Are sausages ok?

[Bec]

Hi,

I was reading a book last night and it said that you should avoid eating sausages when pregnant. Does anyone know how true this is and why? Is it because it is processed meat?
Will eating sausages harm the baby?

Love to hear your comments.

[drewid]

Hi

I ate sausages while pregnant and never had any worries. As for it being processed meat, i don't think thats an issue. Its like eating hamburgers from take away places with processed meat and things like that. As long as they are cooked properly, I wouldnt' think it would pose a problem.

I dont' think i have read anywhere about sausages being something to avoid, and i read a lot of material when i was pregnant :)

[ThomasMum]

Ditto here, I too ate lots of variety foods, healthy and junk one he he, but be sensible if you know what I mean :) And I had most healthy pregnancy throughout and healthy happy bub (the only time he's at the doctor is for his immunisations! :)

-----------------------------------------
Here's some info for you abt the 'NO-NO Food during pregnancy', hope this helps:

Some foods are no-nos
During pregnancy your should try to avoid:

• Raw seafood, such as oysters or uncooked sushi

• Cheeses with a white, 'mouldy' rind, such as Brie and Camembert, and blue-veined cheeses like Stilton

• Pate, raw or undercooked meat, poultry, and eggs (cook all meat until there are no pink bits left and eggs till they are hard). All are possible sources of bacteria that can harm your unborn child.

• Liver and liver products (pate, liver sausage) should be avoided, too, because they may contain large amounts of the retinol form of vitamin A, too much of which could be bad for your developing baby.

• For some women, it is also important to avoid peanuts and foods that contain them. If you, your partner, or any of your other children (if you have any) have a history of allergies such as hayfever, asthma, or eczema, avoiding peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding may reduce your baby's chances of developing a potentially serious peanut allergy.

• Many women choose to avoid or cut down on alcoholic drinks during pregnancy, too. Drinking too much alcohol can cause physical defects, learning disabilities, and emotional problems in children, so many experts recommend that you give up alcohol while you are pregnant. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) recommends that you drnk no more than one or two units of alcohol, once or twice a week, when you are pregnant.

• If you smoke, it is best for you and your baby to give up, the sooner the better. But, of course, this is often easier said than done. For free one-to-one counselling call the NHS Pregnancy Smoking Helpline on 0800 169 9 169. If you're in Northern Ireland, telephone the Ulster Cancer Foundation on 028 9066 3281.

• You might want to cut down on caffeine, too. This may be easy for women who are suddenly revolted by the stuff during their first trimester, but not so for everyone. Why is caffeine a potential problem? Research has linked consuming more than 300mg of caffeine a day with an increased risk of miscarriage and low birth weight. To be on the safe side stick to no more that three mugs of instant coffee or six cups of tea or eight cans of cola per day. Or, although there is no evidence that moderate amounts of caffeine will harm you or your baby, you may want to switch to decaf hot drinks and colas, instead.

From:Diet for a healthy pregnancy (http://www.babycentre.co.uk/refcap/3561.html#2)

Hope this helps!

Good luck and enjoy your pregnancy! :)

[lisa&boys]

Wow never heard that one.
I ate sausages too but we buy organic ones though from a organic butcher.

hugs

[Nickster]

Hi Bec,
I ate sausages when pregnant, but not many because of their huge fat content. Just be wary of where you get them, because a lot of places put MSG in their sausages (unbelievable!). Just read the label or go organic!!
Happy chowing!!

[Bec]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your comments.
It was written in a book that I received from my health fund in the mail yesterday.
If I feel like it, I will be having a sausage here or there!
I am going to the Central Coast this weekend with some friends and one of them has raved about these sausages from a butcher at Toukley so we are all going to try them to see if they really are that good!

[wattle]

I read too that sausages were a no no, and gave them a miss during pregnancy - I just wanted to be cautious.

If they're really well cooked they may be ok. I read that sodium nitrite (I think it was :confused: ) should be avoided, and that quite a lot of sausages contain that. I think that's in most cured meats. I know that Chinese sausages contained it which was a major bummer as I really love them.

Hope you find the right answer for you. All the best.

[noniandlilysmum]

I think balance is the key... I think if your unsure leave it out... I was told you shouldn't eat ham or salami when your pregnant as to the way in which it is handled and stored... So much to my dissapointment I never ate either... But I love Salami, and can't wait to have it when bub finally arrives... As for sausages I regularly buy the bbq ones from Woolworths and grill them and have that with potato bake and veges regualrly and I haven't had any problems, mind you he might be enjoying them so much he isn't planning on going anywhere in a hurry... due yesterday, He is enjoying himself immensely... anyway all the best for the rest of your pregnancy... Cheers, Haana :D

[veve]

oh dear....

it just seems that the list of things we CANT eat is getting longer and longer.... I just HAVE to eat sasages!!! - I have had to cross off half of my usual diet... which leaves just veges... basic dairy and fruit - which is very good for the baby.... but kinda makes eating boring!!!! (and I LOVE my food!!!) to make matters worse- a good friend decided to have a wine and cheese night for his birthday :eek: (yeah... thanks... great!!!!!!!!)

I haven't heard from anywhere else that sausages are bad... and I HAVE become paranoid about all meat (AND eggs) being cooking right through.... (makes me a delightful guest!!!!!) .... I'm going to pretend that I never heard about sausages :D

xxxx
Jen

[cosmic]

Hmmm... well I've been vegetarian for a while but have taken up red meat again while pregnant - and went out today and bought 3 packs of sausages because I thought it might be an easy way to ease back into being a carnivore! So I do hope sausages are ok. I was kind of looking forward to them. :rolleyes:

As for eggs... I needed those reminders! My eggs are always runny (and I eat heaps of them) and I have been wondering if that is ok so I will make sure I cook them much longer from now on.

You're right Veve. This eating in pregnancy thing is very boring! :(

[sueliz]

Hey Cosmic

If you are looking for a way to get back into meat, try the following recipe - it just has some extra flavours and is really yummy with potatoes in their jackets and salad...
The recipe is meant to be for 4 steaks, but I usually just cook for 2 or 3 and put more topping on each steak. It's YUM.

In a bowl mix
1 packet of French Onion Soup Mix
3 Tablespoons of tomato sauce
2 teaspoons of wholegrain mustard, (I use sundried tomato wholgrain mustard)

Place your individual steaks on seperate pieces of alfoil, (you can grease the alfoil if you wish), then spread the mixture evenly on each steak. Wrap them in the alfoil, then put them in the oven at about 190 for 30 - 40 minutes. (You can wrap you potatoes in alfoil and a bit of butter and cook them at the same time). The steak comes out cooked through with no pink bits - or to be safe, just check one and see if it needs more cooking time. The mixture does tend to stick to the alfoil, but just scrape it off.

It takes about 5 - 10 minutes of actual prep time and the oven does the rest so it's VERY easy and pretty tasty...

Sorry to turn this into a cooking thread - but just thought you might want to try it!

Cheers!
Sueliz

[cosmic]

Thanks Sueliz, that sounds fantastic!

When I did used to eat meat, I was very conscious of getting low fat cuts etc, but my DH seems to have forgotten all those rules. Last night he brought home lamb mince to make tacos (not the low-fat variety) and I just about gagged - not from the meat but from all the fat in it!

And I've already put on a kilo and am only 6wks pregnant so I think this eating meat business might take a bit more thought and planning.

I will try that recipe though.. thanks! :)