Can I Eat Raw Ingredients as Part of My Pregnancy Foods?

Raw foods can be a routine part of your diet during pregnancy, but only if you use proper caution. Pregnancy foods must be nutritious, true, but they also have to be reasonably safe from microorganisms, and that isn’t always possible if the food you choose is raw.

Which Raw Foods are Good Pregnancy Foods?
Generally speaking any fruits and vegetables that are raw will be fine. Make sure you wash everything properly, use clean cutting boards and avoid foods that have a high chemical load resulting from heavy spraying. The foods that are most heavily treated are as follows:

1. strawberries
2. bell peppers
3. spinach
4. cherries (grown in the US)
5. peaches (grown in Chile)
6. cantaloupe (grown in Mexico)
7. celery
8. apples
9. apricots
10. green beans
11. grapes
12. cucumbers

If you purchase no other organic products, make sure that these are grown in an organic manner if you plan to eat them while pregnant.

Which Proteins are the Best Pregnancy Foods?
There is on source of protein that you can eat raw that is safe during a pregnancy. Read on to see why.

Fish -- It doesn’t matter how much you love sushi, how clean the restaurant might be or even if they freeze their fish before they prepare it, some risks aren’t worth while.

Raw fish can host a number of bacteria and parasites that may be killed off during freezing, but they may not. The debate over the safety of sushi is quite heated. Even fish that is seared, but not cooked-through is probably wise to avoid until after you deliver.

Red Meat -- Rare, raw and undercooked red meat may contain toxoplasmosis or salmonella bacteria. Salmonella will result in a severe bout of food poisoning, which is very unpleasant. The dehydration, vomiting, high fever and diarrhea associated with the condition may cause challenges if you are pregnant.

Toxoplasmosis is much more dangerous. This parasite can even be found in cured meats – so be careful to cook even deli meats if you plan to eat them. Toxoplasmosis can cross the placenta and is responsible for a variety of serious birth defects – the worst time for this is during the first trimester.

On the positive side, you can only get toxoplasmosis once, and if you have cats the odds are good you have already been exposed. You can take a blood test to find out if you are at risk. If you haven’t had it, please be careful.

Raw Eggs – This unfortunately includes soft-boiled eggs, sunny side eggs and any sauce that is made with uncooked eggs as well. It all comes down to salmonella once again. Make sure your eggs are fully cooked, or incorporated into something that will get them to the proper temperature.

Soft Cheeses – Soft cheeses are often made from unpasteurized milk, especially those that come from abroad. Raw milk can contain listeria – a bacterium that will cross the placenta and frequently causes miscarriage.

It can also cause blood poisoning and infections in the baby – and those conditions are life threatening. Domestically produced soft cheeses that are pasteurized are usually safe pregnancy foods.

Cooking for Safety
Your best option for knowing safe cooking temperatures is to look online. While I would scarcely suggest that you only eat steak well done, chicken cooked to dryness or fish that has lost any flavor, during your pregnancy it pays to make sure your reach the right internal temperatures.

Beef, lamb and fish should reach a temperature of 145°F. Pork, ground red meats and egg dishes should be brought to 160°F and poultry should reach 165°F.

When cooking with a thermometer, remember that there is a “coasting effect” which ensures that food heats up a few more degrees after you take it from the oven or stove.

Raw food often contains more nutrients than cooked food, but when it comes to safety, pregnancy isn’t the time for experiments. Safe foods are the best pregnancy foods.