Pregnant Women Should Eat THIS for Allergy-Free Babies

on September 16, 2011 at 2:00 PM

pregnant women allergies Head to Whole Foods, pregnant ladies, there are a few things you need to pick up. If you're baking someone in your belly and worried about the little guy or gal coming out with a boat load of allergies, there are now ways you can try to stop that situation before your baby's first rash. Luckily it requires eating, and that's what pregnant ladies are all about. At least once the morning sickness subsides.

So what are the magic foods that will keep your baby from itching and breaking out in hives? I was hoping for ice cream and chocolate. However.

Lots of oily fish and nuts packed with omega-3s. Like I said, once you're past your morning sickness phase. At that point grab fish like mackerel, salmon, and tuna (except for that tuna with those high mercury levels, let's assume), and nuts like walnuts and pumpkin seeds. These omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to develop an infant's gut to be more permeable, and therefore the broken down food substances and bacteria pass into the infant's blood stream, creating antibodies and, thus, a stronger immune system.

If you can get past the "fish list," it seems that eating these healthy foods is a great idea whether you're with child or not. In fact, the study says the rise in food allergies in children could be attributed to the fact that people aren't eating as much of these foods as they used to eat.

Great news, but as someone who had such a fish aversion during both my pregnancies, I'd have to stock up on walnuts and pumpkin seeds to make it through. Which sounds like a perfect all-day snack.

Will you change your diet after seeing this study?

Image via Black Photo Studio/Flickr

About the author April Peveteaux

writes about anything that gets stuck in her craw. A mom of two in Los Angeles, she can't believe she practically lives in the country now after attempting to raise kids in Brooklyn.

Filed Under: cravings, eating for two, pregnancy health

Comments (11)

ChicHippie

on Sep 16, 2011 at 2:09 PM

I eat fish at least 3 times a week- I'm breastfeeding. Not a huge fan of nuts or seeds.. The only thing that stayed down during the majority of my pregnancy was cheese pizza. I kid you not.

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RhondaVeggie

on Sep 16, 2011 at 2:17 PM

What about studies that say exposing the baby to allergens while in utero increases allergies? My hubby is allergic to most nuts to one extent or another and he has the worst reaction to walnuts. Eating them might make my kid less likely to have allergies overall but it might also make them more likely to develop a nut allergy. I do like pumpkin seeds but one can only eat so many.

corrinacs

on Sep 16, 2011 at 2:22 PM

Just be careful though, and get nuts other than peanuts. Studies have shown that pregnant women (especially in third trimester) who have eaten peanut butter in more than moderation (more than once in a while) increased the chances of thier children to having severe allergies to any foods (may or may not be peanuts). But, omega-3s are definitely shown to help decrease these chances :).

Melissa042807

on Sep 16, 2011 at 2:30 PM

I pretty much eat that way already for other health reasons.

Facebook comment from Rachel Schiller

on Sep 16, 2011 at 2:33 PM

This study won't chage the fact that I think fish tastes horrible. So far no food allgeries so I think we are OK without it.

hutchfam2007

on Sep 16, 2011 at 4:22 PM

The One-A-Day brand prenatal vitamins come with two pills to take daily. One is your usual prenatal the other is a fish oil capsule high in omega 3's!! I would rather take the capsules than try to stomach much fish which im not typically a fan of anyway.

tyrelsmom

on Sep 17, 2011 at 11:07 AM

You know, I've been craving nuts. Good excuse to go out and get me some. And toasted pumpkin seeds. You just started me on a new craving. Good thing it's healthy, lol.

Lynette

on Sep 17, 2011 at 8:49 PM

I took a triple dose of fish oil daily when pregnant with DD for depression(it worked better than Zoloft). Yeah she is the only one of my 3 kids that has eczema and she had it really severe before we did a drastic diet change. Honestly I think her eczema is tied to all the junk food I ate during her pregnancy

GlowWorm889

on Sep 17, 2011 at 9:11 PM

I don't belive this for a minute. One, it's not okay to expose an infant to allergens with an immune system, but okay to expose a fetus without one? Doesn't make sense. Two, most allergies are genetic. Allergic parents (even just one) are twice as likely to have children who are also allergic to something, and in many cases, it's not even the same allergy.