PREGNANCY CRAVINGS

Fancy a couple of pickles with that bowl of ice cream? Cravings are a strange but real symptom of pregnancy … By Kate Kelly

If a burning desire for certain foods is keeping you up at night, you are not alone. As many as 90 per cent of pregnant women experience food cravings, usually in the first trimester.

Ice cream and pickles, chocolate and cheese sandwiches, ketchup and pancakes. The most common explanation for these kooky cravings is that they are the body’s way of telling us that we need certain nutrients.

Our bodies produce a much larger volume of blood when we are pregnant, which in turn increases our need for sodium. This may explain why some women crave salty foods like crisps and pickles. Some practitioners of alternative medicine have suggested that a craving for chocolate is the result of low intake of magnesium.  Whilst cravings for ice and bizarre substances like laundry detergent and cigarette butts (a condition called pica) have been linked to iron deficiency – even though none of these contain iron.

However, not all experts agree. Some believe that it is more likely that cravings are the result of hormonal changes in the body during pregnancy. These changes affect our sense of taste and smell, resulting in women having a yen for foods they had no interest in before, and also putting them off foods they previously loved. It seems that food cravings and aversions are linked.

Some researchers argue that cravings aren’t connected to nutritional deficiencies or hormonal changes at all, that they are merely a psychological desire for comfort food. After all, if we genuinely craved what our bodies need, surely we would all be eating more broccoli and less chocolate?

Regardless of whether or not you have cravings, you should remember that you are eating for two. This means striving for a balanced diet (rather than doubling the amount of food you eat!). So if you are experiencing cravings for fatty or salty foods, indulge, but try and keep portions small. And try switching things up for a healthier alternative now and again. Frozen yoghurt can be substituted for icecream, seasoned popcorn for crisps or hot cocoa made with low fat milk for chocolate.

But unless you are chowing down on coal (seriously, not advised!), there’s nothing to suggest that food cravings are harmful either. Whilst it’s definitely best to choose healthy alternatives when pregnant, some comfort food every now and again wont hurt either.