Pregnancy cravings can get really wacky from time to time. Ever felt like you wanted nasi lemak and chocolate chip cookies together? Ever felt surprised by your urge to eat jeruk and cheese at the same time? Sure, food cravings are common companions of pregnancy. But what causes pregnant women to yearn for these otherwise strange foods? And as a pregnant woman yourself, how should you respond — do you succumb to your cravings and let your impulses guide your diet?
Well, today we would like to share what our doctor’s never told us about our wacky from time to time pregnancy cravings? Ever wonder why we always crave for a particular combination of food during pregnancy? What makes us that way? It takes more than just a psychological expert even to explain why this happens. But hey, we are to share why? So, let’s get to it!
Wacky Pregnancy Cravings: What Your Doctor Never Told You?
Why Do Pregnant Woman Crave?
Cravings haven’t been the focus of many rigorous studies, but some researchers have discovered interesting trends when it comes to pregnant women and food preferences. Nutrition scientists at the University of Connecticut found that, depending on the trimester of pregnancy, moms taste certain flavours more intensely and either prefer or dislike them.
In the first trimester, for example, moms in their study found bitter tastes especially hard to take. This could be why some moms who formerly love such treats turn up their noses at coffee, alcohol, or spicy foods. As pregnancy progresses and the baby’s critical organ formation completes, thus reducing their vulnerability to bitter and dangerous foods, moms tend not to feel sick at the thought or smell of these bitter foods anymore.
The same study found that a mom’s perception of salty and sweet flavours can change as well. In the first trimester, moms tasted salty foods more intensely but preferred this flavour more as they approached the second and third trimester. So it would not be surprising to see that while you may feel like running 100 miles away from a bag of potato chips in your first trimester, you would be popping them and not stopping, in your second and third.
Genes Play A Role
A preference for citric acid, which causes the sour taste in food. It can also increase through pregnancy so that moms were more inclined to eat sour foods as the due date drew near. No one knows precisely why this is, but the researchers wonder whether the increased desire for salty or sour foods encourages a varied diet. That sends the baby a wider range of nutrients. A craving for salty foods, like peanuts, could also indicate the need for more sodium that comes with a mom’s increase in blood volume during pregnancy.
It’s important to note that genes also play a role here. Our DNA partly determines how our taste buds register flavours and our brains perceive them. For example, people respond to bitterness differently. It is based on whether they have a particular variation of genes that shape taste receptors for this flavour. So whether or not you’re pregnant, being turned off completely by broccoli but drawn to the creamy sweetness of yoghurt, it depends, in part, on your genetics.
Hormone Fluctuations During Pregnancy
There are no doubt hormone fluctuations during pregnancy complemented by psychological components can also cause cravings. When you are feeling the fatigue of pregnancy or overwhelmed by your growing bellies, changing lives, and responsibilities. You may resort to your comfort foods which are foods that make you feel better. For example, carbohydrates and foods containing tryptophan could give a boost to the mood-regulating neurochemical serotonin. While being sleepless, on the other hand, can make you crave fatty foods.
But whether or not cravings have a biological basis, you will be more likely to reach out to the foods that make you feel good, repeatedly in the course of your pregnancy. In fact, psychologists say that mental imagery is an important component of any food craving. If you tend to picture a food clearly in your mind, you are going to have an intense craving for it. Can you see the jar of peanut butter or the gallon of Baskin Robbins’? Then you may be powerless against it.
To Sum It Up
So what is a woman to do then? Should you indulge in your cravings and literally eat for two? Or should you stick to a strict healthy diet of steamed broccoli? Or tasteless grilled chicken for that whole nine months? The fact that moms are drawn to, or repulsed from, certain flavours throughout pregnancy. It suggests that you should listen to these cravings. They indicate a need for particular nutrients within such foods for your baby.
However, exercising moderation when indulging in your cravings is probably the best approach. So go ahead, have a few potato chips or enjoy a spoonful of chocolate ice cream topped with ketchup if you want to. But do refrain from reaching for that second bag or tub. Remember, pregnancy is a journey of senses that you want to savour and enjoy. The only way to do that is by keeping healthy.
What do you think? Does this answer all your curiosity to why we woman will crave for wacky food combination during pregnancy? We sure hope it does! Stay tuned for more pregnancy tips and tricks on our blog. Make sure to shop with us at Motherhood.com.my for all your baby items and needs!