Eggs in pregnancy: how to eat them to avoid risks
Eggs are a food rich in proteins and should always be included in the diet as they can bring numerous benefits to the body. They can be prepared in a thousand different ways, and are often the basis for numerous sweet and savory preparations. But eggs in Are pregnancy bad? What are the risks to the fetus? Let's dispel some myths, but first there is a video with the foods to watch out for in pregnancy.
Are pregnant eggs bad for you?
As is well known, an egg is composed of yolk and albumen; the first is made up of 53% water, 16% protein and 29% fat, cholesterol, calcium and iron. The egg white, on the other hand, contains 88% of water and only 11% of proteins, useful for the formation of body tissues.
The substantial difference between the first and the second is that the egg white, unlike the yolk, contains very few traces of fat and is mostly unsaturated, therefore without cholesterol; if you are overweight and you love eggs, it is better to prefer egg white during pregnancy, avoiding the yolk.
What is the best way to consume eggs when pregnant? Raw eggs will certainly be excluded, they are harmful and carry concrete risks for the fetus and the continuation of pregnancy in general. Also, eating raw eggs when pregnant can lead to salmonellosis.
Cooked eggs, on the other hand, are absolutely not to be excluded from the diet, they can be safely eaten paying only a little attention, which we will discuss later.
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All the ways to consume eggs in pregnancy
Just take a few small precautions to be able to consume eggs during pregnancy without problems. There are so many recipes in which to use eggs, obviously to fully benefit from the nutritional values of the egg, it will be better to consume it alone in the form of fritatta, hard-boiled egg etc ... Keep in mind that the egg white is more digestible than the yolk above all when well cooked. The yolk instead, it is better to eat it liquid, even if it must always be pasteurized first. Let's see a list of recipes to include in your diet during the 9 months of gestation.
Fried eggs in pregnancy
Fried eggs, also called bull's-eye eggs, are one of the most popular preparations and often found on Italian tables. Their peculiarity is that the egg white is cooked and crunchy, while the yolk remains liquid and can be made into a shoe. This type of preparation is not recommended during pregnancy, precisely because the liquid and therefore raw yolk can be dangerous and In any case, you can decide to cook fried or bull's-eye eggs on both sides so that the yolk also solidifies. A simple trick is to cover the pan with a lid so that through steam, even the yolk is cooked. Pay attention to the calories: the fried egg is as tasty as it is caloric, especially if you overdo it with butter or oil.
Eggs in pregnancy: can hard-boiled eggs be eaten?
Hard-boiled eggs are subjected to very high temperatures to be prepared, so during pregnancy they don't hurt. The cooking method, which involves immersion in boiling water for at least 8/10 minutes, is ideal as it can easily eliminate all bacteria. Egg white and yolk will be well cooked and after removing the shell, the future mother can decide to season them with a pinch of salt and a drop of vinegar, before tasting them. Hard-boiled eggs are also perfect to be inserted in a salad, cut into wedges and accompanied by tomatoes, salad, greenery, rocket or radicchio.
The omelette in pregnancy
The best way to consume eggs during pregnancy in a delicious way is to prepare an omelette, also useful for feeding the typical cravings of gestation, just break a couple of eggs in a bowl, season with a pinch of salt and parmesan, then heat a pan and pour the mixture. Cover with a lid that will also be useful for turning the omelette when it has solidified, so we won't risk breaking it. Inside the omelette you can decide to add vegetables, such as courgettes or spinach, it will be enough to accompany everything with a slice of bread to have a complete dish for lunch or dinner.
Why are eggs in pregnancy harmful?
During pregnancy you must always have a high attention span, especially when it comes to nutrition. As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, the risk of contracting salmonellosis is high, especially if we are consuming raw eggs. Salmonella is caused by bacteria commonly present in the intestines of healthy birds and mammals, which can easily be transmitted to humans causing real intoxication. How to recognize the symptoms? The most common are:
- Nausea
- Abdominal cramps
- Diarrhea with liquid stools and possible presence of blood
- Green colored stools
- Fever (38-39 ° C)
- He retched
- Articolar pains
- Headache
If contracted during pregnancy, salmonella can cause fever, reduced oxygen supply to the placenta and metabolic changes that can impair the development of the fetus. In severe cases, it can lead to miscarriage or premature birth.
Other egg preparations to watch out for
- In soft-boiled eggs the yolk remains liquid and it would be better to avoid them during pregnancy, because as we said, the risk of salmonella is high.
- Scrambled eggs are also not recommended during the 9 months of gestation: they are not completely cooked and often a semi-raw yolk cream is created that is not suitable to be consumed if you are pregnant. Better to make a small omelette and divide it into small pieces.
- The fried egg, on the other hand, has no particular contraindications, except that to prepare it it is necessary to abound with the dose of oil and in some cases it could be not very digestible as well as caloric. In general, eating fried foods is not good, it is better to limit the amount of it. consumption to a couple of times a month.
Pasteurized or freeze-dried eggs: which ones to prefer during pregnancy?
What can we say instead, about freeze-dried or pasteurized eggs? Surely you are wondering if you can eat them when you are pregnant, without being a problem for the health of mother and baby.
Let's start by specifying the difference between the two:
- fresh pasteurized eggs do not cause any problems during pregnancy because they are subjected to high temperatures that eliminate the bacterial load, without affecting the properties of the egg.
- freeze-dried eggs, on the other hand, are also called powdered eggs due to their composition: the liquid of the egg is disintegrated and homogenized and pasteurized. This type of eggs is mainly used in industrial preparations, and being subjected to controls, they should not cause any kind of problem.
Finally, during pregnancy you have to be very careful with farmer's eggs, even if they are very fresh, unlike those from the supermarket they are not subjected to any type of control, so they are much more at risk of salmonella.
Recipes with the perfect eggs during pregnancy
Given that the recommended dose of 4 eggs per week should never be exceeded, there are a whole series of very tasty dishes that involve the use of raw or undercooked eggs. Let's see what they are and how to eat them while pregnant, without running any risks.
- The tiramisu
Typical dessert based on biscuits soaked in coffee and mascarpone cream with eggs. If you have a sweet tooth for tiramisu, you won't have to give it up, just avoid the egg and create a mascarpone cream with sugar only. Some also like to sweeten the coffee before wetting the biscuits, but beware of the glycemic peak! If this alternative version of tiramisu does not convinces you, you can prepare a fresh and summer one based on yogurt and fruit.
- The carbonara
One of the typical dishes of traditional Italian cuisine, carbonara is famous for its yellow cream based on egg yolk, to be served with crispy bacon. It is a dish rich in proteins, fats and carbohydrates, but in pregnancy it is better to avoid it precisely because the egg is not cooked. How to do? You can recreate the cream using some cream cheese and saffron or turmeric. The effect and taste will be guaranteed and you will not regret the classic carbonara that you can go back to eating after giving birth.
- The mayonnaise
Mayonnaise is an ideal sauce to accompany many types of dishes, from meat to fish, including vegetables. Be careful though, because it contains egg and in pregnancy it can be dangerous. If it has been prepared with pasteurized eggs there will be no risk, otherwise it is better to avoid it. We talk about it in this article: mayonnaise in pregnancy.
