pesto advice

[lolo99]

I have just eaten Pesto and now read that I shouldn't have and the basil can maybe cause miscarriage. Has anyone else heard this? I'm rather panicked now.

never heard that! Why on earth would basil be a food to avoid?! Where did you read it?

This is what I found online:

Basil is an emmenagogue - which means that it induces the loss of uterine lining (meaning that it starts periods and labor) and that may cause miscarriage. All the warnings I've heard in my 14 years of studying herbal medicine have had to do with eating excessive amounts of basil, drinking lots of holy basil (tulsi) teas or with the use of basil essential oils.
As for pesto - I've seen tons of recipes for pesto in various pregnancy magazines, including Fit Pregnancy and books like "Every Woman's Guide to Eating During Pregnancy". I don't think that pesto is going to cause you to miscarry, but if you have any doubts, cut back on the amount or use other safe herbs to substitute basil in your pesto recipe.
From Herbnet.com - "Though no uterine stimulant has ever been identified, given its pervasive multicultural use as a menstruation promoter and labor inducer, pregnant women should probably limit their consumption to culinary
amounts. Do not use the essential oil externally or internally in pregnancy

i think essential oils should be avoided because they are highly concentrated but i'm pretty sure you'll be ok with pesto...

I've been eating it about twice a week throughout my pregnancy and 32 weeks, I think its ok.

"excessive amounts of basil" you've had pesto, don't panic!

Wouldn't worry about it, that's what you get for googling. When I did, I found this. Good job because I eat it everyday and have through all 4 pregnancies.

Basil is a pregnancy superfood. This fresh herb is a good source of protein, vitamin E, riboflavin, and niacin; plus, it?s a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese.

Basil is also packed with iron, vital for keeping your energy levels up; calcium, essential for strong bones and teeth; and folate, vital for many processes, including fetal cell growth and division. (One serving of basil has 20 micrograms of this B vitamin.) Whenever possible, choose fresh basil, because it contains more of these nutrients than dried basil.

You're not going mad though (did you ask? anyway, I'm telling you)... I studiously avoided anything with a lot of parsley in it while I was pregnant as I read it could be harmful. Clearly a ridiculous concern.

If basil, or any other common or garden herb, induced abortion, do you think women would have risked their lives with other methods for centuries? Use your head.

Dear Fucking Christ. Where did you dig that up?

I get that with that evidence, you could now class basil oil can be a risk and that I suppose you could potentially link basil oil with fresh basil somehow.

However, I just don't get the logic behind googling "eating basil in pregnancy" or whatever in the first place! Is it normal to google to everything you eat?

Must remember to try not to google "is eating half a tub of Ben and Jerrys cookie dough in pregnancy harmful" in that case.

Someone had better inform the Italians...

Thanks for the advice...even the scarcastic ones :) x Just wanted to be cautious.

nothing wrong with being cautious. the internet is a two faced friend!

A French Dr once asked me what the British eat during prenancy.

Haha Ani, do you mean whether there's anything left that the British consider safe during pregnancy?

Canadians are even worse. Went to see family when I was pregnant and SIL was also pregnant. My brother kept telling me off for eating pretty much everything! It was the same when our babies were weaning-I think that he thinks we don't really care about our son's health.

The actual nhs guidelines though don't actually restrict much though. It's pretty much just a case of making sure stuff it's cooked properly, avoid stuff that is high in vitamin a, avoid some cheeses and don't eat too much of some types of fish. General public perception however seems to assume there are loads of other foods that need to be avoided which are actually fine. So people comment on this and I seem to spend loads of time now telling people that actually it's fine I can eat squid, parma ham, chorizo etc.

actually italians have some weird pregnancy food rules as I discovered there, very funny about parsley and any uncooked fruit and vegetables!
Totally relaxed about cheese, ham, coffee etc

NHS guidelines are very relaxed these days, just use common sense.