should be in moderation as well.
Chocolates should be limited or avoided for 2 reasons – caffeine and high calories resulting in more gain of weight during pregnancy.
Hope you liked this post of foods to avoid during pregnancy.
What did you crave for when you were pregnant ? Do share with us in comments.
9 Comments
Very good
Thank God some were listed with the word moderation 🙂
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hi sangee
very useful information but chocolates too na so sad.
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Hey Sangeee,
I never knew about green tea being not so good during pregnancy. Thanks for the info!!!!Though I avoid too much of tea consumption in my daily life, just a little in the morning at office with low sugar. But when I was expecting, tea had become a necessity in the morning, even if it was little, I wanted it to kick start my day with a couple of rusks just to avoid my morning sickness. Though morning sickness took a backseat after my 1st trimester but I continued having my small cup of tea with rusks and then it was my usual food timetable. I hardly kept any restrictions and ate my heart out which lead to the weight gain….a whooping 72kgs….hehehehe!!!! Thank God I am back to 58kgs now….and slowly reducing.
Yeah … its so good that you have lost oodles of weight Anjana..
I never knew green tea couldnt' be taken in pregnancy!! I've heard lots about papaya, without any conclusive scientific evidence, though 🙂
Hi Fab , true green tea is a big no no during and after pregnancy while breastfeeding. Papaya we can have when pregnant as the chemical papain is present in the skin of the papaya. But better safe to be than sorry .. so papayas can also be added to the foods to be avoided during pregnancy ..