Biltong, often considered similar to beef jerky is a popular meat snack. It is a strip of meat that derives its name from ‘bil’ meaning, meat buttock or hind leg quarter and ‘tong’ meaning strip. This snack was originally made by the Huguenot settlers, who were migrants from Europe and settled in various parts of South Africa. They carved this delicacy, by spicing dried meat with an optimum blend of vinegar, sugar, spices, coriander, black pepper and other select spices. The meat was sun dried, when these South African trekkers traveled the world across the scorching African Subcontinent.
Today, biltong is available in various reliable stores and is found in several flavors and spice levels. This delicious snack is now popular across various parts of America, Europe and Australia.
Eating Biltong when Pregnant: What you Should Know?
Biltong is often taken as an alternative to several unhealthy snacks like chips, French fries and burgers, because of its many health benefits. Along with a low count of calorific content, it is also a high source of protein.
Is it Safe to Eat Biltong During Pregnancy?
If you are a meat lover and have a serious craving for dried meat with spices, Biltong seems to be the perfect choice. In case you want to know ‘is biltong healthy during pregnancy?’ here is what you should read. To understand whether biltong should be included in the diet plan of an expecting mother, let us scroll down to the points below:
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Benefits of Biltong During Pregnancy:
- Biltong is high in proteins and nutrients. Eating biltong during pregnancy ensures that you get a natural and carcinogenic free source of protein in your daily diet. This helps in proper development of bones and muscles and also increases your appetite. Biltong is also known to regulate the glucose levels in your blood stream.
- Biltong is free of any artificial chemicals, such as- preservatives, flavors and sodium nitrate. These compounds are very harmful for the developing fetus inside the womb. Biltong on the other hand contains only sugar, salt, pepper, coriander and vinegar as added condiments. These natural ingredients are completely harmless to your body during pregnancy.
- Biltong is also very low in carbohydrate contents. As, a result it doesn’t result in weight gain and helps in keeping body fats under control. Biltong during pregnancy also increases the concentration levels of your brain.
- You can also eat biltong as a substitute for other low carb meat products. It enhances the body with energy and vitality.
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Biltong Risks During Pregnancy:
As per research, raw or under cooked meat has chances of transmitting bacteria and Listeria. Since the expecting body of a mother is very delicate, one should avoid excessive consumption of this meat product. Eating moist biltong results in magnified growth of these micro-organisms as it is high in fat content.
As per the discussion above, we can see that biltong has considerable health benefits. But, there are also hazards associated, such as contamination by micro-organisms and chances of Listeria infections. So it is necessary, that you take this snack in moderate amounts. Not only this, the product should be from a credible source, so that it is 100% natural and chemical free.
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However, always decide on consulting your daily physician before including this snack as a part of your meat cravings during your pregnancy diet regime. He will be the perfect source of advice to prescribe the optimum quantity and interval of biltong intake as per your body metabolism, health records and the stage of your fetal development.
