What You Should Know About Eating Egg Salad While Pregnant

There are lots of dos and don'ts when it comes to what you should and should not eat while you are pregnant. Certain bizarre foods are particularly encouraged, whilst other seemingly everyday food items suddenly become harmful if you are expecting. One such item is eggs.

Eggs make for a healthy breakfast to eat on a normal day but for pregnant people, it can be a bit tricky. Healthline explains that unpasteurized eggs contain certain bacteria like listeria. Usually human bodies can easily digest these bacterias without any harm. When you are pregnant, however, your immune system weakens, which means that these bacterias can cause infections. So it's not just eggs that you have to be careful of, as any unpasteurized dairy products, like milk and cheese, are equally harmful.

This is why the FDA recommends that pregnant people only eat pasteurized eggs, that is, eggs that have been cooked with some heat to kill the bacteria. They advise that eggs should be cooked properly until both the yolks and the whites are firm. When frying eggs, the egg should be cooked for two to three minutes on each side. Raw eggs and eggs that are cooked lightly should be completely avoided, including all sorts of uncooked egg-based desserts, salad dressings, and sauces.

If you are pregnant, egg salads are a particularly tricky egg-based dish of which you must be cautious. Egg salads contain high amounts of sugar, fat, and protein. Mix this combo with the moisture that egg salads contain and your seemingly healthy salad will be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Healthfully explains that listeria, the bacteria present in eggs, can cause illness and in certain cases, even lead to miscarriage. Egg salads made from unpasteurized eggs can also cause salmonellosis, which is harmful to the fetus.

Healthline also points out that mayonnaise, another ingredient that is often added to egg salads, is sometimes made from raw and unpasteurized eggs, too. While most store-bought jars of mayonnaise will be made from pasteurized eggs and therefore will be safe to eat, it's best to remain aware of homemade mayonnaise and the varieties found at restaurants.

If you do find yourself craving an egg salad whilst pregnant and cannot brush the craving off, Healthfully recommends making the egg salad at home and eating it as fresh as possible. They say to cook the eggs to 145-degrees F and till the yolk and white of the eggs become firm.