Common Misconception No. 3.
Milk, coffee, tea, sports drinks, and juice contain fluid and go towards your water intake.
False. You need at least 64 ounces of clean, flat, water per day. Add an additional 8 oz for each hour of light activity. Carbonated water is ok, but make sure it does not contain sodium, as these will dehydrate you.
Common Misconception No. 4.
“Fish is dangerous during pregnancy”
Many women are understandably hesitant to eat fish during their pregnancy. However, fish can be an extremely beneficial source of protein, essential fats, and minerals. What is important, is to remember to stay away from fish high in mercury. Mercury enters the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels, and precipitates into the ocean. Small fish absorb this and bioaccumulates. As you travel up the food chain, there are higher amounts of mercury in the tissues you would eat.
The message here? Stay away from fish high in the food chain (larger fish). In the U.S, it is generally recommended that pregnant women do not eat raw fish as food borne illness may threaten the safety of the unborn child. The following is a helpful chart from the NRDC, or National Resource Defense Council.
LEAST MERCURY
Enjoy these fish:
Anchovie
Butterfish
Catfish
Clam
Crab (Domestic)
Crawfish/Crayfish
Croaker (Atlantic)
Flounder*
Haddock (Atlantic)*
Hake
Herring
Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
Mullet
Oyster
Perch (Ocean)
Plaice
Pollock
Salmon (Canned)**
Salmon (Fresh)**
Sardine
Scallop*
Shad (American)
Shrimp*
Sole (Pacific)
Squid (Calamari)
Tilapia
Trout (Freshwater)
Whitefish
Whiting
MODERATE MERCURY
Eat six servings or less per month:
Bass (Striped, Black)
Carp
Cod (Alaskan)*
Croaker (White Pacific)
Halibut (Atlantic)*
Halibut (Pacific)
Jacksmelt
(Silverside)
Lobster
Mahi Mahi
Monkfish*
Perch (Freshwater)
Sablefish
Skate*
Snapper*
Tuna (Canned
chunk light)
Tuna (Skipjack)*
Weakfish (Sea Trout)
HIGH MERCURY
Limit these:
Bluefish
Grouper*
Mackerel (Spanish, Gulf)
Sea Bass (Chilean)*
Tuna (Canned Albacore)
Tuna (Yellowfin)*
HIGHEST MERCURY
Avoid eating:
Mackerel (King)
Marlin*
Orange Roughy*
Shark*
Swordfish*
Tilefish*
Tuna (Bigeye, Ahi)*
* Fish in Trouble! These fish are perilously low in numbers or are caught using environmentally destructive methods. To learn more, see the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the The Safina Center (formerly Blue Ocean Institute), both of which provide guides to fish to enjoy or avoid on the basis of environmental factors.
** Farmed Salmon may contain PCB’s, chemicals with serious long-term health effects.
Sources for NRDC’s guide: The data for this guide to mercury in fish comes from two federal agencies: the Food and Drug Administration, which tests fish for mercury, and the Environmental Protection Agency, which determines mercury levels that it considers safe for women of childbearing age.
http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp