5-Minute Time Out: Real Food for Mother and Baby
Author Nina Planck on raw milk, salmon roe and other unlikely baby food.
by Jacqueline Beach
April 23, 2009
Tuna during pregnancy? Raw milk for mothers and babies? Nina Planck, a food writer and farmers' market pioneer, emphatically says yes to both, along with a host of other foods that don't appear on many common mom-and-baby grocery lists. In her new book Real Food for Mother and Baby, Planck, who once ran New York City's legendary Greenmarkets, details the foods she ate while pregnant with her now two-year-old son, Julian, and shares the first foods she fed him. They include salmon roe, lamb chop on the bone, and lightly-cooked egg yolk with sea salt. Planck (now pregnant with twins) talked to Babble about food trends, the truth about "dangerous" foods, and how to take a common-sense approach to feeding your family. — Jacqueline Beach
In your book, you stress the importance of eating fish during pregnancy, especially in the last few months. Your advice is "Don't avoid fish, just methylmercury." Why do you think the U.S. government went overboard in their warnings about pregnant women and fish?
I don't know what the politics were. A committee looked at the evidence and determined that mercury is toxic. There's better evidence now, and it's pretty clear that the risks of avoiding fish are greater than risks of mercury poisoning. We know what happens when babies don't get enough DHA [an omega-3 essential fatty acid found in fish oils] — the eye and brain don't develop properly.
You also mention that you think a small amount of alcohol is fine during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Do you think this is becoming more acceptable in America?
"The pendulum is swinging back to tradition and common sense."
I think it is. The pendulum is swinging back to tradition and common sense. Women who like to drink a little don't have to feel like pariahs.
Speaking of drinks, raw milk has been the subject of controversy for years. The New York Times featured you in the piece "Should This Milk Be Legal?" In that article and this book, you advocate drinking raw milk during pregnancy. What can you say to parents to ease their fears about raw milk?
Raw milk is a great food for mother and baby if you have a source you can trust completely. It's more nutritious than pasteurized milk. Parents who live in states where raw milk is certified are lucky because they can rely on regular testing. The good news is that old, traditional foods are being restored to their proper place in the American diet, with appropriate regulations for production, volume and scale.
About the Author
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Jacqueline Beach is a writer living in Hoboken, NJ. Her work has appeared in the New York Post, TimeOut New York, Mothering, The Huffington Post, and others. She is co-editor of the online magazine FeaturingAmerica.com, and you can read about her culinary escapades on her food blog, Devour This. |
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