Care During Pregnancy

Research  have shown that eating fish such as salmon during pregnancy gives the body omega-3, fatty acids which contributes to the bran development and healthy vision of your baby and helps to stop premature delivery. Just like omega -3, salmon is a great source of selenium; protein and vitamin D. Choose an untamed pacific salmon instead of a Farmed salmon which contains high harmful levels of PCB chemicals.

There are some doctors who are against eating fish during pregnancy because it has mercury. However, I read somewhere in an article that fish has high levels of mercury than what is reported to the general public. But eating salmon during pregnancy seems to be safe since it has the lowest mercury levels as compared to all the other fish. Here are some facts about salmon fish:

Fish absorbs Methyl mercury
Methyl mercury found in fish mainly comes from the mercury that is found in the sediments of the ocean that is later transformed by micro organisms into methyl mercury. This form of organic mercury is absorbed into the fish’s body by tissues through the gills as the fish swims via the digestive tracts while they feed.

Other fish have more mercury as compared to others
The levels of mercury vary from one fish species to another. This is as a result of factors like fish type, location, size, habitat, age and diet. Fish that feed on other fish (predatory) are large, occupy top food chain’s position and tend to have more mercury.

The fish that have high mercury levels include:

• Southern bluefin tuna
• Ling
• Orange roughly
• Gemfish
• Barramundi
• Swordfish
• Ray
• Shark

Fish that have low mercury levels include:

• Salmon
• Shell fish including oysters, lobsters and prawns
• Canned tuna

Eating salmon during pregnancy is the best way to guarantee the developing baby’s health and you should not worry about nasty preservatives and other toxins. Moreover, most of the salmon fish that come from Alaska are wild, that means they do not have any harmful chemicals such as PCBs that salmons raised in the farm have and also have low fat content. That is why whenever you buy salmon fish at the grocery store, make sure the label reads that it comes from Alaska; and you will rest assured that you are buying the best product for you and the child. Indeed, eating salmon helps to provide various proteins, omega-3 fatty acids and levels of calcium that are essential for a healthy baby.

To most people’s surprise, fresh salmon retains all the nutritional value but slightly has high sodium content, which is considered relatively harmless because salmon fish itself provides concentrated nutrition and eventually little sodium is eaten. Another reason why eating salmon during pregnancy is very good is that sodium levels present in salmon fish is not an issue so long as the content of salt in other foods is not high.