Pregnancy is probably a different experience for every person. One of the major things every person experiences differently are pregnancy cravings.
Suddenly having the urge to eat spicy nachos or wanting to get a bowl of ice-cream with nuts and whipped cream is what we call cravings.
Their onset is very sudden. It can happen to anyone at any time.
These are your sudden urges to eat specific kinds of foods.
The way your taste develops and changes during pregnancy depends on what stage of pregnancy you are at.
It is all relating to the hormonal level and inability to have a good control such strong cravings. They can even intensify as you progress in your pregnancy.
In this article, we will be covering all that relates to what is pregnancy cravings. How do they happen, at what stage and some of the leading food items that people crave when they are pregnant.
So let’s start:
Causes of Pregnancy Cravings
It is very common that you will be having certain kinds of cravings as you progress in your pregnancy.
This means you will be wanting to eat different combinations of food and things.
There is actually a rapid change in the way you consume food. Sometimes you wish to consume simple things and usually it becomes something rare and not easy to find.
Why it happens?
Your rapidly changing hormones are to blame for this.
You are craving because your body has to do extra work as it is trying to produce a lot more blood.
And in most cases, eating this healthy and comfort food is going to be making your body even healthier.
When Cravings Start?
In most cases having such weird cravings can easily happen in the first trimester.
But they actually go the peak in the second trimester. You would be wanting to eat foods that make you happy often as you continually progress in your pregnancy.
However once you reach your third trimester, the cravings will begin to decline. So much so, that you will be wanting to eat something different just a day or two.
What About Food Aversions?
While we have touched upon food cravings quite a bit, it is important to also look into what are food aversions.
These are actually when you will be feeling opposed to certain kinds of foods.
You can easily get a feeling of nausea when you come near to them.
Meat is actually one of the leading kinds of foods from which you will likely be suffering from aversion.
Even the sight or smell of meat may sicken you as will its texture.
It is important that your body remains at ease. So make sure you are keeping away from foods which are making you feel sick.
Now let’s talk about some of the very popular pregnancy craving choices:
Common Pregnancy Foods
When talking about some of the most common food cravings, there are several factors which impact what you want to consume.
Be it your personal, biological or any other hormonal choice, having certain foods and preferring certain tastes makes it all the more interesting as how one pregnancy differs from another.
Now what are the most popular kinds of pregnancy cravings:
Fruits
It is common that you will be craving fruits.
And that in itself is also a really healthy choice.
Fruits are a really good source of vitamin C and you can get this vitamin through several food sources and types.
Fresh fruit is ideal when you look into the boost of nutrients it provides you.
Be it different kinds of berries, apples, bananas or even grapefruit, each kind holds its own set of benefits.
So it is ideal if you are craving fruits as it is definitely the best way to give your health a boost anyway.
Cold Desserts
So as it turns out, having high-calorie sweet foods is also a common kind of pregnancy craving.
This is especially true in the case of ice-creams.
As your body completely gets accustomed to changing. You will be consuming high-calorie foods which are going to transform and also support this kind of boost to your health and diet.
But the problem is having too much of this high sugar food items may make your pregnancy high risk.
So make sure you are consuming such food items with caution and very sparingly.
Chocolates are also a common pregnancy craving. It is something which also comes with high levels of sugar.
While it is known to consist of tryptophan which allows you to feel high levels of happiness, you should again be consuming this food element with complete caution and carefulness.
Grains
Some people prefer to have grains and dietary fibers. There are actually a range of cereals which people prefer to eat during their pregnancy cravings.
This is actually a very common kind of craving among pregnant women.
And it is actually the good kind.
But try to make a distinction between the sugary cereals and the ones which have a good amount of dietary and fiber intake in them.
So having your dietary requirements fulfilled is essential. And this is a really good way of getting it done.
Pickles and Fish
Sometimes it is not just about having sugary items.
Some people also like to eat salty and savory foods.
This means cravings for pickles and salty foods is common.
Top choices can include potatoes, French fries as well as salted fish.
But again they contain high levels of sodium, so you should make sure you are eating these in very limited amounts to avoid any complications.
Dairy Food
While ice-cream takes the lead as a popular food choice to curb your sugar cravings, people also like to indulge in other things like yogurt, cheese as well as milk.
These are quite common food types and will help in giving a boost to your calcium requirements.
Pregnant women require more of calcium. So make sure you get a smoothie prepared everyday.
Include it with yogurt, honey as well as nuts. This makes for a major healthy food drink.
Broccoli
This is actually and probably the best kind of food for pregnancy cravings.
It is super healthy. It consists of calcium and folate.
These are also really good minerals which are actually super helpful in pregnancy.
So you should definitely be increasing the intake of thie vegetable in your diet.
This will also help in combating the issues with having a folate deficiency.
So how can we access and manage sugar cravings which are unhealthy?
Chips and Salsa
This is probably one of the most unhealthy options you can have. But as it turns out, it is one of the most popular options as pregnancy cravings.
Especially when it comes to kinds of dips you can enjoy with your salsa.
There are also spicy kinds which people prefer. There are essential elements which you need to consider as having too much of these kinds of snacks is very unhealthy.
This is because they are full of salt. And having too much is not good for your health.
It can cause you to suffer from these conditions which will impact your health in a number of ways.
Tips for Managing Unhealthy Cravings
When it comes to eating healthy, there are some things you need to consider and realize when you are looking into getting your cravings fulfilled.
You can manage the unhealthy cravings by adapting these simple tips:
- Eat regular and healthy meals whenever you can.
- This will help you to avoid the pangs of hunger
- You should be keeping your pantry stocked with healthy snacks to eat whenever you feel hungry.
- This is especially true in the case of when you are getting pangs of hunger in between meals.
- Also make sure you are not doing your grocery shopping when you are hungry. This will definitely lead you to be shopping especially when you are feeling hungry.
- Make sure you are choosing low glycaemic index (GI) foods which will be keeping you fuller for longer.
- Also you can choose the options of having rolled oats, as well as wholegrain breads and even fresh fruit.
- These are all the best choices for you to savor and indulge on.
- You should also be taking in plenty of sleep. This has been proven to provide you endless benefits. In case you are craving junk food, it is best to keep your sleeping hours fixed.
- This little steps go a long way and help.
Conclusion
Having a baby is a major happy news to anyone. But many people experience it in different ways.
Similarly pregnancy cravings are also different for different people.
Some may crave sugary things like desserts, donuts and ice-creams, others would like to indulge in what we call spicy and savory things.
This includes fish and pickles.
It all comes to having different experiences for different people.
In this article, we spoke of why people have pregnancy cravings and what are the common types of pregnancy cravings.
