How can pregnant women eat steak

You should also wash and dry your hands after handling any raw meat to avoid spreading the microorganisms yourself. Otherwise, you can be at risk of contracting Salmonella, E. All of these can put your pregnancy at a serious risk. King mackerel, bigeye tuna, swordfish, tilefish, marlin, and shark should all be on the avoid list, along with uncooked shellfish like clams and oysters. Another thing you should be careful with is precooked meats. Foods such as hot dogs, cold cuts, lunch meat, premade sandwiches, and meat spreads can all contain Listeria.

For things like meat spreads, pate, and fruit juice, check the label to ensure that they are pasteurized to reduce the risks of infection. You should also not eat undercooked or raw sprouts, such as mung beans, alfalfa, radish, or clover, as they can also contain Salmonella and E.

Make sure to cook them thoroughly first, and they should be safe. At least medium, though medium-well is safer. You need to be sure there are no traces of pinkness or blood left in the meat.

Do all you can to reduce your chances of contracting an infection from harmful bacteria and parasites that can be present in the meat.

Be sure to wash everything thoroughly, including your hands, and cook your food to the minimum safe temperature. Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator, in cold water changing the water every 30 minutes to keep it cold or in the microwave right before cooking. Prevent cross-contamination by keeping raw foods separate from ready-to-eat foods.

Use two cuttings boards: one strictly for raw meat, poultry and seafood; the other for ready-to-eat foods such as breads and vegetables. Wash cutting boards thoroughly in hot, soapy water after each use or place in dishwasher. Discard old cutting boards that have cracks, crevices and knife scars. Proper cooking temperatures kill harmful bacteria present in food. Always use a food thermometer to check the doneness of meat, poultry, seafood and other dishes.

Some ready-to-eat foods require reheating before use. These foods include hot dogs, luncheon and deli meats and fermented and dry sausages.

Always make sure to bring these foods to the proper internal temperature before eating. Use the following guide when cooking food, to make sure items reach their safe internal temperatures:. Listeria can be treated with antibiotics and the sooner the better. Avoid swordfish, shark, tilefish, marlin, orange roughy, big eye tuna and king mackerel, which are all higher in mercury. While you're cutting out fish high in mercury, cut out raw shellfish like oysters and clams as well. Stay away from raw or undercooked sprouts, like alfalfa, clover, mung bean and radish.

They may contain E. If you get an itch to bake, go for it, but licking raw cake or cookie dough off the spoon is off limits as they may contain salmonella. Hot dogs, lunch meats and unpasteurized dairy foods are also prone to listeria. Make sure juices and ciders are pasteurized, too. If your juice is unpasteurized, bring it to a rolling boil and boil it for at least one minute before drinking. Some food may be off limits, but you should dig into others. Whole grains, such as whole grain bread or pasta or brown rice, are all full of folic acid, iron and fiber, all good for you and the baby.

Beans, beans, beans. Add any type of beans to your dishes for additional protein, fiber, iron, folate, calcium and zinc.