Chinese food to avoid while pregnant

Hi, I'm 7 weeks pregnant and I'm just wondering if there are any Chinese food that can be harmful during pregnancy? Is Chinese tea safe? I've heard that I have to stay away from some herbal teas. How about Chinese vegetables, fruit, ginseng, tofu and the lot? I'm married to a local Hong Kong guy so I've been cooking a lot of the local dishes. I'm just not sure whether or not they are safe.

I tried to ask friends back in Oz but they've never heard of some of the foods here.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I think worrying about all the food that could possibly be harmful to your baby can be worse for you than actually eating the food, so long as you eat a balanced diet. So relax and enjoy your food, and your pregnancy!

You should try and avoid Chinese food with MSG. MSG is banned in lot of countries, its also used as salt (aji na moto). Also lots of potato chips have MSG..you can read the pack. Papaya is strictly a no-no in India too as it leads to miscarriage and infections (while cooking meat it is used as a meat tenderiser).

I think you may want to avoid local shellfish! I can't see that any veggies woudl be harmful as long as all food is cleaned and carefully cooked.

What about MSG, does anybody know if that's harmful in pregnancy?

There are alot of old wives tales in Chinese custom (I constantly hear my relatives saying not to eat such and such). I think everything should be eaten in moderation. When I was pregnant, I ate papaya, watermelon, cucumber - all considered 'cooling' and therefore a no-no by Chinese. I didn't eat truckloads of them but I ate them just as I would any other food.


As for meats/seafood, don't eat things that look dirty/unhygienic (kind of obvious) or that has been sitting around for a while - it could have listeria in it. I only ate seafood that I had bought and cooked myself - unless it was in a boiling hot soup or sizzling hotplate so I knew whatever baddies would be killed off!


I continued to eat roast pork - although always from the same place that I knew was safe and if I bought it takeaway, I zapped it in the microwave to boiling point so it would kill any bacteria.


I drank tea, ate all veges/fruit/tofu - with no problems. Just don't overdo any one thing. I eat mainly a chinese diet - which I think is healthier than a western diet cos it's high in green veges (for folate) and carbs (good for energy) but has some protein. I ate lots of eggs too - which I think is a good source of protein.


Good luck!