Why can’t I eat soft cheeses during pregnancy? Soft cheeses can include listeria bacteria that cause an infection called listeriosis. To avoid this risk, pregnant women are advised not to eat any mould-ripened soft cheese such as brie, camembert, mould-ripened soft cheese made with goats’ milk, and others with a similar skin.
Soft cheeses like this are less acidic than hard cheeses and they consist of more wetness. This suggests they can be a perfect environment for hazardous bacteria, such as listeria, to grow in.
What Types of Cheeses to Avoid During Pregnancy?
You need to also prevent eating soft blue-veined cheeses, consisting of:
- danish blue
- gorgonzola
- roquefort.
Nearly all cheese sold in the United States– consisting of soft cheese– is made with pasteurized milk and is therefore thought about safe to eat.
But some cheese made from raw (unpasteurized) milk can show up on shop shelves and at farmer’s markets, so it’s best to check the label prior to eating any. It’s not safe to eat or drink anything made with raw milk during pregnancy.
Raw milk and the food made from it can carry disease-causing organisms, consisting of a bacterium called Listeria monocytogenes. (Dairy products made from pasteurized milk, on the other hand, typically have a very low risk of contamination.)
Listeriosis, the infection caused by this bacteria, is relatively rare. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that it impacts 1,700 people in the United States each year. But pregnant women are especially vulnerable, and the infection can be ravaging as well as lethal for coming children.
Listeriosis infection is typically caused by eating food contaminated with listeria bacteria. Pregnant women are more at risk of getting listeriosis since of hormone changes during pregnancy that damage the body immune system (the body’s natural defence against infection).
Although infection with listeria is unusual, it’s essential to take unique care during pregnancy. Even a mild form of the illness in a pregnant woman can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or severe health problem in a newborn baby.
The CDC, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) all advise that pregnant women not eat foods made with unpasteurized milk. Raw milk soft cheeses are discussed particularly due to the fact that they’ve been connected to cases of listeriosis.
Cheeses You Can Eat
While you’re pregnant, it’s safe to eat hard cheeses, in addition to other types of cheese. Hard cheeses do not consist of as much water as soft cheeses, so bacteria are less most likely to grow in them.
Good luck! Have a nice weekend.
