Can I eat sushi while pregnant?
If you're not a big sushi eater, this one is easy, but if you love a nice slab of raw salmon like I do, this one is painful.
Here's what I gathered: sushi can carry a parasite called anisakiasis which is a type of round worm. It can have you praying to the porcelain gods pretty quickly but here's where you lose me. I can't find anything where it can harm a fetus (it actually looks like the treatment is more dangerous than the round worm) and, in many places, it's actually law that the fish has to be frozen beforehand which kills the parasite. Yes, you could get dehydrated from being sick but that could happen with any type of food poisoning. Why pick on raw fish?
There's always the mercury in fish argument. Bluefin tuna which is a common fish used for sushi is often linked to high mercury levels but even then, it doesn't typically show up on the no-no list of fish to avoid while pregnant. It was the "rawness" of the fish that seemed to make everyone squeamish.
Sounds like this is just a prejudice against food that some people find "icky" and someone should be force fed their nuts on a bamboo boat for coming up with this one.
search: anisakiasis, dangers of eating sushi, sick from eating sushi
40 Comments
Reader Comments (40)
wow no sushi makes me sad. Is there anyway around this,such as california rolls. I love my growing baby and all but lets face it i'm an addict and need my rolled rice fix...help?
California rolls are fine because there's nothing raw in them so rock out.
That said, I still can't find anything that really lays out the dangers of sushi – most sites just say "don't eat raw fish" but let me tell you, the stuff I read on deli meat would curl your nose hair but the stuff I found on raw fish was way more shoulder shrug.
I don't want to tell you to eat sushi but I really get the feeling this has become a no-no over the years based on personal squeamishness and less on scientific fact.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/opinion/15shaw.html
re: sushi and women who are 'with child'
I asked a few people about the dangers and generally got the idea that, for the most part, PEOPLE WHO THINK SUSHI IS GROSS will tell you that it's bad for pregnant women. Five midwives said, "No problem, honey, eat what's healthy, and that stuff is healthy except for mercury." Random biddies who think a frozen burrito is "eating foreign" said to avoid it like Satan. My acupuncturist said go for it. Someone else's acupuncturist grimaced and said, "Well, you don't HAVE to eat that stuff. You can get the nutrients elsewhere."
Once I found out that fish generally has to be frozen before consumption in America, I simply avoided excessive mercury-suspect fish - though I totally used up my weekly allotment of mercury on spicy tuna rolls because *drool*. And I ate my very own boat of sushi as often as economically possible. My first baby *demanded* sushi; he'd even do happy kicks once the eating commenced (when he hit toddler age, he was dubbed "Sushi Boy" because his favorite meal was a shrimp tempura hand roll). I'm glad I ate it while I could, because the second baby was not fond of it, sent me random nausea when I tried to eat my favorites, and demanded that everything I eat contain peanuts instead. LAME.
So...break out that bamboo boat?
My (very awesome, very chill) doctor told me: "You should probably avoid raw sushi, but then again if you lived in Japan you would laugh at me if I told you that." Basically, he said if I really wanted to have it, I should go to a reputable place where I know the fish is very fresh & well-handled. I never actually did, because although I like sushi I don't looooooooove it, but it was a good piece of advice to file away.
Sushi is "fresh" and sashimi is "raw". I'd rather eat tuna sashimi ANY day of the week, than eat processed food at all. Lunch meat, fast food, hot dogs, turkey roll, chicken nuggets, packaged boxed foods... and then there's the chips, and crackers and cookies, ALL laden with the most obnoxious chemicals. But tuna, frozen and then slightly thawed to ease the slicing thereof...??? Nothing better. A little soy sauce, some wasabe... sounds good to me.
Another one of these delectable foods that had me in mourning during my first pregnancy. I went to several sushi bars while pregnant and even my Japanese grandmotherly co-worker gave me the wagging finger as I gazed longingly at a piece of raw salmon on rice. I figured, if anyone would know, it was 80 year old Momoko. The irony in all this? My husband's and my first date was at a sushi restaurant where he got me hooked on the stuff.
With number two, we weren't as financially able to visit our fave restaurant more than once, but I told him as I swaggered in at 8 months pregnant that I was going to eat whatever the fish of the day was and there was nothing to stop me.
I'm on number three, with about a month and half left. Husband has learned to make sushi at home and we indulge in the occasional fresh caught salmon from the co-op. I feel no guilt and baby is doing just fine!
PS: Both kids, 3.5 and 21 months, love sushi!
Becky
I ate sushi, including raw salmon, all the way through my pregnancy because I read that the biggest risk for contracting a parasite from salmon is when it the fish served is a fresh water species, living in a fresh water lake with parasites that pregnant women shouldn't be exposed to. There are actually a number of species of fresh water salmon in North America and Europe.
I live on the east coast of Canada, and all the sushi restaurants in my port city serve fresh Atlantic ocean salmon. Add to that the practice of freezing fish to kill off nasties, and I felt very safe to eat it a couple of times a week. Yum!!!
I am not a roll person, not really into the rice either but sashimi? my best friend
and yes I had it while pregnant. my first child I didn't, my second and third I did. not every day or every week but I did.
my kids are fine. Perfect really <-- that's the mom in me talking
A big part of why people warn you about sushi is because "predator fish" (the big ones at that end of the food chain) tend to have high mercury levels, which can be very dangerous. I've watched a loved one go through mercury poisoning, and it is horrifying. In addition, the people who rail against vaccines claim that the culprit of the problems is the mercury in the vaccines.
The fish that you're likely to be warned against: ahi & other types of tuna like albacore (though canned "light" tuna is often considered okay), shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish.
Overall, the Omega-3 fatty acids in fish are widely considered healthy and good for brain development in the fetus, but it's a good idea to avoid the bigger fish, as they tend to have high mercury levels.
Enjoy your rolls!
I ate raw salmon on a daily basis with my 2nd pregnancy. It was the first time I had ever eaten it and I LOVED it. Needless to say it was about all that I could keep down so I opted to eat that and have some nutrients rather than eat nothing or vomit. lol
I haven't read any previous comments...but do pg women in Japan avoid sushi? I bet not...
I lived in Japan for a few years, and pregnant women are told to go right on eating sushi, as its a good source of nutrition! The only sushi I avoid during pregnancy is tuna (sigh) because of the higher levels of mercury and it is one of the few fish not being required to be flash frozen in the states. That said, I still eat it now and then!
I was also told it's not the sushi, but the treatment IF you get the parasite, that is harmful to the fetus. I am due tomorrow (FOR THE LOVE OF JESUS, GET THIS KID OUT!) and skipped sushi all the way through by choice, but I do love it and can't wait to have some as soon as possible.
For me, it just wasn't worth the risk - but you pick your battles. I dyed my hair while pregnant and enjoyed a few glasses of wine. If you want sushi and you are comfortable with the risks involved, I say go for it.
In my humble opinion.....most of the "fears" about foods during pregnancy (especially sushi) are to cover the reality that the FDA does a completely inadequate job protecting the food supply of this nation! Personally I have abstained from raw sushi (I have eaten a ton of cooked chicken tempura and smoked salmon), but it is because I do not trust the supply. What have the millions of Asian women done throughout history?
My doc, Dr. E, told me to eat all the sushi I wanted but to watch the mercury consumption. He said there was a much greater risk with eating undercooked beef. In his 25 years of practice he's never had a patient whose baby was adversely affected by sushi. Considering Dr. E's laid back attitude toward sushi I asked his advice on that occasional glass of wine. His answer was that "there's no known safe amount" of alcohol during pregnancy; therefore, he recommends completely abstaining.
I thought not eating fish in general was the rule. I read in many separate books (of which I couldn't tell you the names now, 4 years later) that oceanic fish have a high mercury content, which is why the consumption of fish is frowned upon during pregnancy. Sushi grade fish are from the ocean, hence contain mercury. I think it has very little to do with the rawness.
Oh, sweet Jesus! I can have my sushi????? This just made my day! Thanks to my most awesome husband for directing me to this site, so I could read this piece of information. Rock and 'roll' the sushi!!
My Japanese friend had her first child in Japan and her second child in the U.S. She was surprised when her OB in the U.S. told her she couldn't eat sushi while she was pregnant. Apparently the Japanese aren't concerned about this at all. Needless to say, she ate sushi throughout both of her pregnancies and has two healthy children!
Raw fish in any form was a total blessing, it was one of the very few foods that my tummy wouldn't violently auto-reject. 3 pregnancies and 3 ferociously healthy kids even though I was 'morning sick' from week 1 to delivery with every single one.
My OB advised against it but he also couldn't find anything to ease my long term violent nausea. I can't count the number of times I had to recook meals because I had tried multiple times to keep something/anything down, but I can count the number of times I was ill pigging out on sushi... ZERO. My hubby cringed at the bill but a little friendly fire at the dinner table changed his mind damned quick!
i would literally kill for a salmon and cream cheese roll... period...
Living in Japan, pregnant with number 2. Lets just say if you are pregnant over here both sushi and sashimi are ok, nobody says anything. Oh and raw eggs over white rice with some soy sauce is nothing..
Of course the: gain 10 - 15 pounds max during pregnancy thing is pretty insane.
and I always got told off for wearing heels too..
When I was pregnant with my daughter (my first) the head sushi chef at our favorite local joint told me that both his sister and sister-in-law were pregnant at the same time and thought the "no sushi" rule was crap, so they ignored it. Apparently, they both gave birth to kids with fish allergies, and he was totally convinced it was because they ignored the rule! Who knows, but it scared me enough! My doctor explained that the risk is in the mother getting physically ill from bad raw fish, vomiting is never good for a woman with child...dehydration, etc. And if you're far enough along it could actually induce labor, which isn't good if you're NOT far enough along to actually deliver a healthy baby. I've stayed away from the raw fish and always requested cooked rolls. That being said, I do wonder about all these food rules we have in this country that are so different from other countries and even other generations! I'm with you though - if I find out in my lifetime that I could have eaten RAW sushi, someone's goin' down.
Part of the concern is eating too much high mercury fish which is not so good for the fetus. So just in minimal amounts of those. and make sure it is from a reputable restaurant.
They are supposed to flash freeze it but some cut corners. I only went to the place I have been going for years! The concern with raw fish is the concern with any raw meat. You getting sick. If you get too sick it could harm the baby in various ways. One of the simplest to explain is that dehydration is the leading cause of preterm labor. So if you get sick. and are heaving up every delicious bit of sushi (not so good the second time around...) then you will probably get dehydrated and thus could have pregnancy issues related to that.
So in the end. If you eat minimal amounts of the high mercury fish, and go somewhere reputable... EAT AWAY!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post! I'm a little over 13 weeks, and cooked meat/fish is kryptionite on my tastebuds. I've steered clear of beef carpaccio (which would go down so well right now), but I let myself have lox and some salmon rolls from the Lund's deli a few days ago. Wow, did that hit the spot, and it's nice to know I'm taking some protein in that doesn't come from shakes and eggs...AGAIN. I've had sushi marathons in the past, where all I wanted to eat for two weeks was sushi, that I let myself indulge in. I won't do that now, but I will let myself have salmon sashimi (my favorite) a couple times a month if I want it (and I assure you, I will!).
I let this info slip over Christmas with the rellies and got a couple sideways glances, but that's to be expected. Hopefully there will be more fact-based information on this subject in the future--We pregos want our sushi!!