The Secrets of Grana Padano Cheese During Pregnancy. One of the greatest adventures of life comes in the form of pregnancy and lasts nine months full of many novelties. Food is one of those aspects that change the most in the life of a pregnant woman, especially if you are not used to a balanced diet. There are foods that can be consumed more than others and there are even some contraindicated.
Normally, doctors tell you to eat in moderation and try to have the most balanced diet possible but they don’t specify the exact foods you may or may not eat. One of the most common questions is can you eat grana padano cheese during pregnancy?
And today we’re going to help you answer that question.
What is Grana Padano cheese?
In Italy, this cheese has become one of the most popular. “Grana” means Grains and refers to the grainy texture characteristic of this cheese. For its part, “Padano”, alludes to a Padana plain. This cheese has one of the most curious textures among dairy derivatives and is what makes it stand out among all the others.
It is a cheese of the semi-fatty type which is cured in a rather slow way. They can last a year and a half curing this cheese, which makes it part of the cheeses with complex preparation. The milk used is milk from cows whose feeding is based on fodder herbs. The milk is left to rest after it has been extracted and, subsequently, it is unnavigated thanks to an outcrop system.
Origin of Doubts About Cheese Consumption During Pregnancy
In the world there are many diseases that derive from bacteria which make life inside the human being. Bacteria can be found both in everyday objects and in food. The fact of finding bacteria in food, makes the diet of a pregnant woman receive a strict surveillance, from the meals prepared to where they buy it and how they cook it.
Cheeses are one of the foods that receive the most attention within the diet of a pregnant woman. The reason is that there is a bacterium called Listeria monocytogenes that usually inhabits dairy and, especially, cheese. These types of bacteria produce the disease known as Listeriosis or Listeria.
L. Monocytogenes can be found in dairy foods such as raw milk, cheese, yogurt and other derivatives that have not complied with proper food processing. The safest way to find listeriosis bacteria in a cheese is that it was made with raw milk, that is, unpasteurized.
If the milk expressed from the cow does not go through the thermal process of pasteurization, listeriosis bacteria may develop there and penetrate into the cell of the pregnant woman who has eaten the cheese. When this happens, the mother can suffer a fairly serious food infection that can cause fever, malaise and can even be transmitted to the fetus during gestation or childbirth.
Going deeper, listeriosis manifests itself with febrile episodes which can be isolated or not. It is a moderately slow incubation disease. With each episode, the baby can be affected and in case the temperature is very high, then the fetus could suffer inside the womb and even die because its environment is affected.
So that pregnant women do not consume listeriosis bacteria, it is recommended to avoid eating foods that are not properly pasteurized. It’s always best to check food labels and even consume the pasteurized Grana padano before the expiration date.
The risk of getting sick from consuming grana padano is in listeriosis and bacteria that can cause food poisoning. It is normal to feel worried about consuming cheeses but you should not give much thought to the matter but you should deal with what really interests you: maintaining a balanced diet.
Benefits of Grana Padano Cheese During Pregnancy
All foods have a nutritional contribution for those who consume them. In the case of pregnant women, they should try to maintain a balanced diet where they can give enough nutrients to the future baby. In addition to them, they must consume supplements to be able to help much more to the growth of everything.
Eating Grana Padano cheese during pregnancy also comes with its dosage of nutrients for pregnancy. Sure, as long as the cheese has been previously pasteurized and is safe to consume. Consuming grana padano can provide a large amount of calcium both to you as a pregnant mother and to the future baby.
Calcium is responsible for optimizing the development and growth of the baby’s bones so that they can grow healthy and strong without any malformations in the bone system. It also helps with a slight contribution of phosphorus as well as sodium. However, as mentioned above, the consumption of grana padano cheese should be done in a moderate way and that in excess can bring accumulation of minerals by calcium-phosphorus complex which leads to bone and muscle problems in the mother.
Tips for Properly Consuming Grana Padano During Pregnancy
- Design a Diet with a Nutritionist and your Obstetrician-Gynecologist: The best thing you can do is design a food plan where you contemplate all the nutrients and minerals you need and this is where they will include the safe portions of grana padano cheese that you can ingest during pregnancy.
- Check the ingredients and check that the cheese has been made with pasteurized milk as this confirms that it does not have the listeriosis bacteria.
- If you buy the cheese in a store, try to consume it maximum 48 hours after you have purchased the product. This prevents it from decomposing.
- Respect the agreed portions of grana padano cheese that have been stipulated in the diet.
Read also: Yes to pecorino cheese during pregnancy?; Gorgonzola cheese and pregnancy; Burrata Cheese During Pregnancy
Valuable external resource: Wikipedia