do you avoid all nuts in pregnancy or is it just peanuts?

[NGPY]

Hello

I was hoping someone could confirm whether it's all nuts or only peanuts you have to avoid in pregnancy. I can only find references to avoiding peanuts in "official" sources, but I hear/read numerous anecdotal references to the need to give up all nuts.

Can anyone confirm (with a source please) one way or the other?

Thanks for your help.

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I told a Japanese friend that British women were told to avoid raw fish during pregnancy, and she just laughed. And I have a French guide to pregnancy that suggests raw oysters are very good for pregnant women. But I suspect that eating sushi in Tokyo and oysters in Brittany is safer than doing the same in London or Birmingham...

The peanuts thing is slightly different as peanuts are such a common cause of allergies (but there are parts of Africa where most of the cooking is done in peanut (groundnut) oil, so I'm not sure what happens there!)

I think it's a cultural thing when it comes to avoiding certain foods.

I haven't avoided peanuts, although they aren't a food that I eat every day anyway, but if dh has a packet of salted peanuts I have some of them as well. I've eaten snickers which have nuts in them and there was a box of chocolates at work the other day and I had some of the halzlenut in caramel kind.

There is no history of nut allergies in either of our families so I haven't cut them out completely but like I said it's not something that I eat every day anyway.

I've been having burgers from Mcdonalds with Mayonaise on them, as far as I knew it was only fresh mayonaise that you had to avoid not the processed kind used in restaurants.

I don't eat fish so I don't need to worry about prawns or sushi. All my Dr told me to avoid was Liver,real mayonaise, Raw Meat and runny eggs.

I think it can verge on being OTT sometimes but they are guidelines that are there to make you aware of the dangers. Obviously you don't want to intentionally harm your baby so most people follow them but I think there has to be a limit as sometimes the list just seems to keep growing out of control, each to their own I say.

I mentioned to an American friend that I'd been out to the pub for a couple of drinks (and I did only have my limit of 2 alchoholic drinks the allowance for that week) with my friends and she was horrified, drinking while pregnant is a big no no in America. Again I think that comes down to a cultural difference.

I was told to avoid all nuts as DS has a nut allergy and I had m/c earlier this year when I was eating nuts +++ for morning sickness. They couldn't rule out that it was linked.
On a more cheery note - craved mussels throughout pregnancy with DS at ate them all the time, thankfully everything was OK.
Agree in teh cultural differences though. Here in NZ - no ham, soft cheese (even though all cheese is pasturised) nothing out of the cook chill cabinet, no alcohol (from 1 month before conception!!) -the list was as long as my arm.
Choclate was Ok though (think smiley)

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Twiglett - go and put the grill on - any cheese is OK if really cooked until piping hot all the way through.
Probiotics in late pregnancy does seem from studies to be linked with reduced rate of allergies, and giving them to babies directly and via breastmilk also seems to strengthen the gut and immune system.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

Robinw, I would really appreciate it if you would please cite your source when you say "current advice says avoid them during pregnancy and breastfeeding".

This is a good example of what I was referring to in my original post...

The Asthma Society gives this advice,i.e. cut out "nuts", citing the DoH, but DoH only says to avoid peanuts as far as I have found (the website is terrible!). The Food Standards Agency does not give advice on this subject under Pregnancy FAQs.

I really hate being pregnant and I don't want to have to give up anything I don't have to! Especially an excellent source of protein and other nutrients such as nuts!

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Robinw, thankyou, that is excellent, I will look into the pro-biotics option. I have eczema and DH has very bad hayfever, so we come into the "risk" category. However, no-one on either side of the family has asthma or any food allergies whatsoever. Somehow, despite the fact I thought I was very well informed last time, the peanut thing completely passed me by, so I ate peanuts and all other nuts (almonds are a really good source of calcium) all the way through pregnancy. DS is fine so far - but I thought it was well worth trying to find out more about the whole nut thing this time. Thanks so much for the probiotics tip, I will look into that and see if I can get some supplements.

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Can you get enough probiotics simply by eating bio yoghurt, or does it really have to be supplements? It is the same stuff, isn't it?

I have decided that for the moment I will avoid peanuts only, unless some new very specific information comes to light. Thanks for the info, Robinw.

I have the same question as marsup - what is the best way to take pro-biotics?

Well I'm going to get those yoghurt drink type things - mainly because I like them and they're the only way I can realistically see me taking them (if it relies on me going to a health food shop rather than just adding it to sainsbury's order, it won't happen). Probably not the most effective method of taking them, but better than nothing I'm sure

What about the Danone Bio yoghurts? I think a lot of yoghurt sold in supermarkets no longer has active cultures in it - usually the stuff that is mixed with flavourings/fruit; but sometimes you can get yoghurt that is separate from the fruit and if it has active cultures it will be marked 'lactophilis' or 'bifidis' or something like that. I've been trying to eat this for years now as it is good for digestion, but still can't work out whether this is what everyone is talking about with the term 'probiotics'... Maybe the supplements have a concentrated version? Anyone know?

The Muller Vitality Site has a FAQ about what probiotics are. Of course, they're also trying to sell their product, so they will be slightly biased

From that site:

What is the difference between probiotic, live and organic yoghurts?

Although they don't always highlight the fact on the label all yogurts bought from the chiller cabinet, whether fruit or plain, are 'live' or 'active' - meaning they contain live bacteria or active cultures. Providing they are stored correctly (in the fridge) and eaten within the use by date they will contain live bacteria.

Probiotic yogurts contain a special strain of probiotic 'friendly' bacteria that have been clinically proven to reach the bowel and help restore the balance of good and bad bacteria.

Organic yogurts are made using organic ingredients.