Can pregnant women eat seafood? Will eating seafood during pregnancy have any effect on the baby?

Seafood is a very common food in life. It contains rich nutrients needed by the human body. Eating seafood properly can bring many benefits to health, but there are also many things to pay attention to when eating seafood. So can pregnant women eat seafood? Will eating seafood during pregnancy have any effect on the baby? Pregnant women can eat seafood, but they should eat less. Let's go to the Knowledge Center to learn more about the relevant knowledge about eating seafood during pregnancy.

1. Can pregnant women eat seafood?

Seafood is high in protein, rich in calcium and zinc, which is good for both the baby and the mother. Don't eat too much at one time, especially if you have allergies.

Crabs, especially crab legs, can cause miscarriage. Be careful; soft-shelled turtles are usually a good tonic, but pregnant mothers should not eat them, especially the most delicious and nutritious skirts, which can cause miscarriage like crabs. Kelp and seaweed can often be made into soups for her to supplement trace elements.

Eating seafood can increase the iodine content. Avoid being picky about food: Some pregnant women are partial to chicken, duck, fish and high-end nutritional supplements, some only eat meat and not vegetables, and some do not eat offal. For pregnant women, eating seafood can sometimes supplement the nutrients needed by the human body.

2. Precautions for pregnant women to eat seafood

Seafood can sometimes cause diarrhea in the human body. There are three main types of diarrhea: Experts in dietetic knowledge believe that seafood has two characteristics: high protein and cold. Many of its characteristics are caused by these two characteristics. Diarrhea caused by seafood usually includes three types: the first type is caused by viral and bacterial infections, the second type is caused by indigestion, and the third type is caused by allergies.

To eat healthily, you must understand whether pregnant women can eat seafood. First, there are many bacteria living in the shells of shrimp and crabs. If they are not processed adequately, it is easy to cause bacterial infection and cause diarrhea. Secondly, seafood has a high protein content and is easy to deteriorate. If it is not fresh, the protein will decompose and produce toxins. After eating, it is easy to cause food poisoning and diarrhea. Thirdly, because seafood itself is cold in nature, people with weak spleen and stomach are prone to indigestion and diarrhea after eating too much seafood. Fourthly, some abdominal pain and diarrhea are manifestations of digestive tract allergies. When allergic, not only will the skin develop rashes, but the digestive tract will also react, and symptoms such as exudation and inflammation will appear.

Some people who have a bad stomach, weak spleen and stomach, or cold constitution should eat less to avoid excessive coldness and digestive problems. Or they can eat more hot foods to correct the imbalance and balance the body.

3. Precautions for eating seafood

1. Eating seafood and fruit together will cause abdominal pain

Seafood such as fish, shrimp, and crab are rich in nutrients such as protein and calcium (calcium foods). Fruits contain more tannic acid. If you eat fruit right after eating seafood, it will not only affect the body's absorption of protein, but the calcium in seafood will also combine with the tannic acid in fruits to form insoluble calcium, which will irritate the gastrointestinal tract and even cause abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms. It is best to wait for more than 2 hours before eating.

2. Drinking tea after eating seafood will cause kidney stones

The reason why you shouldn't drink tea after eating seafood is similar to the reason why you shouldn't eat fruit. Tea also contains tannic acid, which can also form insoluble calcium with the calcium in seafood. Eating seafood before or after eating seafood will increase the chance of calcium and tannic acid combining. Therefore, it is best not to drink tea when eating seafood. Similarly, it is best to leave an interval of more than 2 hours.

3. Undercooked seafood contains bacteria

The pathogens in seafood are mainly Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which are heat-resistant and can only be killed at temperatures above 80°C. In addition to the bacteria brought in by the water, seafood may also contain parasite eggs and bacteria and virus contamination brought by processing. Generally speaking, boiling in boiling water for 4-5 minutes is considered to be completely sterilized. Therefore, you must be cautious when eating seafood that is not heated or cooked, such as "drunk crabs", "raw sea urchins", "soy sauce (oil food) marinated seafood", etc., and when eating sashimi, you must ensure that the fish is fresh and hygienic.

4. Don’t eat fresh frozen shrimps by boiling them.

Any seafood can only be cooked in steamed or blanched dishes when it is highly fresh. Unlike meat, aquatic seafood carries a lot of cold-resistant bacteria in their bodies, and the protein decomposes very quickly. If it is kept in the refrigerator for a long time, the bacteria content of the shrimp will increase, the protein will be partially denatured, and amine substances will be produced. No matter what, it will not have the taste, flavor and safety of live shrimp, and of course it is not suitable for blanching. However, fresh shrimp can be stir-fried or fried at high temperature, and it will also be delicious.

5. Eating seafood and vitamin C together can cause poisoning

Many seafood products, such as shrimp, crab, clam, oyster, etc., contain the chemical element arsenic. Generally, the content is very small, but the increasingly serious environmental pollution may cause the arsenic content in these animals to reach a higher level. The arsenic contained in shrimp is pentavalent, and generally, pentavalent arsenic is harmless to the human body. Theoretically, high doses of vitamin C (one-time intake of vitamin C (vitamin food) exceeds 500 mg) and pentavalent arsenic will be transformed into toxic trivalent arsenic (that is, what we often call "arsenic") through complex chemical reactions. When trivalent arsenic reaches a certain dose, it can cause human poisoning.

According to professionals, a large dose of vitamin C can be taken in by eating 50 medium-sized apples (apple food) or 30 pears or 10 oranges or more than 3 kilograms of raw green leafy vegetables (vegetable food) at one time. The vitamin C content of food will be greatly reduced after being heated or cooked. Therefore, it is not dangerous to eat fruits or green vegetables while eating seafood as long as the amount does not exceed the above. Metal elements are easily deposited on the head of seafood, so try not to eat shrimp heads or fish heads.

6. Packaged seafood should be refrigerated

If the seafood has been thoroughly cooked at high temperature, then just put it in the refrigerator immediately and heat it up before the next meal. If the seafood has not been fully heated but is dead, then put it in the refrigerator, thaw it before the next meal, and then heat it up and cook it thoroughly. Don't be greedy for the taste of freshness. Since the protein in seafood is delicate and decomposes quickly, it should be eaten within one day after taking it home and should not be stored for a long time.

7. Dead shellfish contain many pathogenic bacteria and toxins

Shellfish carry a high amount of bacteria and their protein decomposes very quickly. Once they die, they will multiply bacteria and produce toxins. At the same time, the unsaturated fatty acids contained in them are also easily oxidized and rancid. Stale shellfish will also produce more amines and free radicals, posing a threat to human health (healthy food). After purchasing live shellfish, they should not be stored at home for too long and should be cooked as soon as possible. People with allergies should be especially careful, because sometimes allergic reactions are not caused by the seafood itself, but by substances in the decomposition process of seafood protein (protein food).

8. Eating seafood and beer together can cause gout

It is best not to drink beer when eating seafood. Shrimp, crab and other seafood will form uric acid after being metabolized by the human body, and excessive uric acid can cause gout, kidney stones and other diseases. If you drink beer while eating a lot of seafood, it will accelerate the formation of uric acid in the body. Therefore, when eating a lot of seafood, don't drink beer, otherwise it will have an adverse effect on the body.