# Miso soup? good or bad?



## baybemama (Jan 15, 2007)

My doula told me that Miso is good during pregnancy and I happen to love it so I bought some at the store. I was reading that it's unpasteurized which I understand is why it's beneficial but I guess I've become scared of the word "unpasteurized" and just want to make sure having miso soup is indeed safe during pregnancy! Any thoughts?


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

Well, miso is a fermented product (like yogurt with live cultures), so pasteurization would defeat the purpose.

I love miso soup, pregnant or not. But I don't like the pre-made versions (they taste more like the packaging than miso to me). I always keep miso on hand, since it's quite easy to make from scratch.


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## baybemama (Jan 15, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cristeen* 
Well, miso is a fermented product (like yogurt with live cultures), so pasteurization would defeat the purpose.

Well actually even the kefir and yogurt I buy (organic with live cultures) is still made with pasteruized milk so I just wanted to make sure


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## mama_daba (Dec 7, 2004)

my midwife also recommends it and i have been enjoying it a lot. i think in this country people worry a lot about unpasteurized but in other countries people worry less in japan i am sure plenty of pregnant women joy it with no problems. if you are really worried you can add the miso paste to the water or broth sooner and boil it which gets rid of a lot of the beneficial stuff but also kills anything it same as if it was pasteurized.


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## 4lilfarmers (Feb 9, 2006)

i'm a big fan of raw, fermented things (like miso, pickles, kraut, etc) and personally think it's a great thing to include in a pg diet... my mw agrees although she has said the you could def find people who say it's not good to eat while pg...


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## Leilalu (May 29, 2004)

I personally feel that naturally RAW fermented products are much healthier to consume during pregnancy. People have been fermenting one thing or another since the beginning of time, without refridgeration.Pasteurization kills ALL bacteria, freindly or not. Leaving you with a product that is highly susceptable to bad bacteria.

I am going to drink raw milk and kefir and all kinds of fermented food this next pregnancy


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## JBaxter (May 1, 2005)

My SIL is Japanese and I bet she had miso soup 6 times a week. She eats very healthy and had 2 lovely healthy boys


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## Blue Dragonfly (Jun 19, 2005)

I think the unpasturised concern would come from media info about unpasturised cheese/milk, which can carry _listeria_, which can cause miscarraiges.

Miso would be fine, and I never worried about unpasturised milk either.


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## Lady Lilya (Jan 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *baybemama* 
Well actually even the kefir and yogurt I buy (organic with live cultures) is still made with pasteruized milk so I just wanted to make sure









I hope they are not pasteurized AFTER the culturing. That would be a waste.

Miso is made from rice and beans and salt. None of those really need to be pasteurized before culturing.

I love miso, but I am staying away from soy. In November, my father and I made a bunch of batches of miso from white beans instead of soy beans, and put them away in the basement. It takes 1-2 years for it to be ready!

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Don't boil your miso soup! Then it becomes basically a rice and bean puree soup. The whole point of miso soup is the live cultures.


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