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Meat Safety, Pregnancy, & Science

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    Meat Safety, Pregnancy, & Science

    My lady is expecting (very exciting!) and is looking for reliable and ideally, current info, specific to pregnancy and nitrites, nitrates, and listeria. She is a bit bewildered and overwhelmed by the amount of information online, and particularly the vagueness and conflicting nature of what’s out there. She loves her some Q, and just wants to know, definitely, what she can have safely, vs what she must absolutely pass up. Thanks y’all!!

    #2
    I'm not a doctor, but she should run this by hers. He/she will have the most information about her and the baby and probably the best nutrition advice. I am, however, a retired paramedic so I'm almost a doctor.

    Comment


    • Randy-Phx
      Randy-Phx commented
      Editing a comment
      And you did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. 😀

    • ComfortablyNumb
      ComfortablyNumb commented
      Editing a comment
      I am a doctor. I completed my training at the Helen Keller School of Gynecology. I later hired on with UPS and have made literally thousands of deliveries. However, when it comes to nutrition, I recommend a seafood diet....see food and eat it.

      I doubt that is much help to the OP.

    #3
    I sense this is a first pregnancy...she'll get over it with the second

    Comment


    • klflowers
      klflowers commented
      Editing a comment
      Yep

    • CaptainMike
      CaptainMike commented
      Editing a comment
      Hahaha, and the third one will raise itself!

    #4
    What I encouraged my wife to do was stay away from anything that we 'wondered about'...for instance nitrites. Better safe than sorry. Could be harmless in normal small amounts, likely is, but what if they discover it's bad for the fetus 30 yrs after the fact... Anyway, I forwarded this on to see if there's reliable sources beyond just Google and the hordes of Internet experts it digs up.

    Comment


      #5
      Whoooaaaa boy. In all seriousness, there really isnt a good source of info on this. There is a dearth of peer reviewed, controlled literature on the subject of maternal consumption of nitrites, nitrates, or nitrosamines. I just did a quick search of PubMed for nitrite/maternal/pregnancy/cured and it came back with less than 50 articles...and thats going back to 1981!

      Now thats just saying not much research has been done on nitrite etc consumption. Although those are basically synonymous with cured or certain prepared foods which brings us too...

      Things like listeria and toxoplasma gondii are much real threats and much more common in cured/deli meats/pates etc. You can search https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ which is a freely available library of peer reviewed research. Again, that doesnt mean its gospel but its def better than most of the blogs you will read.

      Here, for example is a review of literature of listeriosis in pregnancy: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3593057/

      Also as a disclaimer, i am not a medical doctor. I am an immunologist. In a nut shell, dont believe most of what you read. Use common sense. Just for example, if she is reading "what to expect when youre..." she should know it was written by a woman, her sister, and her mother...all of whom have zero medical or OBGYN training. Go figure.
      Last edited by grantgallagher; April 3, 2019, 03:56 PM.

      Comment


        #6
        I am glad my kids were born before the internet took over.

        Comment


        • Mr. Bones
          Mr. Bones commented
          Editing a comment
          +1, Amen Brother!

        • Troutman
          Troutman commented
          Editing a comment
          Yea my kids ate dirt and they’re alright. Bacon rules !!!

          Oh yea and save the whales from climate change

        • EdF
          EdF commented
          Editing a comment
          Eating dirt as a kid is good for you - it's a natural form of inoculation. I attribute my generally speedy recovery from illnesses to it! Well, except this last time, which wasn't very speedy. But then, it was a new strain of flu.

        #7
        Originally posted by Troutman View Post
        I sense this is a first pregnancy...she'll get over it with the second
        It’s our second. The first she adopted a "better safe than sorry" approach. This time, she wants to actually know facts. Which is why I thought I would ask here... Meathead has an excellent (like, ridiculously good), thorough, and very well researched piece on nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines. And there’s other decent (but not as good) stuff out there in that vein. But nothing really on pregnancy.

        Comment


          #8
          Great question! We just went through this and have some tips!

          First, get a good thermometer to make sure the food you’re cooking is safe (e.g. chicken at 165).

          They say to avoid deli meat, but they haven’t had a listeria recall in a long, long time. You CAN eat deli meat, but you "should" heat it up first in the microwave or on the stove top (I guess to be extra safe).

          Now, what’s more concerning are the listeria recalls in sprouts and hummus in recent years. Meathead has a great article on the dangers of sprouts (just search for it).

          Make sure you’re eating pasteurized milk, yogurt, and cheese. Most soft cheeses are a no-go anywhich way you get it (like blue cheese). Trader Joe’s has a goat cheese that’s pasteurized!

          Pastuerized mayo is ok. But, you’ll have to avoid Caesar salad dressing since it’s made with raw eggs.

          Speaking of raw eggs, no cookie dough... although, you COULD make and eat raw cookie if the eggs have been pasteurized AND using a high-temp flour. There is a cookie dough joint in NYC called "Do" that does just that! We went there, and it was good!

          Speaking of flour, I think I just decided to only buy family/employee owned flour (like King Arthur) and not the investor-owned stuff b/c too often you hear about recalls (probably b/c someone was cutting corners to make an extra buck). I hear far, far less recalls on King Arthur flour (since they are employee owned).

          Certain types of fish have a higher mercury content (bottom feeder fish). Just be careful with the amount of fish you eat.

          No raw meat, and no sushi (unless it’s cooked sushi or a vegetable sushi).

          Unsure about nitrates or nitrites. I guess to be safe, just avoid it for a few months.

          Hope this helps!

          Comment


          #9
          grantgallagher is spot on. The literature is incomplete and minimal. We will probably never know the "fact" you're seeking regarding nitrates, etc. That is why internet grass fires are bad for everyone.

          You're more likely to get listeria from uncooked foods, especially veggies. If you have a cat, you should be the one to clean the litter box, if that is not your job already.

          Tell her to discuss it with her doctor. Then, let common sense rule.

          Congrats to the both of you.

          Comment


            #10
            All I have left is thank goodness I don't have any kids. That I know of

            Comment


              #11
              If you have a SV you can pasteurize eggs in their shell yourself and if you do it low enough (takes a while), they cook up as normal.
              Last edited by Polarbear777; April 4, 2019, 05:10 AM. Reason: You can buy pasteurized eggs also but can be hard to find

              Comment


                #12
                Hahahaha, I wouldn't touch this one with a ten foot pole. Talk to your doctor or avoid them all together.

                Comment


                  #13
                  Thanks everyone, I do appreciate all of your thoughtful replies. Please keep them coming!

                  A few people have suggested talking to her doctor - which we have certainly done. The doctor is pretty fantastic, and ridiculously smart. She said What many here have echoed as well:

                  1) The most important thing is to use common sense.

                  2) There’s not a ton of well defined and generally accepted science. "they’ll tell you" to avoid anything unpasteurized, and "they’ll tell you" to avoid deli meat. "They’ll tell you" to avoid sushi/sashimi too.

                  Note that her use of "they’ll tell you," was very deliberate. She went as far as to point out that, where we live there is an abundance of good quality fish, and very strict health regulation - and therefore she couldn’t think of a good scientific reason to not eat sushi, as long as we are careful to only use reputable sources.

                  Comment


                  • CaptainMike
                    CaptainMike commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Seems like good advice. You are both very aware and conscientious and trying to make informed decisions, a kid can't ask for more than that. Until they start asking to borrow the car. One thing I know for sure is to never eat yellow snow.

                  • MonsterDuckMadness
                    MonsterDuckMadness commented
                    Editing a comment
                    Thank you Captain Mike, for your kind words. I appreciate them.

                  #14
                  Originally posted by MonsterDuckMadness View Post

                  Note that her use of "they’ll tell you," was very deliberate. She went as far as to point out that, where we live there is an abundance of good quality fish, and very strict health regulation - and therefore she couldn’t think of a good scientific reason to not eat sushi, as long as we are careful to only use reputable sources.
                  Where do you live? I want to live there, lol. Sushi in jersey ranges from high end extremely expensive to could possibly be from the local river, lol.

                  Comment


                    #15
                    Originally posted by Polarbear777 View Post
                    If you have a SV you can pasteurize eggs in their shell yourself and if you do it low enough (takes a while), they cook up as normal.
                    My apologies. I am lost a little here. I do have a SV. How do you mean "they cook up as normal?"

                    Comment


                    • Polarbear777
                      Polarbear777 commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Sous vide then at a low temperature to pasteurize, then ice bath then fridge until you use them as you would any other raw egg.

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