When pregnant hormones change, low levels of dopamine can cause them to crave strange things, such as ice cream and pickles for example, which is known as "craving", the cravings for certain foods during pregnancy.
Numerous studies show that pregnant women are more likely to be hungry, and tend to crave "comfort foods" that are rich in calories and fat.
After announcing her pregnancy in late 2011, American singer Beyoncé stunned everyone while eating breakfast on a yacht on a cruise through Croatia and Italy with her husband, after announcing her pregnancy in late 2011.
Lauren Hayes, a mother from Wisconsin, pregnant with her second child, "had to carry her one-year-old daughter in the rain to go get vanilla ice cream, which she craved like crazy";
As she told HuffPost, she was stunned, "because that didn't happen to her in her first pregnancy."
Pregnant women look for foods that are high in calories because they raise the level of dopamine (Pixabay)
What's the reason?
While the exact cause of these food cravings for most pregnant women is unknown, Dr. Jolene Brighten, MD, author of "Recover Your Body Naturally After Childbirth," attributes pregnant women's cravings to specific foods to "hormonal causes," explaining that “The drop in dopamine makes the pregnant woman yearn for anything that raises it again, so she begins to search for foods that she has not thought about for years, after she has become dominating her thinking,” especially comfort foods that contain a high percentage of fat and calories, “because they raise the level of dopamine, and it makes her feel good."
Brighten explains the case of expectant mother Alison Doyle Brackley, from Texas, who spoke to HuffPost, about the "cravings for macaroni and cheese, which took hold in the last trimester."
Not only several times each week, but several times a day sometimes, that “the mother’s brain begins to shrink in the last trimester of pregnancy, against the growth of the child’s brain,” and because the brain contains 60% of fat, the mother wants foods such as macaroni and cheese, To get more fat.
Alyssa Vetti, a nutritionist, supports Brighten's explanation with the theory that "pregnant women crave foods that provide them with the nutrients they lack, and that food cravings indicate that their bodies need specific nutrients, even if they weren't eating them before."
cravings for salt;
for magnesium deficiency, cravings for dairy products;
for calcium deficiency, carbohydrate cravings;
for calorie deficit, cravings for fat;
For a lack of fatty acids..and so on.
Between 50% and 90% of US women experience a craving for certain foods during pregnancy (Getty Images)
Exotic combinations are the most satisfying
Research published in 2014 stated that about 50 to 90 percent of US women experience a craving for certain foods during pregnancy, "which is usually very hard to resist," says Gabriel Sandler, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University, It is a desire that "fires in the first trimester, peaks in the second trimester, and decreases in the last trimester," says Sandler.
Pregnant women's craving for pickles and ice cream has turned into a global joke, and a cookbook entitled "Pickle and Ice Cream" was published, offering strange recipes, which pregnant women crave.
A survey also found that cravings reported by pregnant women participating in the individual survey from the United Kingdom included boiled eggs with radish, garlic mushrooms dipped in custard, shredded carrots mixed with ketchup, French fries, cookies and pizza;
And that strange combinations of food are the most satisfying to some of them.
In contrast, pregnant women in other countries may crave foods that are a staple in their country's cuisine, or choose foods rich in nutrients.
For example, a study of more than 500 pregnant women in rural Tanzania found that they did not crave “junk food” at all, but instead had a strong craving for meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
This supports Julia Hermes, a professor of psychology at New York University, who says that “pregnant women’s cravings for certain foods are cultural and psychological.”
The difference between mites and pica
According to nutritionist Janet Pope, a pregnant woman's intense desire to drink milk "may indicate her need for calcium, or protein and fats", and one of the reasons for her eagerness to drink milk a lot may be her "need to feel comfortable and warm, because milk is rich in tryptophan, which stimulates the hormone serotonin." Mood and sleep enhancer.
On the contrary, the desire of the pregnant woman to chew snow indicates a disorder called “Pica”, which results from the obsession with eating “things that are not considered food and lack any nutritional value, such as snow, paper, clay, dirt, coal, or paint.” Which requires a visit to the doctor.
Is it worrying?
Brighten reassures every pregnant woman that "you don't have to worry about comfort food cravings during pregnancy," which Dr. Sandler confirms, saying, "Indulging in cravings during pregnancy once in a while is perfectly fine."
Studies have also shown that although food cravings during pregnancy can contribute to increased calorie intake, “reasonable reduction of them does not affect overall food intake, is not associated with excessive weight gain during pregnancy, and does not confound the pregnant woman’s blood sugar. or cause any adverse outcomes for the mother or child at birth.”
Food cravings during pregnancy, according to experts, then "are a normal part of pregnancy, and it's even a good idea to indulge in them from time to time", provided that you speak to a doctor if you feel that it is unhealthy for her or her child.