About food in pregnancy

[trishabhowmik]

Hi, Hope yu are doing fine. Though its a silly question, I am from Bangladesh.I am in Uk now. Actually, I am new here, so quite confused about some fruits,vegetables, fishes, dairy and so on. that I am not quite sure which foods need to avoid in pregnancy. Just learnt unpasteurized milk and raw foods should avoid. So, I want to know is there any food restrictions in pregnancy?

[sun-and-rain]

I'm a midwife myself, and what you just learned is the most important, I'd say. Be aware that this includes cured meat/fish too and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk, as brie, camembert, blue cheeses etc. I don't know if you even like those, but it's easy to forget about those. Also, as being from Bangladesh, your genes, which would give your people a decent survival rate in case of hunger, has provided you with a well known higher risk of developing gestational diabetes (and diabetes II). So I would be quite cautious with white food as white bread, pasta and rice, and of course sugar. Other you should avoid is alcohol (might not be a problem if you're a Muslim - most people from Bangladesh are Muslims, aren't they?) and reduce caffeinated drinks as coffee, tea and coke to one cup/glass a day. Energy drinks with caffeine should be avoided. I can't remember any other food restrictions. Your body will take care of the rest giving you cravings and/or food aversions which might seem just totally irrational, but which are just impossible to overcome. But most of them are pretty harmless, fortunately

[trishabhowmik in reply to sun-and-rain]

Thanks for yur kind reply.. Yu have cleard me many things..May I know can I take tea with milk and can we take agave nectar or sweetener alnerate to sugar?

[sun-and-rain in reply to trishabhowmik]

One cup of tea with milk a day should be just fine, but then you should avoid coffee and coke the rest of the day 😉 I don't know about agave syrup. I guess it's counted as sugar as not to be exaggerated, even though it might have a more favorable GI than ordinary sugars. Sweeteners could be used in limited amounts, but I would absolutely take advantage of the situation and try to get used to less sweet tastes in drink and food 😉

[trishabhowmik in reply to sun-and-rain]

Ok.,thanks a lot.I am really grateful to you..thats fine..Generally I used less sugar..I think its better to take decaf tea if there is no issues.. Another question, I heard some grapes are harmful in pregnancy.. Is this true?

[sun-and-rain in reply to trishabhowmik]

I find decaf tea sooo bad tasting that I'd rather have that one cup ordinary black tea with milk (and no sugar 😉) a day enjoying it max 😁 But about grapes I don't know, but I know that generally there's a lot of pesticides involved in most grape production, so it's good not to exaggerate the grape eating either (and also that they contain A LOT of sugar!).

[Positivechangeplease]

There aren’t any fruit or veg that you have to avoid. Check out this list it has everything to avoid:nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-we...

Milk is mostly pasteurised in this country - especially if you buy from a supermarket. On the back of packets just check that eggs are pasteurised in packed food. If in a restaurant check any Mayo used red lion stamped or avoid Mayo. Stay away from cured or smoked meats and fish (new rule) and make sure any meat eaten is cooked through (well done). Fish must be frozen having raw and there are some on that link you have to avoid. Cheese is more difficult but the nhs list tells you which you can have. If in doubt you can have any hard cheese like cheddar.

[trishabhowmik in reply to Positivechangeplease]

Ok, thanks a lot