Sour Cream Pregnancy: Is It Safe to Eat Sour Cream While Pregnant?

By - Shaila Amaraj

Pregnancy is a fascinating time for women that leads to different body and lifestyle changes. Pregnant ladies need to ensure that their intake provides sufficient nutrients and energy for the baby to develop and grow properly. For a healthy pregnancy, the mother’s diet must be balanced and nutritious.

Food rules for pregnant women may be doing more harm than good. You want to pick clean when you’re pregnant, but how do you know what to eat for a healthy pregnancy?

So is sour cream pregnancy safe, or does it have any effect? We encourage you to consume sour cream during pregnancy! Here are some excellent facts that you should know before consuming sour cream during pregnancy.

Is It Safe To Eat Sour Cream During Pregnancy?

While many women are concerned about the safety of certain foods during pregnancy, sour cream is not one of them.

Pasteurized dairy products, like sour cream, are perfectly fine to consume during pregnancy. When choosing a product, be sure to look for the word “pasteurized” on the label, and always keep it at a safe temperature in the refrigerator.

Sour cream contains pasteurized milk, which means there should be no harm in eating it as long as it is safely stored in the refrigerator, and you are not allergic or sensitive to dairy products. If you aren’t sure if sour cream will affect your unborn baby, speak with your doctor before adding creamy dips and dressings to your diet.

The fat content of sour cream is relatively high. It’s important to consume fat during pregnancy, but too much can increase your risk of gestational diabetes. Half of the fat is saturated in sour cream, and saturated fat has been linked to heart disease.

Does Sour Cream Affect Pregnancy?

The pasteurization process comprises of boiling milk to a precise temperature to kill potentially dangerous bacteria and extend its shelf life.

The process of pasteurization destroys organisms that could cause a miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, or serious long-term complications for the baby.

However, it is essential to select the right pasteurized sour cream during pregnancy that is safe to consume. If you are currently pregnant, make sure to review the description to establish pasteurization before purchasing. Therefore, if you’re about to eat or crave sour cream during pregnancy, make sure it is a commercially manufactured brand rather than a homemade one, as it is likely to be pasteurized.

Sour Cream Ingredients

Coming back to reality, when was the last time you had sour cream? Sour cream is produced when lactic acid-producing bacteria is mixed with dairy cream, with end result a slightly tart, thick substance. It has been an element in Eastern and Central European cookeries and moved west as netizens migrated to other countries.

Apart from that, it is also termed as crème Fraiche in France. It was traditionally made from unpasteurized cream that naturally included the right bacteria to solidify it.

The commercial sour cream includes ingredients like:

Some brands may also comprise additives, thickeners, and stabilizers. It is okay to take sour cream during pregnancy.

What you may be more concerned about are the ingredients in the sour cream. Sour cream with ingredients that are stabilizers, thickeners, and additives are not safe for you, and your baby.

Nutritional Facts on Sour Cream

Sour cream consists of:

When Is It a Bad Idea to Consume Sour Cream During Pregnancy?

Sour cream is pretty high in fat. Ladies are always anxious about gaining a lot of weight during pregnancy. This is something you can avoid as you can gain baby fat. Eating healthy during those all-important nine months can stop your child from becoming obese. However, a little pasteurized Sour Cream does not harm your pregnancy.

Consequently, if your weight is such a big subject of concern that awakens the butterflies in your stomach, then I would suggest you stay away from sour cream since they are so high in fat. However, if you cannot do without your cream, you may consider a low-fat cream.

Here are a few substitutes for Sour Cream:

Tips on How to Choose Sour Cream Dip In Pregnancy:

Is Cultured Sour Cream Pasteurized?

Culture is a process that gives dairy products, such as milk, butter, and cream, a tangy taste.
In short, sour cream is regarded as cultured cream. Cultured milk can serve you to reach your calcium demands, with 284 milligrams per portion. That’s approximately 30 per cent of your regular calcium requirements during pregnancy.

Cultured sour cream is produced by mixing a culture of Streptococcus lactis with pasteurized light cream. Later, the mixture will be incubated at 72˚F till the aspired characteristic and thickness is obtained. The lactic acid manufactured through the culture thickens the protein, solidify the cream, and add a touch of sour flavour.

Sour Cream During Pregnancy: Conclusion

In many cultures, sour cream is a popular food item that contains high levels of fat. Traditionally, sour cream is made by fermenting milk with lactic acid bacteria until it curdles and then thickening it with an acidic substance such as vinegar or lemon juice.

Sour cream can be eaten on its own, cooked or baked, or used as a topping for baked potatoes, tacos, nachos, and more. As a result, selecting the safest sour cream is of great importance to pregnant women.

As a matter of fact, in the modern unnatural food landscape where highly addicting unhealthy snacks are the easiest foods to come by, sour cream is very healthy and safe during pregnancy.

The FAQs on Sour Cream During Pregnancy!

1. Can I Eat Sour During Pregnancy?

Pregnant women can enjoy sour cream. Just remember that it may contain bacteria. Despite the fact that not all unpasteurized products pose a risk to pregnant women, they should always be cautious. Generally, sour cream is considered safe, but you should make sure it is pasteurized and kept refrigerated.

2. Are Babies Allowed to Have Sour Cream?

While breastfed infants should remain on breast milk as long as they are growing, formula-fed babies should generally start solid foods around six months of age. Sour creams can be given to babies or infants later by slowly increasing the amount of food. There is no reason why they can’t have sour cream unless they develop an allergy or intolerance to it.

3. Is Chipotle Sour Cream Pasteurized?

Chipotle, though, which bills itself as being somewhat health and sustainability-conscious, published its involvement in “cracking the code” of queso prepared “with only authentic ingredients.”

In other words, Chipotle is one of the friendliest and safest fast-food options in pregnancy with plenty of wholesome and tasty food too. And yes, Chipotle sour cream is pasteurized.

4. Fresh Cream or Cheese Cream in Pregnancy Is a Yay or Nay?

According to the NHS website, there is no doubt, because it’s totally fine and safe in pregnancy as it is pasteurized. Not to forget, you’re even allowed to have salad dressing during pregnancy!

When you have found out you are pregnant, you will probably have lots of inquiries about what to expect. One of the things to consider is what to eat during pregnancy.

Your immune system is weakened during pregnancy. So, you’re more susceptible to bacteria, viruses, and many other things that can cause foodborne illnesses like food poisoning.

5. What Foods Can Hurt the Baby During Pregnancy?

A fetus can’t yet handle certain things that you might be able to, including many types of foodborne illnesses, alcohol, caffeine, hot dogs, deli meats, unpasteurized dairy products or juices. Here is a List of foods that can hurt the baby during pregnancy.

So, avoid or minimize above 12 foods during pregnancy.

Related Reading:

• Apple cider vinegar while breastfeeding
• Meal replacement shakes and breastfeeding
• Pre workout while breastfeeding

Be Safe During pregnancy!