It is a well-known fact that pregnant people often crave certain (usually not healthy) types of food, like fast food or some favorite snacks. And since beef sticks are a trendy snack, especially in the USA, you may definitely find yourself craving one of those thin, shiny pieces of meat during pregnancy.
But can you actually eat beef sticks while pregnant? Well, eating beef sticks during pregnancy isn’t recommended. That doesn’t mean it will kill you, but there are lots of reasons why you should try to avoid them.
What are they? And what will happen when you eat just one of them, for example? Keep reading, and you’ll know everything you need to!
Table of Contents
Are beef sticks ok when pregnant?
There are many types of beef sticks, and they’re made of many different things, including those that you shouldn’t be eating when being pregnant. Therefore, in order to keep you and your baby safe, your doctor will probably tell you that you should be avoiding beef sticks in general.
But as we mentioned at the start of the paragraph above, there are many snack sticks to choose from, and some are less harmful to pregnant people than others. So let’s take a look at that, shall we?
Can you eat slim jims while pregnant?
We’ll start with the presumably post popular ones, Slim Jims – even though you don’t need to worry about anything horrible happening when you eat one or two Slim Jims after craving really hard, it is better that you keep your hands off of them.
Slim Jims simply aren’t much of a healthy snack for everyone, let alone pregnant people, just because of what they’re made of. They’re also usually just smoked, which may do harm as well, so it is smart not to touch them.
Related: Can I Eat Beef Jerky While Pregnant?
Are Chomps beef sticks safe during pregnancy?
Slim Jims should be avoided even if you’re craving beef sticks too hard since there are better options to go with, especially for pregnant people. That may be, for example, Chomp beef sticks.
They are made from 100% grass-fed beef and are free of GMOs, gluten, or added sugars. Of course, that doesn’t make them the healthiest snack out there, but they’re surely still much better than Slim Jims.
Can I eat pepperoni sticks while pregnant?
Even though we’re talking about beef sticks in this article, we simply have to look at the term pepperoni sticks, too. Pepperoni sticks are basically the same, and therefore, the answer is yes, you can eat pepperoni sticks while pregnant, but it isn’t recommended.
Why? Wait no more; we’re finally getting there!
Are beef sticks cooked?
First, we must answer this question – usually, beef sticks aren’t cooked in the traditional way, but rather smoked. And while that makes them not raw, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a possibility of them causing foodborne illness.
What are the risks associated with eating beef sticks during pregnancy?
And that is one of the two main reasons you shouldn’t be eating beef (nor pepperoni) sticks while pregnant – foodborne illnesses may do a lot of damage to you or your baby because your immunity is weak during pregnancy.
The second problem is that beef sticks (especially Slim Jims) simply aren’t made from the best and healthiest ingredients and may spike your blood pressure.
Summary
If you want to be careful and don’t risk even the slightest chance of doing even the slightest damage to your beloved baby, then you should keep your hands of beef sticks, period.
That is mainly because they’re not healthy snacks in general and also because they’re not cooked but only smoked. That being said, it is unlikely that eating just one or two of them will affect you or your baby in any way, so you’re good to go for that when you’re craving really, really hard for them.
Resources
Image credits – Canva
[1] Beef jerky when pregnant on HealthLine
