Pregnancy Diet: Foods You Should Avoid When Expecting

You know that there are certain foods you should avoid during pregnancy, but you might not know exactly which ones they are and which ones are actually okay. There’s a lot of misconception when it comes to foods you can and cannot eat during pregnancy. To keep your growing baby as healthy as possible, you should limit your diet to avoid eating certain foods, but that list might not include everything you think that it includes.

Seafood

Yes, it’s true that you should avoid seafood during pregnancy. However, only seafood that is high in mercury and/or raw and undercooked. You can say goodbye to swordfish and oysters, but you can continue to eat shrimp, salmon, and crab. As long as you stay under 8 to 12 ounces per week, you are good to go. Just make sure you cook each type of seafood fully or you risk consuming undercooked seafood, which can harm your baby.

Caffeine

You should not consume too much caffeine while pregnant. However, that doesn’t mean you cannot have caffeine at all. It simply means you should limit your daily caffeine intake to 200 milligrams or less. To reference that, your one cup of coffee in the morning has approximately 95 milligrams. Now you have an idea what you can and cannot have in terms of caffeine.

Alcohol

You cannot drink alcohol while pregnant. There are no exact studies to indicate how much alcohol is too much for your unborn child, so it is better safe than sorry. Some women claim they have one glass of wine a night while pregnant and their child is fine, but if you want to ensure that your baby is healthy and safe while in your body, avoid all forms of alcohol. Even the smallest amount is dangerous to your baby’s health.