Seafood has been known as nutritious kind of diet. It is enriched with various substances to support your health. Besides, it tastes great and can be easily found. It has been famous kind of menu in either restaurant dinner or a party. It can be easily cooked in considerably short period of time. To elaborate, when you want your beef tender, you need to cook it longer, while should you want your squid or shrimp to be tender, you cook it shorter. Seafood might be your favorite diet and you enjoy it almost every single day. But now when you are pregnant, you start asking questions about the safety of eating various kinds of seafood you used to enjoy. You might eat out at a restaurant and find scallops at the menu list. Before deciding to order one, you might wonder whether it is safe for your pregnancy, or should you avoid it at all?

Are Scallops Nutritious?

Scallop is one of a kind of seafood. A lot of people avoid eating this kind of seafood as they think it may contain harmful bacteria and viruses resulted from its living places. Those bacteria are believed to cause diarrhea, vomiting, and poisoning. Seeing the conditions of most sewage nowadays, scallops are also possible to be contaminated with Listeria. This bacteria can be harmful for pregnant woman, since they can cause miscarriage and birth defects.

However, scallops in fact are good sources of various nutrition you need for your health. They contain protein and vitamin, but are low in fat and cholesterol. They are also rich in sodium and magnesium that are important for your body. Sufficient, moderate servings of scallops will give beneficial effects to your health.

Are Scallops Safe for Pregnant Woman?

The beneficial nutrition they contain makes scallops a recommended diet to promote your health. A serving of this seafood can fulfill your calorie needs. It also supports your health by providing vitamins and minerals, yet does not fill your body up with too much fat. When you are pregnant, this might be a very good diet for your pregnancy health. Some people, though think that scallops will not be good for your pregnancy since it might contain mercury and other contaminations that can be dangerous for your fetus development. When pregnant and crave for scallops, you may be want to consider some of the things to help you deciding.

1. Do not eat raw scallops. Uncooked scallops have the possibility to be exposed to Salmonella and Those bacteria might cause diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and poisoning. As for pregnant woman, this bacteria might cause miscarriage.
2. Cook scallops thoroughly. Seared scallops are the most common scallop menu. However, searing is not good enough when you are pregnant. It is because when you sear the scallops, you cook only the outer part, while the inner meat stay half-cooked. To eat them during pregnancy, you need to find another way of cooking scallops thoroughly.
3. Consume only 2 servings per week. Do not eat scallops excessively when you get pregnant, because scallops, although in a very low level, may contain mercury. The more you eat, the more the mercury get stuck in your body.
4. Eat scallops only occasionally. Do not make them your daily diet. You have to balance your seafood consumption with vegetables and fruits to make healthy diet.
5. Buy fresh scallops from reputable fish market or supermarket. Should you buy the packed one in the supermarket, choose the frozen—not only the refrigerated one. When you thaw the frozen scallops, do it in a portion you can finish in one time. Do not refreeze the thawed scallops as it may affect its content and nutrients.
6. Before consuming scallops while pregnant, learn carefully about your family history of seafood allergy. This can be a quite big problem. Scallops, as the other kinds of seafood do, are possible allergen. If you have experienced scallops allergy before, you might want to omit this diet from your pregnancy menu.

There are numbers of facts you need to gather before consuming foods during pregnancy. It will make sure you have healthy pregnancy.