Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do …
That’s the way I felt about eating the best quality cheeses, especially brie cheese, when I was pregnant.
Like other expecting mothers, I was warned during prenatal consultations to avoid soft cheeses like brie due the risk of Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can trigger a food borne bacterial infection which carries the potential risk of miscarriage.
The trouble was, I craved brie cheese like crazy when I was pregnant!
So what did I do?
I concluded that the risk from eating brie was probably incredibly small and overblown due to the misguided, prejudiced view against unpasteurized dairy products by government health authorities which are responsible for putting together these types of frequently foolish recommendations.
So I indulged my craving and ate brie cheese to my heart’s content figuring there was something in this particular traditional food that I needed even though I didn’t know what it was at the time.
I am so glad I followed my instincts!
In a podcast as co-host with Fearless Parent Radio awhile back, I interviewed Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue, author of Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life. It is, without a doubt, one of the best health books I have read – ever.
Dr. Kate goes over the huge benefits of Vitamin K2 to health (including straight, cavity free teeth and plaque free arteries), why nearly everyone is deficient, and those foods that are highest in it. You guessed it, brie is one of the best sources and is critical to healthy development of an infant! Incidentally, gouda cheese is another food extremely high in K2.
Turns out Dr. Kate craved and ate brie cheese when she was pregnant too! I encourage you to read this book if you have pregnancy related brie cravings too!
More Information
The Vitamin Deficiency That is Written All Over Your Face
How do you get raw Brie when it is illegal in the US? Do you just have to make it yourself?
It’s not illegal. I eat it all the time. Whole Foods carries it seasonally.
it’s definitely not illegal in the US lmao it’s at my local Walmart, Giant Eagle, Marc’s, and Sam’s Club to name a few lol i’ve been eating it like crazy these past few days
Thank you! *said with her mouth full of brie… 🙂
I’ve never been a fan of government sponsored websites telling a pregnant person what to and what not to eat- this is exactly why I’ll be indulging my cravings for wines and chorizo.
I may had toxoplasmosis once but it’s rare, it’s not like it’s going to happen again and to anyone else.
I don’t like to take supplements while Im pregnant. I know that is very important K2 Mk4 for the right developmental of teeth fetus. What food sources can eat that has this very important nutrient. K2 Mk4..I heard Gouda cheese is that right how much daily I should eat>? Thanks
not able to hear the podcast for dr kate and you for some reason thanks sarah for your attention to this
Please click through to the Fearless Parent website linked to in the article to hear the podcast. Thanks 🙂
With my first pregnancy I craved hot peppers. And with my second pregnancy I mostly craved cheese–any kind really, mostly blue cheese. I’m now pregnant with my third and am craving eggs, liver, cheese, and fruit and veggies. I have had absolutely no morning sickness what’s so ever–I attribute it to really making an effort to eat/live clean. I may have to run to the store later to get some cheese. I’ve never been a fan of ‘what not to eat while pregnant’ lists especially when they’re on government sponsored websites.
This is not science and research.
Actually, if you listen to the podcast, Dr. Kate goes over how the “science” is very weak with regard to listeria and brie.
I recently had some Brie and wondered if you are supposed to eat the rind? Is the nutritional value more so in the soft center cheese or the white molded rind? Thanks
I eat all it, it’s all delicious and good for me as my body indicates
I learn so much from you, thank you for all of the information you provide to us!
Sarah, thank you for your work, it is very helpful! I live in a state where raw milk sale is completely illegal, even through herd shares, so was wondering if you have any recipes or tutorials on making brie cheese yourself/at home? I can find raw milk locally a few months out of the year from a few people who i know on a personal level, most of them have goats not cows, so also was wondering if goats milk can make a brie cheese? Thanks!!
I’ve never made brie … something I should definitely look into though!