Does eating sushi actually cause harm to a fetus?

Question

Does it matter the freshness fo the fish or is it all sushi?

Answer 1

Some strange answers already! Guidelines to follow are posted on the web in various places. Predominantly, try to avoid eating heavy metal laden food in the first trimester. Well, avoid them all the time if you can, but there are 'acceptable' levels. So open ocean pelagic top of the food chain things like swordfish and tuna can have high mercury levels, not good for fetal development. As to the bacteria answers, it is never good to get sick while pregnant, so some advisories put many raw foods on the no-no list. But, this is personal choice, as you are more likely to get run over walking across the street than getting listeria from your brie. And, for a few of the above, you can not cook mercury out of food. So stay away from the canned tuna as well.

Answer 2

Most of what needs to be said has been said, however, I will say that sushi is not necessarily raw fish. One of the posts mentioned this. Sashimi, which is raw fish, should be avoided unless the place flash cooks their fish. It leaves the fish raw for the most part, but most of the bacteria has been killed. I do not know what this process entails, but I would avoid raw fish all together. Most cooked sushi is fine. For anything involving fish, look up the FDA's list of fish pregnant women can and cannot eat. Some have high mercury content, and no amount of cooking will get rid of that. Some are safe for once a month or less only, while others are limited to once a week. A filet of salmon won't hurt every so often, but a woman shouldn't have it as a weekly meal. Tuna (not albacore tuna, however) is considered a fairly safe fish.

Answer 3

2 separate issues.

1. Sushi made with raw fish can be dangerous for the fetus because of the bacteria. The fetus is not developed enough to fight it off.

2. Mercury levels are the same whether the fish is cooked or not. Limit your intake of high mercury fish such as Tuna and other ocean fish.

Answer 4

Yes it can cause harm to a fetus. Because raw fish contains a huge amount of bacteria. To a healthy adult, with a fully developed immune system, it won't be a problem, but for a developing fetus it can be very bad. The freshness of the fish does not make a difference.

Answer 5

YES! except california roll (which technically is not a sushi since it has no raw fish).

Yes because raw fish contains too much of bacteria (such as salmonella) for the fetus. Japan does have the highest colon cancer, by the way, which partly contributed by the unclean raw fish (besides excessive smoking, drinking and long hours of working).

Any pregnant women or any one who has lower immune toward bacteria should avoid raw food consumptions (that's including fish, squid, eggs, chicken, and so on).

Answer 6

Not all fish raw and dark meat fish can cause death to the fetus. The mercury levels are high. The American Medical Association puts out a list of acceptable foods for pregnancy ask your doctor or do a search online.

Answer 7

Some types of sushi, such as California rolls (which contain steamed crab) and cooked eel, are fine to eat while you're pregnant. But it's best to avoid eating the kinds that contain raw seafood, such as tuna.

Fresh, raw seafood is potentially risky because it can contain parasites such as tapeworm, which, if they grow large enough, could rob your body of nutrients needed for your growing baby. Freezing and cooking deep-sixes the parasites. For this reason, many Japanese restaurants that specialize in sushi use frozen rather than fresh fish. But restaurants in the United States aren't required to freeze fish before serving it raw.

Unfortunately, one concern about seafood, raw or cooked, is PCB and chemical contamination. If you want to eat fish during your pregnancy, contact your local health department or office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a list of fish in your area that haven't been contaminated with toxins.

As a general rule, ocean fish such as tuna, sea bass, sole, flounder, and snapper are safer than river and lake varieties. When eating out at any restaurant, order your fish well cooked. Many upscale eateries lightly sear fresh fish on the outside, then serve it rare.

In both the United States and Japan, many more people get sick from eating fish served at home than from eating fish at sushi restaurants.

For seafood safety at home, the Food and Drug Administration has a few tips. According to the FDA's 1997 Food Code, you should cook most seafood to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Farenheit (63 degrees Celsius) for 15 seconds. If you don't have a thermometer, the guidelines listed below can help you to determine whether seafood is done.
• For fish: Slip the point of a sharp knife into the flesh and pull aside. The edges should be opaque and the center slightly translucent with flakes beginning to separate.

• Let the fish stand three to four minutes to finish cooking.

• Shrimp and lobster turn red when cooked; the flesh becomes pearly opaque. Scallops appear milky white or opaque and firm.

• For clams, mussels, and oysters, watch for the point at which their shells open, which indicates that they're done. Throw out those that remain closed after cooking.

• When microwaving seafood, rotate the dish several times to ensure even cooking. After letting the dish stand, check seafood in several spots with a thermometer to see if it's reached the proper temperature.

Answer 8

Yes it does sushi since it is raw fish contains mercury that is harmful to the fetus. you can eat cooked fish like salmon but it is limited as well

Answer 9

In the early months, it's best to avoid raw fish. Most sushi is safe, but you can't be too careful, especially with the amount of mercury in some types of fish.

Answer 10

the reason they say that pregnant women should not eat sushi, is that the bacteria on raw fish doubles every 20 minutes. + its pretty easy to get very violently ill on fish that is not fresh. Its the raw fish, i don't think it should be an issue if you eat non-fish sushi like avocado maki...

ps: the bacteria doubling is also the reason that we eat wasabi with the sushi, its not for taste - it kills the bacteria on the fish.