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Pregnancy

Oily fish in pregnancy

11 replies

McSnail · 16/04/2009 13:02

I know oily fish is supposed to be a really important part of the diet when you're pregnant. Are tinned sardines/mackerel just as good as fresh? I'm on a tight budget just now and fish (esp. things like mackerel and salmon) are sooooo expensive.

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Kathyis6incheshigh · 16/04/2009 13:11

I think mackerel and salmon are ok tinned but tuna isn't because something is lost in the canning process. Sardines are though.

Mackerel is out of season at the moment so it would be expensive - it should get cheaper later on in the summer. We always find trout good value and easy to get fresh from supermarkets.

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McSnail · 16/04/2009 13:14

Yes - I heard tinned tuna didn't really count as oily fish, but the article I read didn't mention canned mackerel, sardines etc. I bought some kippers, but they're smoked and I'm not sure how healthy that is for the baby (such a lot of salt)

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McSnail · 16/04/2009 13:15

Oh, I love trout. None in the Co-op today though. In fact, their fish selection was pretty paltry in general...

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Kathyis6incheshigh · 16/04/2009 14:47

Is your Co-op normally good for fish? I usually find them quite poor as they're mostly small and don't have a high enough turnover. We were impressed by the big fish counters at our local Morrisons and Asda though.
We have a wonderful local fishmonger but he's so expensive....

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questions2008 · 16/04/2009 15:08

tinned sardines, mackerel etc are oily fish but i think you are limited to two or maybe one portion a week whilst pregnant due to the mercury levels that are found in them.

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swingsandroundabouts · 16/04/2009 16:54

I think seafood (very fresh obviously!) is also meant to be excellent (not eating it myself however, never seem to get it together so making do with pregnacare cod liver oil tabs!)

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JetLi · 18/04/2009 14:24

Tinned is absolutely fine. The general rule is the smaller the fish, the lower down the food chain they are and therefore the lower the levels of mercury "contamination". So that's why the huge tuna are limited to a couple of small tins a week but you'll be fine with smaller fish like mackerel and even better with little fish like sardines and even anchovies. I'm mashing tinned sardines in tomato onto toast with lots of black pepper - IMO tinned are even better than fresh because you can mash in the softened bones as well and that is giving you extra calcium for all that bone building. Tuck in!!

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JetLi · 18/04/2009 14:40

Also its worth remembering that all fish contains "Omega 3" which is the good stuff you're after. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on oily fish - these just have the highest levels of Omega 3's. I've been tucking into Birds Eye frozen Omega 3 fish fingers - fish finger sarnies with garlic mayo and squeeze of lemon . Just checked the packet and 3 of those beasties is 18% of your Omega 3 RDA. The fish in them is Pollack - apparently naturally high in Omega 3 but a white fish nevertheless. These fish fingers are regularly on BOGOF in my local supermarket so they make for a budget treat. HTH