Pregnant women must be vigilant about their diet, especially fresh products. Mussels, Saint-Jacques, clams, shrimps, certain seafood are highly at risk during pregnancy. But it is still possible to taste certain foods provided you pay attention to the cooking.
Yes, becoming a mother is such a beautiful and fulfilling experience to live, not to mention the dietary restrictions. Indeed, for baby and mother to be at their best, it is important to eat healthily, making sure to include some foods in your daily consumption, such as water, animal and vegetable proteins, fish, fruits, vitamins, etc. carbohydrates, vegetables, dairy products, whole grains and oils, but you also have to say goodbye to certain foods, like raw seafood.
Indeed, to eat seafood, it is essential that they are fresh and well cooked. Indeed, seafood represents an important contribution in proteins, minerals (iron, calcium), vitamin B12 and trace elements (zinc, selenium, iodine), essential for the good development of the baby. Thus, to avoid the risks of contamination such as toxoplasmosis, hepatitis A, heavy metals or even listeriosis, it is essential to cook your food well and avoid at all costs eating it raw.
Risks of contamination
Therefore, all fresh and raw products such as seafood, shellfish, crustaceans, milk, cheeses, raw eggs, oysters, langoustines, shrimps, sushi, fish and raw meats . These fresh or frozen products can pose a risk to the health of the baby if they are poorly stored, served raw or undercooked.
The main diseases that can be transmitted during pregnancy are listeriosis, a disease linked to the listeria bacteria; toxoplasmosis, salmonella, anisakis worms or hepatitis A. Infections with irreversible consequences on the fetus: eye, neurological and cardiac malformations, intrauterine growth retardation, premature delivery or even in the worst case , death in utero. Seafood and fish can also be the cause of food poisoning, especially from bacteria and parasites.
What if I really want to eat seafood?
To avoid any health risks, it is forbidden to consume raw seafood. If you want to enjoy shrimp, sushi or even shellfish, keep these products fresh in good conditions, avoiding going from hot to cold and ensuring that they are well cooked.
If they are eaten raw or undercooked, there is a high risk of the development of bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes responsible for listeriosis. A bacterium that proliferates in the heat but also in the refrigerator. The symptoms of this disease are fever, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation or even headaches.
How to choose seafood?
To limit the risk of listeriosis, it is best to go to the market or even the fishmonger to buy your live seafood. For info, if a shell is alive, it closes and closes quickly with a little pressure on the shell or immersed in cold water. When it comes to shellfish, the pasta should be curled up and shiny. For the Saint-Jacques, the flesh must be white and firm, without any strong odor.
To avoid bacteria, you can use cooler bags to transport them to your home, especially if the weather is hot.
What seafood can I eat?
- Whelks: full of magnesium, iron, iodine, selenium, B vitamins, whelks are excellent for health and for the proper functioning of the nervous system. To cook them properly, they should be boiled in water for about 20 minutes before eating them.
- Langoustines: rich in protein, minerals, trace elements (phosphorus, iron, copper, zinc) and iodine, langoustines are perfect for baby's development, provided they are well cooked.
- Mussels: these seafood are rich in calcium, magnesium, iron, selenium, protein, iron, vitamin and zinc. To avoid any risk of bacteria, they must be baked or steamed.
- Shrimps: pink or gray in color, this seafood rich in protein and fatty acids is essential for tissue development. You can easily include them in your diet as long as you hide them so that they become pearly and the flesh becomes opaque.
- Periwinkles: rich in magnesium and B vitamins, this seafood is safe to eat, as long as it is cooked for about twenty minutes.
- The prawns: full of protein and omega 3 just like the prawns, the prawns must be cooked until obtaining a pearly color with a white and opaque flesh.
- Crab: rich in protein and fat, you can easily include crab in your diet as long as you cook the meat well.
- Oysters: Rich in phosphorus, iron, zinc, minerals and trace elements, oysters can be eaten as long as they are cooked: au gratin, in the oven, steamed, poached or on skewers.
- Lobster: this fresh, quality product can be eaten as long as it is cooked until a pearly color is obtained, as for shrimp.
- Saint-Jacques: this seafood can be eaten provided it is well cooked with firm, white flesh.
- Clams: Rich in iron, protein, phosphorus and vitamins, clams can be eaten if cooked properly.
Limited consumption
However, you have to be careful, even if your seafood is well cooked, it does not destroy the heavy metals present in the products. It is therefore necessary to limit its consumption to once a week or every two weeks.