by Honi A.

Created on: November 14, 2009   Last Updated: November 17, 2009

When you are pregnant it is very important to avoid eating some foods that could harm you or the baby. A safe and healthy alimentation brings a lot of benefits both for the mother and the fetus. Here is a list of the most harmful foods that should be excluded from your meals during pregnancy:

1. Unpasteurised products - They could have a bacteria named listeria and could cause an infection. These types of products are made from raw milk and if the process of production of the milk wasn't done correctly, it is very likely it has listeria. So try to avoid raw milk or cheeses like feta, goat cheese, Brie or Camembert as much as you can.

2. Unboiled eggs - Avoid any kind of food that requires the use of unboiled eggs, like mayo, Caesar sauce, homemade ice cream or egg liqueur, because they might be contaminated with salmonella.

3. Rare cooked meat - Don't eat sushi, sea fruits or any other kind of raw meat. Avoid rare cooked steaks and chicken meat because you can end up having toxoplasmosis, salmonella infection or other types of bacteria.

4. Aspartame - This is a common sweetener. After some research, scientists have found out that huge quantities of aspartame can cause cancer. Even if the producer replaced it with something else, it is still uncertain if the effects are the same. So next time you go to the market, read carefully the labels and avoid anything that contains this sweetener

5. Fish - Only some types of fish like shark, sword fish tuna or blue crab are dangerous because they might have been contaminated with mercury. The mercury is a neurotoxin that could cause neurological problems to your fetus, like slow development of the brain. But since the fish is a great source of Omega3 acids, it is recommended to eat salmon or trout.

6. Liver - Even if the liver is known as a good source of vitamin A, recent studies have shown that too large quantities of vitamin A digested by the mother could cause the fetus a congenital malformation.

7. Vitamin E supplements - Apparently the body gets enough vitamin E from the foods we eat daily, so a supplement of this vitamin will age human cells faster and cause heart problems or cancer.

Also, while preparing the food some precautions are needed:
- Do not eat or drink directly from cans or jars.
- Before cooking meat, make sure it is completely defrosted. Never defrost at room temperature, only in cold water or in the fridge.
- Reheat the food only once.
- Once defrosted, do not refreeze meat or vegetables.
- Wash your hands very well before cooking or eating.

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