Loading...

Do you feel like eating something during an odd hour at some point in pregnancy. This sudden unexpected desire, for a unique dish, during pregnancy is termed as food craving. Researches have shown that once during the pregnancy you may tend to experience craving for some new food. Sometimes, you may start disliking the food you used to like the most prior to being pregnant.

The exact cause of food cravings is not known. Some researches suggest that they might be due to hormonal changes that occur during early pregnancy. These hormones alter the sense of taste and smell in women. While some researches suggest that its a mechanism by which the body fulfills its demand for any deficient nutrients. However, no theory clearly defines the cause of food cravings during pregnancy.

Most of the times, these pregnancy cravings do not have any harmful effect on both mother’s and baby’s health. However, some mothers tend to have a strange condition called ‘pica’- craving for a non-food item, such as crayons, dirt, chalk, and so on. The exact cause of pica is still unknown. Eating lead in the form of dirt or clay is considered the most harmful type of pica, as it can cause congenital deformities in the growing baby. Therefore, you should always talk to your health care provider in case you are tempted to any any non-food item.

Apart from pica, eating non-healthy food is another concern related to food cravings. Sometimes you may have a craving of eating food full of calories with no nutritional values. These type of food cravings only lead to weigh gain and dental problems. You should AVOID foods with high sugar content in case you are suffering from gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy).

best gynecologist in Delhi

Let’s have a look at some of the foods for which pregnant women tend to develop cravings:

• Chocolate
• Ice
• Spicy food
• Pickles
• Fruits (Rare)
• Lemon
• Ice-creme
• Soda
• Coffee
• Sweets
• Crazy unhealthy combinations, such as olives over ice-creme
• Non-food items, such as dirt, chalk
• Milk, cheese, yogurt and other similar dairy food items

How can you avoid food cravings:

You can keep away from food cravings by doing the following:

• Distracting yourself by going out for a walk, hitting the gym, reading a book or watching a movie of your choice to avoid feelings of food craving.
• Fulfilling your food craving once during the day, However, DO NOT eat any thing that might be harmful to your baby.
• Consulting your healthcare provider in case of pica.
• Not shopping for any grocery at the time you have food craving.
• Getting a lot of sleep.

You can also substitute some of your food cravings with the following healthy alternatives: