Tuna - Didn't know it was another pregnancy NO GO AREA!

[Toothache]

Hi folks,

28 wks pregnant and have been eating tuna all the way through this pregnancy. I thought it was recommended that you cut down on the consumption, but read yesterday that it is yet another food that should be avoided entirely!

The Mercury in the tuna can cause nerve damage. I have eating it at least once a week! I thought I was being healthy. I don't like fish, but I know it's normally good for you so thought I was doing well.

How much is toooooo much tuna? Anyone know? I really worried now.

And you can have deep fried brie Twinkie - any risk from Listeria is destroyed by cooking!

YEAH? Does that mean you can have blue cheese if cooked for a sauce???
I've been missing blue cheese, brie, pate, foie gras, prawns, all the stuff that's "forbidden".
I have had tuna on rare occasions, as apparently you can have it once a week.

toothache i eat tuna and still ate it through the pregnacy never knew it was a no go area

Yes! You can safely eat it cooked as a sauce - or bubbling on toast or a pizza. Listeria is easily destroyed by heat. You can safely eat prawns if you cook them yourself or eat them hot - eg in a curry or hot fish dish. And tuna is fine really - up to two fresh steaks a week or four medium tins - enough for anyone I'd say!

I promise you this is accurate information - I've just done a feature on food in pregnancy and had all the info checked by a specialist research dietician specialising in pregnancy.

Any more queries??

Woah you're cool!! It's useful knowing someone like you!! Can I ask you then, you know they say Gaviscon is okay, what about the generic version of it (I bought a bottle from tesco which works exactly the same as Gav. but is a lot cheaper because generic.)?

The main problem with listeria is that it will multiply at 4 degrees C ie in a fridge (whereas many other bacteria don't). For that reason it isn't wise to eat even slightly out of date cold stuff when pregnant. As aloha says though it's destoryed by cooking - which is why the listeria worries always centre aruond cold stuff.

Is it bad for example to buy those cooked roasted chickens from Tesco? I've stayed away from them just in case.

Celou, if you shouldn't take it when pg, it would definitely say so on the packaging. It is fine!

Re roast chickens, I would say that the risk is minute - but do eat them very hot or reheat them thoroughly for safety's sake. Remember, anything piping hot is good!

Salmonella poisoning, though unpleasant is not really a risk to your baby, as the infection cannot pass to the baby via the placenta.

Could you answer my question about Gaviscon?

Celou - don;t know about the generic vdrsion - it will say on the bottle if safe but you cna get Gavison on prescription from your doctor - it saves me a fortune getting it this way - I go through a bottle a week and am only 15 weeks!!

Aloha - sorry did not read properly has your research/article been printed anywhere I want to buy it!!

Am going out to dinner tomorrow night and having deep fried brie and avacado and prawns and all the stuff that I have been being good about - yahoo.

(I ate a little liver when pregnant with DD tooand she is fine - I actually craved the stuff!!)

Twinkie, tell them you want your brie 'piping hot all the way through' because you are pg and then it will be fine. Sounds yummy. It's for the Sunday Times and when it comes out I will post it here - I think they would be v cross if you got to read it before they published it!

BTW a bit of liver here and there is harmless too. The risk of birth defects is only present in the first three months anyway. I didn't know that at all before I wrote the feature. Not that I like liver at the best of times!

YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY - may veen go and get soem from M&S on way home tonight (DP wants Fajitas and I don;t) and have those - oooohhhh it takes so little to make me happy today!! THANKS OH WISE ONE!!

Aloha, you're gonna cringe at this:
I didn't know I was pregnant for 12 weeks (don't laugh girls, I had VERY erratic period and I had done dozens of pregnancy tests before hand, so I came to the point of giving up), and during that time (including over Christmas) I had:

• Stilton, Brie, Goat's cheese, camembert.
• Pate, Foie Gras.
• Fried eggs. When I found out I was pregnant I broke into tears just thinking about what I'd been eating. Luckily enough I'd gone off alcohol and I'm not a heavy drinker anyway. I never binge drink when not pg. But I still worried myself sick over the glass of sherry I had on Christmas day. The doctor told me not to worry, and the midwife said that as long as I hadn't been sick or ill, I'll be fine and so would the baby. I felt so guilty I've been extra good as soon as I found out. And over paranoid about all the food. As the weeks went by, I feel a bit more confident about what I can and can't eat.

Midwife told me that the reason women were warned off liver was because a baby was born blind after the mum had been eating it 3 times a day!! - anyone who eats liver 3 times a day should be locked up - yuck yuck yuck = apparently it is perfectly fine to eat it occassionally!!!

Midwife did not agree that I could eat well cook camenbert or Brie but I am believing what Aloha says on this one I think - yum yum yum!!

Question for aloha - has your Sunday Times article been published yet?