Pregnancy comes with a lot of confusing dos and don?ts?especially when it comes to food. Suddenly, you?re anxiously reading labels and googling ingredients at the grocery store and at restaurants. Does this fish contain too much mercury" How much coffee can I have?or should I just switch to decaf" Is all pasteurized cheese safe" While some pregnancy food rules are cut and dry, others aren?t, and all this advice?and sometimes-conflicting information?can really depend on who you ask.
Recently, medical experts have noticed that some pregnant women have become overcautious when it comes to fish, steering clear of one of the foods they might need the most. Expectant mothers have long been cautioned about fetal exposure to mercury in fish. But after a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analysis of 1,000 pregnant women showed that 21 percent had not eaten fish at all in the previous month, the FDA released a draft of updated guidelines in June to encourage women who are trying to conceive, are pregnant or are breastfeeding to eat more fish?between eight and 12 ounces (226 to 340 grams) per week. (That?s about two to three servings.) Health Canada simply recommends all women who could become pregnant, are pregnant or are breastfeeding consume a minimum of 150 grams, or two servings, of cooked fish per week. While methylmercury (the form present in fish) is toxic to the central nervous system of the fetus, fish low in mercury are perfectly safe to eat during pregn...