why are you not allowed to eat ham when you are pregnant?

Answer 1

Ham, hot dogs and other meats are preserved using nitrites. Nitrites are known carcinogens and it's believed that if you consume too many nitrites - this could affect the development of a growing fetus because of the rapid speed of growth, cell division and anything that could hurt the growing baby cells' effort in dividing could mess things up in unknown ways. Most adults are probably not going to get cancer from eating nitrites - but I would think that it could be something that could potentially cause cancer if you eat them all the time. If you had a hot dog or two - don't sweat it. A little ham isn't the end of the world - but I would try to avoid it. In general, I try to avoide the nitrites as much as possible. I took a class in organic chemistry once and actually had the chance to learn exactly how carcinogens work and how the body does an amazing job of keeping us cancer free - most of the time for your whole life. It's amazing really - but it's like anything that can help baby is a good thing. Best to avoid as much as possible.

Answer 2

Mmm, ham. I ate ham while pregnant and my kids have all their fingers and toes in the right places. I've never heard that you aren't allowed to eat it, or even any caution. There are plenty of other things to avoid, I wouldn't go out of my way to add a new one.

Answer 3

Well, I've never heard that one! If i were worried about it I would limit my pork intake while pregnate, because ham is often cured with salt, (salt makes you retain water, resulting in bloating, swollen hands, ankles, feet, etc.) and that wouldn't be good for you and the baby. Also pork has parasites in it that can make anyone ill at ANY time, so getting sick from something like that while pregnate COULD cause some problems, I guess. (If you were to get sick like that, then you may get very ill, not eating, so then the baby wouldn't be being nourished like it should.) If you really like ham and eat alot of it, be sure that it is fully cooked,

Answer 4

You are allowed to eat ham when you are pregnant.

Answer 5

I have never heard that you can't eat ham while pregnant. There are certain fish that may have high mercury content that pregnant women should avoid though.

Answer 6

I have 4 children and i ate ham when i was pregnant.

Answer 7

you can eat ham when you are pregnant. just make sure it is cooked until all pink is gone, just like you'd do any other time.

Answer 8

coz its raw processed meat and can be carrying loads of bad stuff even as far as e-coli (you can fry the slices and have) - quite frankly I avoided cream cheeses and cold cuts coz I figured its just a matter of 9 months and the baby remains safe

Answer 9

it might affect the baby to hav allergies what the wife has.

Answer 10

that's a new one on me,Ive never heard that before.