Things you can and can not eat/drink while pregnant.

[BriansGirl]

Hi everyone, the newby here. I was wondering about the things you can and can not eat while pregnant...i know most of them differ depending on who your dr is and what they say and ppl's personal experiences...but i was wondering if drinking things like Gatorade Propel was okay? What about other flavored waters?

Is drinking too much milk a bad thing? I already drink about a gallon a week (i'm not exaggerating either lol), i can cut it down i just currently drink at least 2 glasses with every meal, or one really huge one.

I know you are not supposed to eat undercooked meats and eggs...which the eggs part is totally fine with me, my egg whites for fried eggs always have to be cooked all of the way and my scrambled eggs can't be runny either...but what constitutes undercooked.

Is eating steak that is medium rare, undercooked? Where is the cut off point, will all of my steak have to be well-done while i am pregnant? Or would medium or medium-well be alright?

What about shellfish like shrimp? Some sites say a certain amount per week is okay but my sil's dr told her none what-so-ever while she was pregnant. What about eating clam chowder?

Oh, what about teas? If they don't say de-caffeinated on the box or caffeine-free, how do you know? I love hot and iced teas but am worried about the caffeine in them. Here are ones i drink the most, if anyone might know if they are okay or not, Plantation Mint, Honey Lemon Green Tea and regulat Lipton Iced tea.

Okay i'll stop for now. lol I'm sort of losing my train of thought anyways.

[Ary99]

Drinking lots of milk during pg can cause your baby to be sensitive to dairy products after birth. I had a very cranky baby until I figured out he was allergic to dairy!

Beef should be well done (no pink)

Lunch meats are discouraged because of the risk (slight) of a listeria infection.

Eggs that are at all runny are undercooked.

I'm not sure about shellfish because I'm allergic and avoid it like the plague!

Too much caffeine in early pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage. If it doesn't say caffeine-free, it has caffeine. You can cut down by diluting it with water. Drink lots of water.

Eat lots of fruits and veggies and enjoy your pregnancy!

[caedmyn]

[QUOTE=BriansGirl]Hi everyone, the newby here. I was wondering about the things you can and can not eat while pregnant...i know most of them differ depending on who your dr is and what they say and ppl's personal experiences...but i was wondering if drinking things like Gatorade Propel was okay? What about other flavored waters?


I personally wouldn't drink/eat anything with artifical sweetners in it (or sugar, either, but if you can't do that at least don't use artifical sweetners)--just plain water is best, or add a squeeze of lemon if you like it that way.

Is drinking too much milk a bad thing? I already drink about a gallon a week (i'm not exaggerating either lol), i can cut it down i just currently drink at least 2 glasses with every meal, or one really huge one.

Do you drink organic milk? Raw milk is much better than even organic milk, but if you can't get it or don't feel comfortable with it, at least do organic, preferably non-homogenized.

I know you are not supposed to eat undercooked meats and eggs...which the eggs part is totally fine with me, my egg whites for fried eggs always have to be cooked all of the way and my scrambled eggs can't be runny either...but what constitutes undercooked.

IMO as long as the eggs are free range/natural they are fine under cooked.

Is eating steak that is medium rare, undercooked? Where is the cut off point, will all of my steak have to be well-done while i am pregnant? Or would medium or medium-well be alright?

I ate medium steak all through my pregnancy...again it would be best if the meat is natural as if the animals are healthy and not laden with antibiotics/growth hormones they are much less likely to carry diseases.

What about shellfish like shrimp? Some sites say a certain amount per week is okay but my sil's dr told her none what-so-ever while she was pregnant. What about eating clam chowder?

The reason for limits on shellfish and things like tuna is because they can be full of toxins. It's basically up to your comfort level. I ate tuna a couple of times and then decided any amount of mercury was too much, and haven't eaten it since. I did eat shellfish once or twice.

Oh, what about teas? If they don't say de-caffeinated on the box or caffeine-free, how do you know? I love hot and iced teas but am worried about the caffeine in them. Here are ones i drink the most, if anyone might know if they are okay or not, Plantation Mint, Honey Lemon Green Tea and regulat Lipton Iced tea.
H
ow much caffeinated tea do you drink a day? A litle is probably okay, although you might think about switching to herbal teas that don't actually have any tea in them, which would definitely be caffeine free.

Basically it all depends on your comfort level with various foods.

Congratulations on your pregnancy

[KBinSATX]

I would think herbal teas (chamomille, mint, etc.) are caffeine free. Teas made from tea plants are not (green, black, etc.)

[anonymous4_20]

As far as eggs go, you can buy the pasteurized eggs and eat your fried yolks as runny as you want! The kind I buy is organic, too. So if you use pasteurized then sunny-side up, poached and soft-boiled are all ok. Eggs are great for you while you're pregnant--lots of protein!

My midwife said I could have the equivalent of 3 cups of coffee a day, but I wasn't comfotable having that much. I did mostly decaf teas and splurged on tea or soda once in a while.

Welcome and congrats!

[BriansGirl]

Thanks everyone for answering my ?'s. I'm not pregnant yet though...just getting as much information as possible.

[darkpear]

Alright, I am way over on the non-paranoid side, so take this with a grain of salt.

Propel I would avoid because it contains Splenda and one or two other artificial sweeteners.

Salmonella contamination rate for eggs with intact shells is something like 1 in 10,000. For me that's not enough to worry about, but then I like my eggs over easy - sounds like it's not an issue for you regardless. It's a good idea to wash the shells before you crack the eggs, since that's where the contamination tends to come from.

Larger cuts of beef are also typically very clean on the inside (and as a pp said, all the better if you get it from a good source). It's different for ground beef because that can be contaminated the whole way through if it's processed on dirty equipment. I ate medium-rare steaks through both pregnancies and had no problems, but then I think anything past medium is criminal beef abuse

It does sound like you drink a lot of milk. I think the main concern with that would be anemia, as too much calcium can impede iron absorption.

Shellfish are fine I think? I've never been told to avoid those.

Moderate caffeine intake is generally considered safe. I read somewhere that green tea in particular can interfere with folic acid absorption, though, so you might want to stick with black (which is a fine source of antioxidants) and/or herbal teas while you're TTC and pregnant.

HTH!

[AdinaL]

 

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