What foods should pregnant women avoid?

For new mothers, a good diet is very important, because they have to breastfeed their babies, so they should eat more high-calorie foods, but they also need to understand some precautions. Try not to eat too sour or salty foods, don't eat too greasy food, and don't eat spicy and irritating foods. Also, try to eat more green foods and don't eat foods containing additives.

What foods should pregnant women avoid?

1. Avoid sour and salty foods

Acidic and salty foods tend to cause water accumulation, which affects the body's water excretion. In addition, the sodium ions in salty foods tend to increase the thickness of the blood, which affects metabolism and slows blood circulation.

It is best for new mothers to avoid sour and salty foods during the confinement period. Some new mothers drink vinegar to lose weight quickly. In fact, this is not a good idea. Because all parts of the new mother's body are relatively weak and need a recovery process, they are extremely vulnerable to damage during this period. Acidic foods will damage the teeth and leave the new mother with toothache in the future.

Vinegar contains about 3% to 4% acetic acid. If it is consumed only as a condiment, the time it comes into contact with teeth is very short and it will not cause any adverse effects in the body. It can also promote appetite. Therefore, there is no need to avoid consuming vinegar as a condiment. Overly salty foods can cause milk to dry up. Today, when breastfeeding is encouraged, new mothers should prefer lighter flavors.

2. Avoid eating barley and its products

Barley and its products, such as barley malt, malt extract, maltose and other foods have the effect of weaning, so new mothers who are still breastfeeding after giving birth should avoid eating them.

3. Avoid spicy and hot foods

After childbirth, new mothers lose a lot of blood and sweat, and more interstitial fluid enters the blood circulation, so the body's yin fluid is obviously insufficient. Spicy and hot foods will damage the body fluid and cause new mothers to get angry, get sores in the mouth, have constipation or hemorrhoids, and will aggravate the baby's internal heat through breast milk. Therefore, new mothers should avoid eating leeks, onions, garlic, chili peppers, pepper, cumin, wine, etc.

4. Avoid eating too much MSG

In order to prevent the baby from suffering from zinc deficiency, new mothers should avoid eating too much MSG. Generally speaking, it is beneficial and harmless for adults to eat MSG, but it is not good for infants, especially those under 12 weeks old, if their mothers who are breastfeeding consume too much MSG while taking a high-protein diet. Because the sodium glutamate in MSG will enter the baby's body through breast milk. Excessive sodium glutamate has a serious impact on the development of infants, especially those under 12 weeks old. It can specifically combine with zinc in the infant's blood to produce glutamate that cannot be absorbed by the body, while the zinc is excreted in the urine, thus leading to zinc deficiency in the infant. In this way, the infant is not only prone to poor taste and anorexia, but also may suffer from adverse consequences such as intellectual impairment, growth retardation, etc.

5. Avoid eating too many eggs

Medical research shows that it is best not to eat eggs within a few hours after delivery. Because during the delivery process, new mothers consume a lot of physical energy, sweat a lot, lack body fluids, and their digestive ability also decreases. If you eat eggs immediately after giving birth, they will be difficult to digest and will increase the burden on your gastrointestinal tract. Within a few hours after delivery, it is advisable to eat a semi-liquid or liquid diet. During the entire postpartum period, according to the national nutritional standards for pregnant women and new mothers, about 100 grams of protein are needed every day. Therefore, eating 3 to 4 eggs a day is enough. Excessive consumption of eggs will increase the burden on the stomach and intestines, and may even cause stomach problems.

6. Avoid eating too much brown sugar

Brown sugar is rich in nutrients, releases energy quickly, has a high nutrient absorption rate, and has a warming and tonic nature. After giving birth, a new mother loses some blood and becomes weak, so she needs to quickly replenish a large amount of trace elements and protein such as iron, calcium, manganese, zinc, etc. Brown sugar also contains the ingredient "Motherwort", which can promote uterine contraction, expel postpartum blood congestion in the uterine cavity, and promote early recovery of the uterus.