Knowing what foods to avoid when you are pregnant may be as important as knowing what healthy foods to eat.

• Soft cheeses such as Brie, feta, Camembert, blue cheese, and Latin-American soft style cheeses such as queso blanco, queso fresco, queso de hoja, queso de crema and queso asadero may have harmful bacteria and are to be avoided.
• Some seafood may contain potentially dangerous levels of mercury. Avoid Shark, Swordfish, King mackerel, and Tilefish. These are larger and older fish and have therefore spent more time in the water accumulating higher levels of mercury in their fatty tissue.
• Use a meat thermometer to make sure meat and poultry are fully cooked. Reheat deli meats and hot dogs to an internal temperature of 165 degrees to prevent Listeriosis.
• Avoid raw eggs and any foods  containing raw eggs  such as Caesar dressing, mayonnaise, homemade ice cream or custard, cookie batter, unpasteurized eggnog, or Hollandaise sauce because raw eggs may be contaminated with salmonella.
• Because raw sprouts have been associated with incidents of salmonella outbreaks, pregnant women are advised to cook them before eating or avoid them altogether.
• Use natural sweetners like honey, sugar, and fruit juices.
• Don’t overdo the vitamin A. Vitamin A has been linked to an increased risk of birth defects so reduce your intake of liver and cod liver oil supplements.
• Avoid alcohol.

Tags: alcohol, fish, mercury, Nutrition Nook, pregnancy, raw eggs, salmonella, vitamin A

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