Nutritional risks during pregnancyAs long as the expectant mother is healthy, she can eat almost anything she likes. A few foods, however, she had better not enjoy at all or only in moderation.
Raw milk, raw meat and raw fish products
Listeria may be present in unprocessed foods and especially in raw milk and raw milk products. These are bacteria that can cause listeriosis, an infectious disease that is rare and usually harmless to adults. In pregnancy, however, it can endanger the unborn child. On raw meat as well as unwashed fruit. Vegetables can also contain the pathogens of toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is also a normally harmless infectious disease, but it can be dangerous for the unborn child.
Pregnant women are therefore advised,
– Do not eat soft cheese (e.B. Gorgonzola), and – not to eat raw milk or. Raw milk products (z.B. eat raw milk cheese), – cut off the rind before eating cheese – and to avoid raw and undercooked meat, raw sausage (z.B. It is important to avoid raw salami or sausage) and raw ham, raw fish, raw seafood and smoked fish. – Wash fresh vegetables and fruits thoroughly before eating and cook meat thoroughly. Prepare your food as soon as possible before eating and consume it quickly.
It is also important to pay attention to kitchen hygiene. If kitchen utensils are used both for food that will be cooked afterwards and for raw food, they should be thoroughly cleaned in between.
Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, especially after preparing raw meat and after gardening, field work, or other earthwork.
Liver
Liver contains particularly high levels of vitamin A. While vitamin A is important for cell and tie growth, especially for the lung development of the unborn baby. But too much vitamin A can harm the unborn child. Therefore, women should avoid liver in the first trimester of pregnancy. Switch to foods that do not contain quite as high amounts of vitamin A, for example dairy products, egg yolks, carrots and green-leaf vegetables. You can eat liver after the first trimester, but not more than 125 grams per week.
Coffee, tea, cola and energy drinks
If the expectant mother consumes large amounts of caffeinated beverages, this may lead to a lower birth weight of the child. However, up to three cups of coffee per day is considered safe. Black and green tea as well as cocoa also contain caffeine, but much less than coffee. It is important to pay attention to the total daily amount of caffeine: If you drink a lot of black tea, it's better to forgo that cup of coffee in between – or limit your tea consumption.
Cola and energy drinks can contain as much or even more caffeine than coffee. Energy drinks may contain up to 320 mg of caffeine per liter – this is well above the amount considered safe for pregnant women (200 mg). Incidentally, from 150 mg of caffeine per liter, energy drinks must contain the statement "Increased caffeine content. Not recommended for children and pregnant and nursing women" carry. Since energy drinks also contain a lot of sugar and various substances about whose interactions little is known, pregnant women are advised against energy drinks. Instead, sugar-free fruits can be consumed in addition to water-. Herbal teas as well as in moderation also diluted fruit juices to.
Eggs may contain salmonella inside or on the shell. Since salomonella can harm mother and child, eggs should only be eaten thoroughly cooked. Foods prepared with raw eggs, such as some desserts, should be avoided during pregnancy.
A few years ago, warnings went through the press that edible poppies sometimes contained high levels of morphine and similar substances (opiates) that could be harmful to health. Pregnant women are therefore advised not to consume poppies.
As it turned out, the elevated levels of morphine in the edible poppy were due to contamination during production. Since then, much has been done to better purify the poppy seed and thus reduce morphine levels. The risk of ingesting hazardous amounts of morphine via poppy seeds is therefore significantly lower today. To be on the safe side, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment nevertheless advises pregnant women not to eat foods with a high content of poppy seeds, such as poppy seed cake or desserts containing poppy seeds.
In addition, the morphine content in poppy seeds can be significantly reduced if the poppy seeds are rinsed thoroughly under running hot water in a kitchen sieve – just as is done with pulses or rice. Baking also significantly reduces the morphine content, especially in ground poppy seeds: after baking at 220 degrees for 20 minutes, the poppy seed contains only about a quarter of the original morphine content.
Poppy seed pastries from the bakery can generally be eaten without hesitation, since industrially produced, practically morphine-free poppy seed paste is used for this purpose.
Licorice
Licorice should only be enjoyed in moderation during pregnancy. It contains the substance glycyrrhizin, which can cause high blood prere and other side effects and is also suspected of having a negative effect on the development of the unborn child. Possibly increases the level of cortisol (a stress hormone) in the child's organism, which is associated with attention and memory disorders. However, the available studies have not yet been able to prove a causal relationship.
The German Federal Center for Nutrition (BZfE) advises pregnant women not to consume more than 100 milligrams of glycyrrhizin per day. This amount is about 100 grams of normal licorice, respectively. contained in 50 grams of strong licorice. Strong licorice contains more than 200 milligrams of glycyrrhizin per 100 grams. Must be labeled as such in Germany.