Tuesday, April 6, 2021

When I first found out I was pregnant, I immediately started researching the best nutritional approach for me and my baby. I have always eaten healthy. However, being responsible for another life takes your relationship with food to a whole other level. Hopefully, most women that realize this, also realize how important it is to keep it up. If you can care so much for another life, then why cant you care for yourself just as well?

My husband and I went to my first doctors appointment at 9 weeks in my pregnancy. My doctor started going over things with me about the pregnancy in general. He pretty much said there were no food restrictions, except things like Shark, Grouper, Swordfish, Tilefish and King Makeral. I was surprised when he did not mention tuna. The foods he listed were all foods I either did not eat, or had decided to cut out of my diet a few years ago, when I started thinking about the fact that I wanted a family someday. Women of childbearing ages should especially be aware of mercury in fish, and eat them in moderation. Studies have shown that when you consume a lot of mercury it gets stored in your bones, and will come out once you are pregnant! There are many health benefits to eating fish. So avoiding it all together is not always necesarry. The answer is to be a smart consumer, and educate yourself!

Here is a guideline from AmericanPregnany.org:

Highest Mercury

AVOID Eating

Grouper

Marlin

Orange roughy

Tilefish

Swordfish

Shark

Mackerel (king)

High Mercury

Eat no more than three 6-oz servings per month

Bass saltwater

Croaker

Halibut

Tuna (canned, white albacore) See tuna chart below

Tuna (fresh bluefin, ahi)

Sea trout

Bluefish

Lobster (American/Maine)

LOWER MERCURY

Eat no more than six 6-oz servings per month

Carp

Mahi Mahi

Crab (dungeness)

Snapper

Crab (blue)

Herring

Crab (snow)

Monkfish

Perch (freshwater)

Skate

Cod

Tuna (canned, chunk light)

Tuna (fresh Pacific albacore)

LOWEST MERCURY

Enjoy two 6-oz servings per week

Anchovies

Butterfish

Calamari (squid)

Caviar (farmed)

Crab (king)

Pollock

Catfish

Whitefish

Perch (ocean)

Scallops

Flounder

Haddock

Hake

Herring

Lobster (spiny/rock)

Shad

Sole

Crawfish/crayfish

Salmon

Shrimp

Clams

Tilapia

Oysters

Sardines

Sturgeon (farmed)

Trout (freshwater)

Chart obtained from the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC); data obtained by the FDA and the EPA.

Tuna mercury levels can be different based on the type of tuna and where it was caught. The NRDC created the chart as a guideline to how much tuna can be eaten by children, pregnant women or women wanting to conceive, based on their weight. See it here.

Always check with your personal health care provider when choosing the best nutrition for your individual pregnancy!

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Here is a pregnancy-friendly tuna fish recipe I enjoyed during my healthy pregnancy! According to the chart above, "chunk light" tuna is low on the mercury list. A fat reducing review can help you establish a clear describe of what you require to focus on to carry out your fat reduction objective if you're a novice; or serve as a reminder for these who are at an intermediate or more enhance phase of their weight-loss plan. Following are seven steps that can serve as tips for your own weight loss program. The first thing that one must understand is that losing weight and losing fat is not a similar thing. Many weight loss courses have misled people into thinking that it is the same, but most diets and weight loss applications only work by producing a person's body to burn more muscle flesh and water than actual body fat, more help please visit The Fat Loss Factor. This is the type I have been sticking with. Avoiding the "high" mercury fish all together!

Healthy Tuna Fish Salad

1 can chunk light tuna

Veganaise (I eyeball it, I dont like too muchalmost dry)

1 T lemon juice

1 stalk diced celery

1 T fresh parsley, chopped

1 handful diced red pepper

1 handful shredded carrots

sea salt & black pepper, to taste

pinch of turmeric

Mix it all together and enjoy!

I added mine to a brown rice wrap with some organic mixed greens

Laury Raiken is a Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist who write a Healthy Living Blog called The Fitness Dish


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