Your diet must continue to be nutrient-dense and healthy after the delivery of your baby because the food you consume will reach your infant through breast milk. Therefore, it is imperative that you keep exercising extreme caution with regard to the food that you consume during breastfeeding. What about sushi while breastfeeding? Is it safe?
If you are someone who has been craving sushi all through your pregnancy and is waiting to deliver the baby so that you can indulge in this yummy delicacy, then you must be wanting to know if sushi is on the “safe to eat” or “stay away” list for a breastfeeding mom. Sushi is one delicious food that all people love indulging in, but whether this is safe for you while you are breastfeeding is something that most moms fear. If you are a sushi lover, then there is good news for you. If eaten in moderation, sushi is considered to be safe for nursing mommies.
In This Article
- What Is Sushi?
- Can You Eat Sushi while Breastfeeding?
- List of Sushi Fish As Per Their Mercury Levels
- What Are the Risks of Eating Sushi While Breastfeeding?
- Precautions to Take When Eating Sushi While Breastfeeding
- Are There Any Alternatives To Sushi While Breastfeeding?
What Is Sushi?
Sushi is a Japanese preparation that has vinegar-flavored rice and is tossed with a variety of ingredients, including seasonal fruits, raw seafood and veggies. Although the ingredients can vary, all kinds of sushi have brown or white rice as their base. With umpteen ingredients, sushi is extremely nutritious and contains considerable quantities of minerals and vitamins.
Sushi contains
- Thin sheets of Seaweed called Nori that is rich in iodine
- Ginger has an ample amount of antioxidants, minerals, and compounds. Ginger has various antiseptic properties that can help to keep a lot of infections at bay
- Seafood that is packed with omega-3 fatty acids apart from selenium
- Soya sauce is loaded with sodium and rich in protein, magnesium, iron, and potassium
- It has fish that contains ample amounts of niacin, omega 3, and vitamin D
- The rice that is the main body of any form of sushi is rich in carbohydrates. Sushi rice is also gluten-free, making them a great alternative for people who have wheat allergies
Can You Eat Sushi while Breastfeeding?
Sushi is typically considered safe for breastfeeding mothers. This is due to the fact that, in contrast to a baby who is still in the womb, a baby who is breastfeeding does not run the risk of developing listeria from their mother’s breast milk. However, the origin and quality of the fish matter. This depends on the restaurant or grocery store. Therefore, you need to make sure that you have a good understanding of where the product came from.
Even though the consumption of raw fish might not directly affect the baby through breast milk, you should still exercise caution. You run the risk of getting sick if the fish has not been properly cleaned.
List of Sushi Fish As Per Their Mercury Levels
The caution regarding mercury in fish should also be taken seriously by nursing mothers. Mercury can be passed on from mother to child through breastfeeding. Similarly, to pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers should limit their consumption of mercury-contaminated fish.
Although not all sushi poses a threat to nursing mothers, sushi made with the following fish should be avoided.
- Ahi (yellowfin tuna)
- Aji (horse mackerel)
- Buri (adult yellowtail)
- Hamachi (young yellowtail)
- Inada (very young yellowtail)
- Kanpachi (very young yellowtail)
- Katsuo (bonito)
- Kajiki (swordfish)
- Maguro (bigeye, bluefin or yellowfin tuna)
- Makjiki (blue marlin)
- Meji (young bigeye, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)
- Saba (mackerel)
- Sawara (Spanish mackerel)
- Shiro (albacore tuna)
- Seigo (young sea bass)
- Suzuki (sea bass)*
- Toro (bigeye, bluefin or yellowfin tuna)
Sushi should only be eaten if the fish used does not contain excessive amounts of mercury. Some acceptable fish options include:
- Albacore or yellowfin tuna
- Catfish
- Cod
- Haddock
- Salmon
- Sardines
- Tilapia
What Are the Risks of Eating Sushi While Breastfeeding?
The following is a list of some of the dangers that come with eating sushi while breastfeeding.
1. Risk Of Listeriosis
Consuming raw sushi raises the likelihood of contracting a foodborne illness such as listeriosis, which is one of the most significant dangers associated with this practice. Listeria monocytogenes are the microbe that causes listeriosis.
The following are some of the symptoms of a listeria infection:
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Muscle aches
- Nausea
- Vomiting
2. Risk Of Cross Contamination
Another potential health hazard when eating sushi is cross-contamination. When employees in restaurants use the same utensils to prepare both raw and cooked fish, cross-contamination occurs. It’s possible that bacteria and other pathogens from raw fish have made their way into the cooked fish ordered by customers.
3. High Sodium Levels
Tinned fish is used more frequently than fresh fish when making sushi. Women who consume large quantities of canned fish should monitor their sodium intake to ensure they do not exceed the recommended limit. Even fish that are safe to eat, such as anchovies, may be high in sodium when they are canned.
Precautions to Take When Eating Sushi While Breastfeeding
Sushi is raw food that has all risks of containing bacteria that are foodborne like e.coli and listeria. These bacteria can cause infections, so you need to be quite careful while eating sushi. It can trigger diarrhea and even vomiting and if it is severe, it can even lead to dehydration in the breastfeeding mom and that can be dangerous.
Given below are some simple tips that can be followed while eating sushi in order to ensure there is no contamination while eating the same.
- Ensure that the hotel or restaurant that you plan on eating in or ordering sushi from is hygienic in every sense of the word. Eat from a reputable place to avoid any kind of infections.
- If you are preparing sushi at home, take care to ensure you clean all the surfaces that are used in preparing raw food thoroughly with an anti-bacterial solvent
- Make sure you clean your hands thoroughly before and after you handle raw fish and meat
- If you prefer eating salmon, it would be advisable to choose the organic or wild-grown variety
- On the other hand, if you prefer canned tuna fish, select the chunk light tuna fish, which has lower traces of mercury compared to the solid albacore variety
- Ensure you check the expiry dates before purchasing canned or tinned fish
- Take care to see that your refrigerator is cleaned on a regular basis and ensure that the temperature remains at 40F or lower
- Raw fish like swordfish, yellowtail, mackerel, and shark are best avoided, even in sushi, as they contain high levels of mercury that may be harmful to you and your baby
Are There Any Alternatives To Sushi While Breastfeeding?
Sushi-loving women who do not wish to consume raw fish while breastfeeding can choose from a variety of tasty vegetarian sushi options.
- If you want to make sushi rolls, you could also use soy wraps, cucumber wraps, rice wraps, and tofu skin as alternatives.
- Choose cauliflower rice for the best healthy option. This vegetable simply gets diced into tiny rice-sized pieces and cooked by steaming.
- You can find more vegetarian and vegan sushi recipes on cooking sites.
It is important to note that the vegetarian options presented here do not include certain nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids or vitamin D. However, it is possible to obtain these nutrients from other sources.
Whatever you eat, make sure your doctor gives you a green signal before you indulge in it. Most doctors are OK with breastfeeding moms eating sushi, so relax and begin eating this nutritious food even if you are breastfeeding, as it does contain all kinds of useful minerals and compounds that are necessary for both you and your baby.
If you are a sushi lover, we hope this post is of help to you. Do share your experience of having sushi when breastfeeding in the comments section below.
