5 Foods you should avoid at Christmas Parties if you’re Pregnant

The weather is getting colder and holiday lights are beginning to sparkle all around us. Christmas is one of the greatest festivals of the year! It is a period of gift-giving, lights, singing, and cheer. For a few, it is the main time during the year that more distant families and friends spend time with each other, and with such reunions between family and friends obviously comes … the Christmas Day Feast! However, pregnant women need to be extra careful around food at Christmas to ensure they protect themselves and their little ones but do not worry, there’s no need to feel like you’re missing out as there are plenty of treats you can still enjoy.

1. Under-cooked Meats and Raw Eggs: Most people are aware that an under-cooked turkey poses a significant risk to everybody, particularly to pregnant women, but other meats that are not cooked appropriately can be unsafe too. Consuming raw eggs builds your risks for food borne diseases, mainly salmonella, which could be destructive to your little one. Pull your host aside and check on puddings as few of the dishes are made of raw or partly cooked eggs, such as homemade mousse, cheesecake and meringues, as these may increase your risk of salmonella.
2. Eggnog:  It is a drink consisting of rum, brandy, or other alcohol mixed with beaten egg, milk, and sugar. Choose non-alcoholic, store bought eggnog’s that have been pasteurized in order to be safe, or, substitute a soy version of this popular holiday beverage.
3. Cheese Balls:  If you are a cheese lover, then stick to cheese dishes that only use hard, pasteurized cheese such as cheddar. Delicate cheeses, for example, feta, blue cheddar, brie and Camembert are frequently unpasteurized and convey a danger of listeria.
4. Seafood: Be aware that smoked seafood is yet another potential source of listeria. Avoid Shellfish, including oysters, prawns and mussels as they can cause food poisoning, unless served piping hot. In case, you are enticed by a fish starter, approach your host for a peek at the dish’s bundling. You will need to maintain a distance from any things marked as lox, jerky, nova style or kippered. Here is some uplifting news: You can enjoy snacking on cooked dishes containing smoked seafood, are they are most likely safe to eat, since the heat will kill off any harmful bacteria.
5. Christmas cake: Fruitcake and different sweets that use alcohol are usually fine because the majority of the liquor consumes off during the cooking procedure. In any case, if the fruitcake has been soaked in liquor after it has been cooked, you should stay away from it since alcohol has been shown to both cause delivery complications as well as increase the chance of birth defects and developmental delays.

Enjoy your Christmas Party by choosing the right food. Eat Healthy and Merry Christmas!!