During pregnancy, certain foods can pose risks to both your health and the development of your baby. Let’s look at the points you need to consider to have a healthy pregnancy by excluding these foods from your diet.
Processed Meat Products
Processed meat products such as sausage, salami, hot dogs, and pastrami, although they undergo heat treatment and do not carry the risk of microorganisms, contain high levels of salt, and consequently, high sodium content. Excess sodium can lead to high blood pressure and kidney problems during pregnancy.
Bottom-Dwelling Fish
Although fish consumption during pregnancy can be highly beneficial due to its unique content of Omega 3 and Omega 6 unsaturated fatty acids, not every type of fish is suitable for consumption during your pregnancy.
In particular, bottom-dwelling fish and shellfish such as mussels carry a high risk of heavy metals and mercury. If consumed, they can negatively affect your baby’s neurological development by passing through the placenta.
Instead of bottom-dwelling fish, you can safely opt for surface-dwelling fish such as anchovies, horse mackerel, bonito, and mackerel when they are fresh.
Green Tea and Sage Tea
Some herbal teas are not recommended during pregnancy because they contain caffeine and may disrupt the uterine structure. Green tea and sage tea fall into this category of tea to avoid. You can opt for calming teas such as lemon balm, chamomile, or linden to alleviate digestive problems.
Raw Foods
Due to the risk of containing microorganisms, it is essential to avoid consuming raw meat, eggs, unpasteurised raw milk, and products made from this raw milk during pregnancy. The risk of infection from raw foods is a threat to both your and your baby’s health.
Caffeine
Excessive caffeine consumption during pregnancy can increase the baby’s heart rate and cause changes in respiratory activities. During pregnancy, you should limit your caffeine intake to no more than 200 mg per day. For example, you can drink one cup of filter coffee per day.
Liver
The liver is a very rich source of vitamin A. Excessive intake of vitamin A during pregnancy increases the risk of birth defects and negatively affects the baby’s development. Therefore, you should avoid consuming liver during this period.
Liquorice Root
According to research, consuming excessive amounts of liquorice root during pregnancy has been associated with behavioural disorders and low IQ in babies. The active ingredient in liquorice root, glycyrrhizin, has been found to stimulate cortisol transfer to the baby and affect mental development during childhood.
Fruit Juice
High-sugar foods make it difficult to control weight gain during pregnancy. Especially since 3-4 servings of fresh fruit are used in the preparation of fruit juices, drinking fruit juice can lead to excessive fruit consumption. Additionally, like sugary and acidic drinks, fruit juice has a high glycemic index, causing your blood sugar to rise rapidly.
During this period, we recommend choosing the fruit itself instead of juices and opting for healthy choices such as mineral water, buttermilk, or kephir instead of sugary beverages.
Sugary Foods
During this period, to keep your weight gain under control, you should limit the consumption of sugary foods as much as possible, just like sugary drinks. To curb your sweet cravings, you can consume dried and fresh fruits as snacks and add cinnamon to milk and yoghurt.
