Reviewed by: Zhang Qiong (Xiangya Hospital, Central South University)
I believe that there must be many pregnant women who have been told by the elderly to say:
Eating rabbit meat will have rabbit lips
Eating crabs will result in miscarriage
Eat watermelon will meet red
Leeks cannot be eaten
Hawthorn cannot be eaten
Tea can not be drunk
The spicy parts of the ice should be avoided
……
It is good that pregnant women are cautious in their diet, but if they listen to these rumors, I am afraid that only steamed rice can be eaten...
Today, we will explore the truth of the so-called "dietary taboos during pregnancy".
First, can not eat crab during pregnancy?
There are rumors that pregnant women eat crabs, which can easily lead to miscarriage. There is no scientific basis for this claim.
Image source: Stand Cool Helo
Seafood, including crabs, is rich in a variety of nutrients such as protein and DHA from a nutritional point of view. In particular, DHA, which is the English abbreviation of docosahexaenoic acid, commonly known as brain gold, is a polyunsaturated fatty acid that is beneficial to the human body.
DHA is essential for brain development, vision health, and cardiovascular protection [1]. So, seafood is very suitable for pregnant women delicious.
Of course, although delicious and high in nutritional value, it is also necessary to control the amount, can not eat too much at one time, can not eat every day, otherwise it will bring a burden to the body, such as causing increased uric acid, which will cause gout; it may also lead to increased cholesterol and blood lipids (the cholesterol content of crab yellow is very high) [2].
It is best to eat only one at a time, and it is okay to eat it once every three or five minutes. As for the specific gestational week can not eat crab, there is no taboo.
It should be noted that crabs are high-protein foods, which are easy to spoil and spoil, and must be carefully selected when eating, and it is best to choose live crabs. When eating, be sure to cook and cook thoroughly, so as not to completely kill harmful bacteria and viruses.
Second, can not eat rabbit meat during pregnancy?
There is a folk saying that "pregnant women eat rabbit meat, and the baby will grow rabbit lips".
This is superstition!
In fact, rabbit meat is rich in lecithin [3]. This is an indispensable substance for the development of the fetal brain and other organs, and appropriate supplementation can play a role in "brain health and nootropics".
Studies have also shown that consuming more lecithin-containing foods can help reduce the risk of hypertensive disease in pregnancy [4].
Rabbit meat also has high protein, low fat, low cholesterol and other nutritional characteristics, especially the protein content of up to 70% or more, higher than the general meat [3], under the same amount of consumption, it is not easy to make people fat, and easy to digest. Therefore, rabbit meat has the reputation of "children's puzzle dish, women's beauty meat".
Therefore, pregnant women can eat rabbit meat.
So, what about rabbit lips?
Rabbit lips, known medically as cleft lip, have complex causes, and the exact cause is not known. Genetics, medications, nutritional deficiencies, radiation, hypoxia, and other factors can all cause cleft lip [5].
How can cleft lip be prevented[6]?
Preconception check-up. Rabbit lip is a polygenic genetic disease, and a comprehensive and cautious preconception examination must be carried out before pregnancy.
If one or both parties have the disease, or if there is a family history, the risk of fetal disease is high. Therefore, it is necessary to check on time and keep abreast of the health status of the fetus.
Meals are balanced. The mother's body is the only source of nutrition for the fetus. During pregnancy, a balanced and varied diet is very important. Eat less foods high in sugar, salt, and processed foods when pregnant. Avoid partial eating and ensure adequate intake of vitamins and trace elements (e.g., zinc, iron, selenium, etc.).
Reduced folic acid intake increases the risk of congenital defects such as cleft lip in infants, and folic acid supplementation should be taken during pregnancy.
Safe medication. Random medications such as anti-allergy medications and certain sleeping pills should be avoided during pregnancy. If you must take medication due to colds, allergies, etc., you should take it under the guidance of a doctor. Women with tumors, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, etc. who need to take medication for a long time should consult a doctor before pregnancy.
Other considerations. Studies have shown that mothers exposed to X-rays, alcohol abuse, smoking (including second-hand smoke), and drugs during pregnancy may cause genetic mutations that can lead to cleft fetal lips. Therefore, expectant mothers have to change bad habits.
Third, can not eat hawthorn during pregnancy?
Rumor has it that pregnant women eat hawthorn, which can easily cause miscarriage.
This is a misunderstanding of hawthorn.
After a woman becomes pregnant, due to the increase in the level of progesterone and estrogen in the body, there will be picky eating, loss of appetite and other pregnancy reactions. Eating sweet and sour foods such as hawthorn can regulate appetite and enhance appetite [7].
However, pregnant women who consume hawthorn need to pay attention to:
Try not to eat it raw. It is recommended to eat cooked hawthorn, such as canned hawthorn, fried red fruit, hawthorn sauce, etc.
To promote digestion, it is advisable to eat after meals.
Do not eat a lot (3-5 / day can be), because during pregnancy, pregnant women's gastrointestinal function has declined, eating more hawthorn will have a certain stimulation of the stomach and intestines, resulting in stomach pain, acid reflux and other discomfort.
Fourth, can not eat cold during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, the basal body temperature of many pregnant women will increase, and the "fire" gas in the body makes pregnant women want to eat something cold, but the elderly will say "absolutely can not eat cold, so as not to hurt the fetus."
Whether you can eat cold during pregnancy mainly depends on the physical fitness of pregnant women.
If you have good physical fitness and do not feel uncomfortable eating something cold, then whether it is ice cream, cold white open or watermelon, you can eat it.
However, it is not too cold to avoid causing gastrointestinal discomfort.
However, if you are usually sensitive to cold food, you are prone to gastrointestinal pain, diarrhea and other symptoms when you eat it, and it is recommended that you still avoid cold after pregnancy.
5. Can't eat soy sauce during pregnancy?
Some people say, "Soy sauce is black, pregnant people eat soy sauce, the baby's skin will turn black after birth." Soy sauce wanted to shout, "I've been wronged!" ”
The colour of a baby's skin is genetically influenced by the parents's genes,[8] and is determined from the moment of pregnancy, independent of diet.
Soy sauce is a kind of soybean fermentation products, containing a large number of amino acids, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, which has certain benefits for the growth and development of the fetus, and pregnant women can eat it with confidence.
But can not eat more, after all, soy sauce has a high sodium content, too salty, not friendly to blood pressure.
6. Can't drink coffee during pregnancy?
Studies at home and abroad in recent years have shown that a large amount of caffeine intake may lead to low weight in newborns, and even adverse pregnancies such as miscarriage, so it is recommended to reduce caffeine intake after pregnancy, but it is not necessary to completely prohibit it [9].
Simply put, drinking coffee without restraint is really not good for pregnant women and fetuses, but studies also point out that this does not mean that no coffee can be drunk during pregnancy.
If you really want to drink, you can drink it once in a while. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that caffeine intake during pregnancy should not exceed 200 mg/day [10].
What does this amount mean? You can refer to the caffeine content table of common foods below.
It should be noted that milk tea, cola, tea, chocolate and other foods also have caffeine ingredients, and it is no problem to relieve hunger occasionally, but you can't eat and drink it often!
In addition to the above, there are many rumored contraindication foods during pregnancy, so I will not list them all. In fact, the diet during pregnancy is really not so exquisite. As long as the following principles are observed, pregnancy can also eat well and eat beautifully.
Basic principles of diet during pregnancy: balanced, moderate and safe. 1. Nutritional balance
Avoid partial eating. The nutrition required by the fetus depends on the mother's supply, pregnant women in the first trimester prefer a single food (such as love to eat acid, love to eat spicy) can be understood, but long-term picky eating, partial eating is easy to cause malnutrition, affecting fetal growth and development.
The nutritional structure should be reasonable, meat, eggs and milk, vegetables and fruits, beans, cereals and other foods should be available, so as to achieve a variety of varieties and a balanced combination of meat and vegetarians.
2. Do not overdo it
Many pregnant women believe that the baby's development needs nutrition, and they must eat more, which is not advisable.
Eating too much, too good, if the exercise is too little, it is easy to cause excessive weight gain during pregnancy, increasing the risk of complications such as hypertension and gestational diabetes; it is also easy to cause excessive fetal weight, and it is necessary to suffer when born.
During pregnancy, you can eat less and more meals, and do not overeat each meal, that is, there is a feeling of "holding up".
3. Pay attention to food safety
There are indeed some foods that can affect the health of you and your baby, and must be eliminated during pregnancy.
Do not eat raw meat and eggs, as well as undercooked, contaminated food. For example, sashimi, oysters, drunken crabs, mayonnaise, uncooked steaks, etc.; unpasteurized fresh milk, rotten ingredients or expired foods. These foods may carry pathogenic bacteria, viruses, etc., and can easily lead to infection.
It is best not to eat seafood with high mercury content, such as mackerel, as the fetus is sensitive to mercury and is prone to brain tissue damage, resulting in cognitive impairment [11].
In general, as long as all kinds of food are guaranteed to be safe and hygienic, and the amount is controlled, pregnant women can eat it with confidence.
bibliography:
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[2] Wang F,Lin W,Lv S,et al. Comparison of Lipids Extracted by Different Methods from Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) Hepatopancreas.J Food Sci. 2019 Dec;84(12):3594-3600.
Zhang Binbin, Li Xingyan, Xia Yangyi, et al. Changes in the functional properties of myofibrin during post-slaughter maturation of rabbit meat[J].Food Industry Science and Technology,2015(4):105-110.
[4] Li Weiwei,Ren Lina. Effect of lecithin on plasmaprostycline and thromboxane levels in pregnant women at high risk of hypertensive diseases during pregnancy[J].Journal of Dalian Medical University,2011(03):232-234.
[5] Shi Bing,Li Chenghao,Li Jingtao,et al. A 30-year review of research and treatment of cleft lip and palate in China[J].Chinese Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery,2016,14(5):385-396.
Gao Xiaoyan, Wu Xueli, Gao Pingming, et al. Analysis of influencing factors of congenital cleft lip and palate[J].Chinese Journal of Clinicians, 2016, 44(4):91-93.
Liu Tian,Cui Tong,Gao Zhe,et al. Research Progress on Hawthorn Dietary Fiber[J].Food Research and Development,2020,041(006):199-204.
Gong Chao. Evolution and polygenic interaction mechanisms of skin color-related phenotypes in Eurasian populations[D].2019.
Yang Mukun,Bai Wenpei. The relationship between caffeine and pregnancy-related adverse events[J].Chinese Journal of General Practice, 2017(3).
[10] American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.ACOG Committee Opinion No. 462: moderate caffeine consumption during pregnancy [J]. Obstet Gynecol,2010,116 ( 2 Pt 1) :467－468.
[11] Cai Shenglan, Lü Hongdao, Su Hailan, et al. Study on the relationship between mercury hair and fish-eating frequency in pregnant women in Wujiang area[J].Chinese and Foreign Medical Research,2014,000(031):91-92.
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