Page 47 - April Issue
P. 47
on the way
Crave pickles, ice-cream
and shoe polish?
Most women will experience food cravings at some point or
another during pregnancy, in fact as many as half of all women will crave
some type of cuisine or unusual food product during pregnancy.The
most popular cravings include sweet and salty foods, while other women
report craving spicy or fatty foods.Why all the cravings?
W hen Emily was I got pregnant with Emma. From include sweet and salty foods, mother,bbaabbyy&&cchhiilldd AApprriill 22001111
pregnant with her day one I had strong cravings spicy or fatty foods. “Even
second child, she for cucumber sandwiches on rye vegetarians might experience
scoffed at the idea of cravings bread. I ate them for the entire unusual cravings for steak and
since she had never had them month for lunch, dinner and red meat during pregnancy,”
with her firstborn son. “I used to as a snack even and in fact it she explains, “While scientists
laugh at women who talked of was the only thing I could keep haven’t yet established why
craving pickles and ketchup until down. A bit later on my cravings cravings are so strong among
grew to include Nutella spread pregnant women, they certainly
with shredded cheese. And it acknowledge that food cravings
got worse. In my sixth month I during pregnancy are the norm
actually began obsessing over rather than the exception to
the sight and smell of petrol, I the rule.” A study reported in
used to take in deep whiffs in the the December 1992 issue of
petrol station. But just before my Appetite found that women are
delivery, all of the cravings went more likely to crave sweet foods
away suddenly as if they never during the second trimester
existed...” than at any other point in
pregnancy. The researchers also
Most women will experience concluded that food cravings are
food cravings, some type of not entirely physical in origin:
cuisine or unusual food product that they are a complex mix of
during pregnancy at some point psychological, behavioural and
or another during pregnancy, physiological factors involved.
asserts Dr Maneesha Sanjeev So don’t feel like you’re totally
Phadke, a general practitioner powerless to resist the call of that
of nutrition/lifestyle in Belhoul triple fudge sundae. According
Speciality Hospital, Dubai. “The to this particular study, it’s
simplest explanation is your body powerful to exercise mind over
is working twenty four hours matter in so far as food cravings
a day, seven days a week, to are concerned.
grow a healthy baby,” she says
and some cravings are simply Dangerous
the result of your body’s needs
for additional calories during Sniffing paint and petrol fumes
pregnancy. Other cravings may can definitely be dangerous
signal nutritional deficiencies in pregnancy especially tells
and Dr Phadke says that cravings Dr Phadke. “Lead is a metal
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