Warning!

[matt]

My S/O and I were just watching the eleven oclock news. The FDA has anounced women who are pregnant should avoid fish such as shark and swordfish. It may cause problems. So i felt that I should let my fellow bb'ers know of the situation. For those who are pregnent are nursing. Please spread the word.

[Laura]

Very cool of you to think of all your fellow BB'ers Matt!

[hhcowgirl]

Just bumping this up to the top b/c I think it is so important!

[chiligirl]

This was on 20/20 last night. All women who are trying to get pregnant, are pregnant or young children are supposed to avoid swordfish, shark steaks and tuna (including canned tuna).

[christinew]

Matt...you are the best to tell us! I am ttc presently. I will avoid those you mentioned. Any reason why? I know to avoid lunch meats too...something to do with Lysteria. Please tell me more.

Thanks,
Christine

[ElinorC]

It's the mercury in the fish. Although the tuna has so little that it isn't considered a risk. Mercury can harm the fetus when it is developing brain tissue.

[Gail]

It had to do with high mercury content.

...and guess what we'd just eaten for dinner? Swordfish.

[christinew]

Great article. I went to www.ABCNews.com (http://www.ABCNews.com) and it explained the whole reason to take precautions during fetal development. Salmon looks good ladies. So we can eat salmon until the cows come home if we are ttc.

Thanks,
ckw

[This message has been edited by christinew (edited 01-13-2001).]

[Cbyerman]

Another item to avoid if pregnant or ttc is soft cheese (brie, blue, etc.) because of the danger of listeria contamination...

Caroline

[Jen]

There is a great site at http://www.cspinet.org/ (Center for Science in the Public Interest) which has a listing of foods to avoid when pregnant. It's an interesting site regardless - lots of good nutrition info.

[christinew]

Originally posted by Jen:
There is a great site at http://www.cspinet.org/ (Center for Science in the Public Interest) which has a listing of foods to avoid when pregnant. It's an interesting site regardless - lots of good nutrition info.


Thanks...going to the site now!

[makedah]

Well, I'm not getting any these days, so please pass the swordfish! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[SoCal]

Too funny makedah and I'm sorry!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[This message has been edited by SoCal (edited 03-25-2001).]

[LGBurns]

My sister said that halibut is also safe from mercury contamination. In general, farm-raised fish will not be a problem (like salmon, trout, etc.) I got really scared when she told me because I was telling her how much I like the Malaysian Lime Coconut Swordfish and she just blurted out "you need to be careful of mercury!" Although I am not ttc right now she said mercury stays in your system so if you think you may want to have kids anytime in the future you should be careful too! Mercury is nothing to fool around with.

[Don]

While we're on the topic of fish and potential food poisoning, CDC announced that a number of botulism cases have been linked to tuna burgers. I can't say that I have ever seen a tuna burger, but they are apparently gaining popularity in some regions of the country. CDC said that the grinding process to make a burger raises the temperature of the tuna to an unsafe level that can result in contamination. So, you might want to think twice before eating a tuna burger.

[junietoo]

Mercury contamination is a world-wide problem due, primarily, to emissions from coal-burning power plants. Recently, EPA published a rule seeking to control these emissions. You can get more information from the EPA's mercury web site:
http://www.epa.gov/mercury/index.html


[This message has been edited by junietoo (edited 03-26-2001).]

[kwormann]

DO you REALLY have to avoid canned tuna????it is a staple lunch for me...so high in protein!

[MrsReber]

When I had my first visit to the doctor after finding out I was pregnant, I asked about canned tuna. I do not like fish at all, but will actually eat tuna salad if I make it myself. I will NOT eat it out. And one can will last me for three days. Anyway, I was told that the mercury risk is not so high, provided you don't eat it all the time. Apparently the bigger risk with canned tuna is all the salt that they put in it. Not that pregnant women have to avoid salt entirely, but salt intake should be watched carefully to avoid toxemia. Also, who wants to feel bloated when you alreday feel huge??