Pregnancy Cravings

Don’t be alarmed if you suddenly have an insatiable hunger for foods you won’t normally eat. Pregnancy cravings are a normal part of life during those nine months. Here’s how to work with it to your advantage.

Sour plum. Cheesy wedges with chocolate sauce. Coconut ice cream topped with fried shallots. When you want it, you want it, no matter what – never mind if it’s 3 in the morning, or you have lactose intolerance. Say hello to pregnancy cravings – that longing for unusual combinations of foods that you would never ever eat prior to pregnancy.

A common occurrence, it still boggles many pregnant women: why do food cravings happen during pregnancy? According to Associate Director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal medicine at NYU Medical Center, Andrei Rebarber, MD these cravings may really be an indication of what the mother lacks in her diet.

“No one really knows why pregnancy cravings occur, though there are theories that it represents some nutrient that the mother may be lacking – and the craving is the body’s way of asking for what it needs,” Rebarber observes.

For example if you simply must have that plate of salty fries along with a Quarter Pounder, it may be your body requesting for more protein or sodium. “It’s not that the body actually needs the specific food you are craving, but
it may need something in that food. And your taste buds just interpret it as a craving for something specific,” says Rebarber.

Good news is, pregnancy cravings are not harmful – if those cravings are understood and the types of food you crave are taken in moderation or a healthier substitute is eaten instead. Of course, if it is a non-food item, then it is an entirely different story. There are some women who crave and eat very weird things like soap, dirt or ice from the freezer. This condition is known as pica.

The American Pregnancy Association defines pica as “the practice of craving substances with little or no nutritional value. Most pregnancy and pica related cravings involve non-food substances such as dirt or chalk. The word pica is Latin for magpie which is a bird notorious for eating almost anything.”

As strange as this condition is, why pica cravings happen during pregnancy is still unknown. Experts say that there is no scientifically proven cause, but the Journal of American Dietetic Association suggests that there may be a connection to iron deficiency. Some speculate that pica cravings are the body’s attempt to obtain vitamins or minerals that are missing through normal food consumption. WebMD advises that if you do find yourself craving any non-food item, see your doctor immediately and be tested for iron deficiency anaemia or other nutritional deficiencies such as zinc.

Fortunately, pica is actually an extremely rare type of craving for expecting mothers. So you can rest easy knowing that your cravings for food combinations are not hazardous. For most mothers-to-be, food cravings during pregnancy usually come in different flavour preferences.

It is common to desire sweet, spicy, salty, or occasionally sour foods. Interestingly, according to a survey, only 10% of pregnant women crave fruits and veggies during pregnancy. On the flipside however, this sort of specific preference concerns doctors as well. When you only eat what you crave and ignore other foods that contain important nutrients, this may cause serious deficiencies in the mother and baby as only empty calories are consumed.

Rebarber explains: “My biggest concern is when food cravings replace good nutrition – in other words, a woman will fill up on the foods she craves and skip the nutritious foods her body and her baby really need,” says Rebarber.

In this case, it is important to be aware each time your cravings strike and find out what it is you truly need. Below is a simple guideline* to help you understand your food cravings and the healthy substitutes that would satiate you:

SMART TIP

To curb unhealthy cravings, eat breakfast every day as skipping breakfast can make cravings worse; get plenty of exercise, and get plenty of emotional support to prevent emotional eating.