Can pregnant women eat steamed fish soy sauce?

A woman's diet after pregnancy should be different from before. Although she cannot eat a lot of meat and fish, she should also pay attention to nutritional balance and pay attention to what she can eat and what she cannot eat. Steamed fish soy sauce is a condiment, so can pregnant women eat steamed fish soy sauce? Many pregnant women are worried that soy sauce will make the skin of the fetus darker, so they refuse to eat any sauce. In fact, this has no scientific basis. Pregnant women can also eat steamed fish with soy sauce.

Will soy sauce make baby's skin darker?

Let’s first take a look at how soy sauce is made. There are usually two types of soy sauce: original soy sauce and colored soy sauce. Original soy sauce is made from raw materials through processing and fermentation, and the soy sauce itself has natural pigments. Colored soy sauce is made by heating maltose after the soy sauce is made and boiling it into dark brown caramel to adjust the color of the soy sauce. No matter which method is used to make the soy sauce, its pigment will not be absorbed into the blood, let alone enter the fetus through the placenta, and of course it will not cause the fetus's skin to darken.

Not only will soy sauce not make your baby's skin darker, it also contains certain nutrients. The raw materials of soy sauce are soybeans, flour and salt. After fermentation, the content of B vitamins is increased and a large amount of amino acids are produced. While providing salty taste, it can also provide the human body with nutrients such as amino acids, potassium, magnesium, calcium, vitamins B1, B2 and folic acid. Therefore, pregnant mothers can use soy sauce to season the dishes appropriately to increase the color of the dishes and adjust the taste.

Moreover, from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, soy sauce is cold and salty in nature, and has the effects of removing heat and detoxifying. Therefore, pregnant women do not have to avoid soy sauce. However, considering factors such as hygiene indicators, it is better for pregnant women to eat original, pure brewed soy sauce.

How to choose soy sauce

There are more than a dozen varieties of soy sauce now, including light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, mushroom soy sauce, soybean soy sauce... They have different uses, different grades, and different craftsmanship. It is dizzying to see them all and I don’t know how to choose.

Pregnant mothers are best to eat original brewed soy sauce. To know whether it is original brewed soy sauce, the method is very simple, just look at the label carefully. The state stipulates that brewing products must be labeled. As long as the label has words such as "traditional craft", "brewed product", "carefully brewed", "purely brewed", etc., it is brewed soy sauce. If the label says "6-month brewed soy sauce", it means the fermentation time is longer and the flavor is naturally richer.

If you look through the label and don't see these words, then needless to say, it is definitely not a pure brewed product. Most of it is colored soy sauce, which means that a chemical hydrolysis process is used, or it is simply blended. This type of soy sauce takes a short time to make and has low cost, but it is of poor quality, has low nutritional value, and may contain trace amounts of the toxic substance "chloropropane". Pregnant mothers must look carefully when choosing. It is best to buy special grade or first grade products marked as "selected" or "high quality", which have a richer taste and flavor.

Which is better, light soy sauce or dark soy sauce?

Nowadays, soy sauce is divided into very detailed categories. In addition to the most basic light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, there are also straw mushroom soy sauce, steamed fish soy sauce, braised sauce, cold salad sauce, etc. It is recommended that pregnant mothers purchase different products according to their specific cooking needs.

Generally speaking, light soy sauce is slightly lighter in color, clearer in texture, and has less coloring power. Usually little or no caramel coloring is added to the product. Suitable for stir-frying or dipping; dark soy sauce has a dark color, thick texture, strong coloring power, and generally contains more caramel color; suitable for stewing or braising. Other soy sauces should be purchased according to your needs. Pregnant mothers should eat more fish. Steam the fish and then pour steamed fish soy sauce on it. The fish will be more delicious than ordinary soy sauce. Cold dishes can be directly poured with cold dressing. The cold dressing seasoned with vinegar and sugar tastes more delicious than the one you make yourself. However, you must remember when using them that there is no need to add MSG or chicken essence after using them.

When pregnant mothers are considering what kind of soy sauce to choose, they can also pay attention to the amino acid nitrogen content on the label. Amino acid nitrogen is an indicator of the umami flavor of soy sauce. Generally speaking, the higher the amino acid nitrogen index, the tastier it is. For example, if there are two products, one has an amino acid nitrogen content of 0.6% and the other has 0.8%, then the latter is definitely more delicious. However, you should also carefully look at the ingredient list and amino acid nitrogen content on the food label. If the amino acid nitrogen content is still below 0.6% after adding "monosodium glutamate" (MSG), it means that the amino acid nitrogen produced by fermentation is very little and the product is not of high quality.