16 Seemingly Harmless Food That Will Harm You & Your Baby | Vermifood Malaysia

If you're looking for healthy food for pregnancy, a good place to start is to
be mindful of what you eat (healthy nuts are a good food to eat during
pregnancy, by the way).
It is, therefore, essential that they not only eat a healthy diet but also to avoid
foods and drinks that could be harmful to them and their developing baby.
Here are 16 foods and drinks you should avoid if you're pregnant.

1. Fish contaminated with mercury (Definitely a food to avoidduring pregnancy)

Tuna and other large fish an often contaminated with high levels of mercury.
Number one on this list is fish contaminated with mercury. Mercury is a very
the toxic substance that often accumulates in large fish in polluted waters.
In high concentrations, mercury is toxic to the nervous and immune system,
as well as the kidneys.
Mercury also has the potential to cause severe development issues in
children.
Therefore, pregnant women should limit their consumption of large ocean fish
to at most 1-2 servings a month.

Large fish that are often contaminated with high amounts of mercury include:

 Tuna

 Swordfish

 King mackerel

 Shark
Not all fish are contaminated by mercury.

Low-mercury fish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids that are very good for developing babies, and it is advisable to eat these types of fish 2 times a week.

2. Fish contaminated with industrial pollutants

Fish caught from streams, rivers, and lakes may have been exposed to harmful industrial chemicals including Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and Organochlorine pesticides (OCs):

Consumption of foods contaminated with these chemicals has been linked to numerous fetal development impairments, including:

 Altered cognitive and behavioral development
 Thyroid hormone disruption
 Reduced fetal growth
 Cardiometabolic disorders
 Endocrine disruption
 Premature birth
 Altered male reproductive tract development
 Immune suppression.