Pregnancy can be a pretty daunting prospect, since you will want to do everything in your power to make sure that your baby is healthy. However, there is also a lot of conflicting information out there about which foods you should eat during pregnancy. To help you get a better idea of what your diet should look like, here are some pointers to keep in mind:

Mercury and Bioaccumulation

First of all, you definitely want to avoid seafood that is near the top of the food chain. The reason for this is that such organisms tend to have a lot of mercury and other toxic compounds in their flesh. The mechanism behind this is actually fairly simple: most fish have mercury in their bodies and fish that eat other fish tend to have extremely high levels of mercury as a result.

This is known as bioaccumulation, where certain compounds become increasingly prevalent as you move up a food chain. In the case of seafood, there are some large fish that tend to live very long lives, over which they consume many other fish that contain mercury. This mercury isn't particularly healthy to the average human, but can be very dangerous to vulnerable fetuses.

Mold-Ripened Cheeses

You also want to avoid some cheeses, but they aren't all dangerous. Specifically, you want to steer clear of cheeses that are designed to contain mold as part of the maturation process. Brie and gorgonzola are among the most popular of such cheeses, but you want to check any cheese prior to consumption.

The main reason that you want to avoid mold is that it can lead to the production of harmful bacteria. While these forms of bacteria aren't terribly dangerous to the average human with a healthy immune system, fetuses do not have the same defenses.

Protein, Calcium, Fruits, and Vegetables

On the other hand, you do want to consume plenty of healthy food. Protein and calcium are crucial to the health of a growing baby and will contribute to strong muscles and bones. Therefore, most meat and dairy products are usually a good idea to eat while pregnant.

Fruits and vegetables are also excellent for both you and your baby, since they contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. If possible, you should directly consume fruits instead of drinking fruit juice, since juice tends to contain a lot of unhealthy additives that don't contribute to your health (such as added sugar).