Eating Seafood During Pregnancy: A Safe & Nutritious Choice

Seafood is one of the most nutrient-rich foods you can eat during pregnancy—yet most women eat less than one-quarter of the recommended amount each week. According to the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, those who are pregnant should choose seafood 2-3 times each week—which is about 8 to 12 ounces. This amount is not only safe for moms-to-be, but it also provides essential nutrients that support both maternal health and baby’s development.  Why Seafood Matters During Pregnancy  Seafood offers a unique bundle of nutrients that are difficult to match elsewhere in the diet. Some of these unique and crucial nutrients and benefits include:  Including seafood regularly ensures consistent access to these essential nutrients at a time when they matter most  Seafood Is Safe To Enjoy During Pregnancy  According to the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, pregnant women need to eat at least 2-3 servings of seafood each week to meet nutrient needs. That means that most pregnant women in the U.S. should aim to quadruple the amount of seafood they currently eat.    The most popular types of seafood, such as crab, lobster, salmon and shrimp, in the US are safe to eat during pregnancy and when breastfeeding. The only species that need to be avoided during pregnancy are shark, swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, marlin, orange roughy and bigeye tuna (typically found in sushi). These species are not commonly eaten by most Americans.  How Much Seafood Should You Aim For?  The recommended amount of seafood for all Americans, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, is 2 to 3 seafood meals every week. This amount has been associated with positive developmental benefits for babies and improved outcomes for mothers.  Benefits For Baby Eating seafood regularly during pregnancy supports key growth periods, including brain development […]

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A Registered Dietitian’s Perspective On Dietary Guidance, Stress & Wellbeing: Principles, Priorities & Practice

Nutrition has moved far beyond the exam room and the classroom. Today, it shows up everywhere —on social media, in policy debates, at the grocery store, and at the dinner table. At the same time, many Americans are navigating unprecedented stress, rising food costs, challenging health priorities, and a steady stream of conflicting nutrition information. In this environment, dietary guidance is no longer just about what to eat; it is increasingly intertwined with overall wellness and competing priorities. In the final timed release of the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey: A Focus On Wellbeing & Body Weight, we turn our attention to wellbeing. While approximately half of Americans describe their health as excellent or very good, this share has steadily declined since 2012. At the same time, self-reported stress levels have escalated since 2022, with about two-thirds of respondents saying they have been very or somewhat stressed in the past six months. Financial concerns —both with the broader economy and personal finances —top the list of contributors of stress, followed by health and medical issues and politics. Against the backdrop of mounting health and financial pressure, January 2026 ushered in heightened public discourse around nutrition. As many Americans were recovering from holiday celebrations and resetting routines for the new year, the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) were released. And this edition marked a clear departure from previous iterations.   The DGA differed in several notable ways: From Plate To Pyramid: Implications For Consumer Understanding & Wellbeing Although the DGA were not historically developed to target consumers, 44% of respondents in the 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey report knowing at least a fair amount about them. In contrast, MyPlate enjoys (or did enjoy) substantially higher recognition: 77% of Americans recognize the icon, and the proportion who say they […]

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Fad Diets with Alyssa Ardolino, RD [Podcast]

Fad diets are everywhere, and it seems like they’ve been around forever. Some come with a very strict list of what you can eat, and some are more lax. Some of them seem somewhat realistic, while others are unusual if not downright bizarre. So what exactly is a “fad diet”? Do any of them actually work? And can some do more harm than good? In this episode of DataDish: Your Trusted Serving of Science, we talked with Alyssa Ardolino, RD, coordinator for nutrition communications at the IFIC Foundation and an eating disorder dietitian at an outpatient center in Northern Virginia. Some highlights from the podcast include: Enjoy the podcast! Hopefully you’ll learn a more balanced way to eat instead of falling for the allure of fad diets.

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Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: A Casualty Of Fear-Mongering?

Building healthy eating patterns is core to reducing risk and managing diet-related chronic diseases. As such, supporting healthy food and beverage behaviors among Americans is a key public health tenet. While it is easy for us to encourage people to eat healthier, show them MyPlate, and give them tips for consuming each of the food groups in the recommended amounts, achieving healthy eating patterns is a much more complicated construct for individuals, families, and the population as a whole. Food is at the foundation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and eating is fraught with emotion. Dietary behaviors are a product of what the person choosing and consuming the food perceives and feels (consciously and subconsciously), and it can be very difficult to change eating habits that have been established over time. Sadly, a staggering number of Americans underconsume fruits and vegetables. Specifically, 90% do not eat recommended amounts of vegetables and 80% do not consume enough fruit – and this deficit has been pervasive across population groups and persistent over time. With consumers being exposed to recently published lists that propogate misinformation about pesticide use in fruit and vegetable production, we were compelled to understand current knowledge and perceptions of pesticide use and how these may affect produce consumption in our most recent IFIC Spotlight Survey. Pesticide Misunderstanding Jeopardizes Fruit & Vegetable Consumption Habits I invite everyone to read our latest IFIC Spotlight Survey: Public Perceptions of Pesticides & Produce Consumption report and to independently and critically think through the consequences of sensational messaging related to pesticides on diet quality – particularly fruit and vegetable intake. Here is my take on the data: The majority of Americans consider how food is grown when making food and beverage decisions. Food safety and pesticide use are top concerns. For those concerned about pesticide use, nearly […]

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Healthy Mother, Healthy Baby: Prenatal Nutrition 101

There may never be another time in your life where you receive a doctor’s order to consume 300 more calories per day! Your baby-to-be needs those extra calories. While pregnant, eating a healthy diet is crucial to making sure your baby is getting all the essential nutrients to develop properly. Before we get started, keep in mind that weight gain is a normal part of pregnancy. Not everyone will gain the same amount and that’s ok. Gaining the same amount of weight is not recommended for everyone—it depends on your starting BMI. Here’s a link to the Institute of Medicine’s guidelines. What does a healthy diet look like for a pregnant woman? Pregnancy is special time in life, so it makes sense that you have special nutritional needs. Here are a few tips to help deliver a healthful diet while pregnant: 1. Make half your plate fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables remain an important source of vitamins and minerals during pregnancy. 2. Make at least half of your grains whole. Whole grains offer key vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Enriched grains should be included in your diet, too. These grains have been fortified with B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folate) and iron, all of which are important for healthy growth and development. So important, in fact, that in 1998, the United States FDA required folic acid be added to enriched flour to reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects. 3. Choose fat-free or low-fat dairy. For example, try switching to skim or 1% milk. This can help reduce your saturated fat intake. Milk products (e.g., milk, yogurt, cheese and fortified soy beverages) can be an excellent source of vitamin D and calcium necessary for your baby’s bone growth. 4. Make sure to get enough protein. Protein’s main roles are […]

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An Open Letter to Internet Dieters

Dear Chronic Internet Dieter, They say the first step is admitting you have a problem. We get it. Google is the answer for (almost) everything. Guides for child-proofing your living room, what movie that guy was in, and even scripted break-up speeches. But when it comes to diet and food advice, the Google method is killing us. Watch out for: Not going to Google for diet advice probably makes it feel like all is lost (as though you’ve left your cell phone at home—quelle horror!) But it isn’t. Thankfully, there are legit steps you can take to improve your weight and health status. Eat more fruits and veggies, up your protein and fiber intake (since they make you feel more satisfied), and be mindful of your portion sizes. Look to sources like MyPlate, EatRight.org, and (my home!) FoodInsight.org to find food information from professionals that aren’t just of-the-moment fads. Weight-loss quick-fixes won’t go away—just take it from these experts who wish they would—but they can be outsmarted. Go forth and conquer, former Internet dieters! You’re better than the fads. Yours in health and sanity, Liz

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The Whole (Grains) Story [INFOGRAPHIC]

We all know grains are good, but there is more to the grains story than that. Prepare to be wowed by the nutritional benefits of whole grains. Check out this infographic to learn more about what whole grains are, why they are good for you, and how much you should be eating. The Whole (Grains) Story from Food Insight References

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Snacks: Purposeful Partner or Unnecessary Nuisance?

I’m always nervous I’m about to get a side-eye from friends and family when I pull out a snack. It’s as if, because I’m a registered dietitian, I should only eat three meals each day and never need anything in between. The truth is, most of us eat snacks daily, and that’s OK! If you’re curious about snacks and how you could incorporate them into your eating plan, keep reading. Start with the Dietary Guidelines. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide recommendations for what nutrients to consume on a daily or weekly basis. Key recommendations include the following: vegetables (including dark green, red and orange and legumes), fruits, grains (at least half of which should be whole grains), fat-free or low-fat dairy, a variety of protein foods (including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds and soy products) and oils. The Dietary Guidelines also explain healthy eating patterns that one could adopt, which include sample portion sizes for each food group to be consumed daily. That’s where snacks can come into play. Make the most of snack time. We can make a snack out of any type of food. Similar to MyPlate recommendations, they are most beneficial for and satisfying to us when they are a good mix of food groups. A few good examples are an apple with a slice of cheese or some peanut butter, a few crackers and a palm full of nuts or a hard-boiled egg with a smear of hummus. If you’re on the go, grabbing a pre-packaged snack can be a great option. Skimming the labels for a combination of carbs, protein and fat will be helpful in making your choice. At the same time, not every snack needs to be nutrient-dense — we all need some chocolate or an ice cream […]

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