Why do you crave salty and sour foods during pregnancy?

Pregnant? Not pregnant? How can I find out about this as quickly as possible? Run to the pharmacy for a test? But, it seems, it’s still a little early... I heard something about the first signs of pregnancy, I should look it up on the Internet.

These thoughts overcome almost every woman who dreams of children. You have found what you need! The article contains a lot of useful information about the first signs of pregnancy.

It turns out that the female body is designed in such a way that it can send signals about the onset of pregnancy from its first days. You just need to learn to recognize them.

Naturally, not all expectant mothers will be able to feel that conception has occurred. And all because for some the signs of pregnancy are more pronounced, while for others it will be quite difficult to recognize these symptoms.

Do you crave sour things during pregnancy? This is the body's need!

The body of a woman expecting a baby tells itself exactly what it needs. Most often you crave sour things during pregnancy in the first trimester, when most women suffer from toxicosis.

With toxicosis, nausea is a common occurrence. It occurs due to the fact that the production of gastric juice slows down and digestive enzymes are produced less actively. And acidic foods provoke the release of gastric secretions and trigger the work of digestive enzymes. At the same time, nausea weakens and vomiting stops.

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When you have a sweet tooth during pregnancy, who will? Possibly a boy! Or maybe a girl. Whether the sign of gender determination works and what to do with the unbearable desire to eat sweets again, we’ll look at this in the article.

Calcium and iron: proper absorption

The first trimester of pregnancy is the time when the baby’s skeleton is formed and its teeth are formed. The presence of acid in the mother’s stomach is necessary so that calcium and its compounds are normally absorbed by the body. And vitamin C, which is found in acidic foods, is a good partner for calcium, helping the microelement to be absorbed. However, some types of acids (oxalic, inositolphosphoric), on the contrary, do not allow calcium to be absorbed.

Iron is an important microelement in the body of any person, and how expectant mothers suffer from its deficiency! Without iron, the level of hemoglobin drops, which means that the blood of two organisms at once (maternal and fetal) experiences a lack of oxygen. This threatens the baby with anemia, and the mother feels constant weakness, dizziness and may faint. Vitamin C also helps iron to be absorbed.

Causes

Let's look at the most common reasons why cravings for sweets occur?

• The desire to eat something tasty in pregnant women quite often appears on a subconscious level. If in ordinary life the majority of the fair sex tries to limit themselves as much as possible from desserts, fearing the appearance of extra centimeters on the waist, then during pregnancy, eating tasty treats can be easily justified.
• Incorrectly formulated diet. Strong cravings for sweets during pregnancy, when the body lacks important vitamins and microelements. The desire to eat candy especially occurs when there is a deficiency of magnesium, calcium and chromium.
• Chronic fatigue. During pregnancy, proper rest is important for every woman. If strength is not replenished, then the body requires energy from food. The easiest way to get it is from a high-calorie product containing sugar.
• Lack of positive emotions. Girls in this position tend to experience emotional swings and sudden mood swings. And in this situation, the brain is able to send a signal about the desire to eat something sweet.

Why do you crave sour foods during pregnancy?

When pregnancy occurs, serious changes occur in the body. There is a lack of calcium and iron, which are necessary for the formation of the baby’s bone skeleton and hematopoiesis. Therefore, the body needs to replenish these components.

A woman is drawn to sour foods for the following reasons:

• After pregnancy, the production of gastric juice decreases and some digestive enzymes become less active. This causes a woman’s appetite to decrease and nausea may occur. Eating acidic foods will stimulate the production of gastric juice, so the food consumed will be easier to digest and absorb.

• The fetal skeleton is actively forming. You cannot deny yourself such food - it helps ensure that all the free calcium in the mother’s body goes towards building the child’s skeletal system.
• During pregnancy, the level of hemoglobin in a woman's body decreases. To prevent anemia, the body turns on its defenses. A woman craves sour foods. They contain vitamin C, which promotes iron absorption.
• It is necessary to compensate for the lack of vitamin C. It is necessary to increase women's immunity, and also contributes to the formation of the baby's skin.

Therefore, if you crave something sour, that’s normal. This condition occurs in most pregnant women. But if you experience severe heartburn after eating foods,

How to determine if this is pregnancy?

The human body is a rather delicate and complex system that gives signals even about minor malfunctions. Therefore, to find out whether pregnancy has occurred, a woman should listen carefully to the changes occurring inside. Some of the above symptoms may not indicate that conception has occurred, but rather indicate completely different ailments. Read this table carefully so as not to confuse pregnancy with a common illness.

Signs	Term	Other reasons
Lack of menstruation	Throughout pregnancy	Travel, fatigue, stress, hormonal abnormalities, medications or stopping them, breastfeeding
Nausea and vomiting	2-8 weeks	Food poisoning, infection, medication
Frequent urination	6-8 weeks	Urinary tract disease, medications
Breast swelling	The entire period, starting from the very first days of pregnancy	Approaching menstruation, birth control pills
Changes in color of the vaginal mucosa	1-3 months of pregnancy	Menstruation approaching
Darkening of the area around the nipples	1-3 month	Hormonal imbalance, consequences of previous pregnancy
Blue or pink lines on the chest and abdomen	1-3 month	Stress, approaching menstruation, poor diet
Darkening of the line from the navel to the pubis	4-5 month	Hormonal imbalance, consequences of previous pregnancy

If you have discovered all of the above signs in combination, then it’s time to resort to a test to determine pregnancy at home. True, there is no point in running to the pharmacy ahead of time to get it. It is generally possible to determine whether pregnancy has occurred using a test only 2-3 weeks after the expected conception. Do you want to be sure that you are pregnant? Then go to an appointment with a gynecologist, undergo ultrasound diagnostics, take the necessary tests.

Is it possible to abuse acidic foods during pregnancy?

Excessive consumption of acidic foods is not recommended. This can lead to stomach problems. Excessive production of gastric juice will begin, which can provoke gastritis and even ulcers. Therefore, it is not recommended to eat sour foods all the time. It is also not advisable to eat such dishes in the morning on an empty stomach. It’s better to have a little snack first, and then eat something sour.

Delicious and healthy sweet options for pregnant women

Most girls trust signs, trying to determine if they want sweets during pregnancy, who will? It is generally accepted that when a mother-to-be is expecting a girl, she certainly wants to snack on a sweet product. But in order not to harm your health and your baby, you need to look for healthy alternatives. Let's consider the best options for products that will replace cakes and sweet pastries.

• Bananas. In addition to meeting your needs, you can replenish your body with useful vitamins and microelements. Bananas can be made into smoothies or eaten as a snack.
• Tea with honey. But only if you are not allergic to honey. You can add a little sugar to your tea, but it is very important not to get carried away.
• Dried fruits. Using these products you can prepare a healthy dessert in the form of candies. Use dates, figs and dried apricots.

• Marshmallows, marmalade and marshmallows. Give preference to quality products with natural ingredients. The main composition includes: fruit or berry puree, agar-agar, egg white, sugar and other similar ingredients. A pregnant woman does not need flavorings or flavor enhancers, so try not to buy products with similar ingredients.
• Black chocolate. You can take no more than 10 grams, and then in the absence of contraindications. Because, in addition to being an allergen, eating chocolate can increase blood pressure.

How can you replace sour foods?

Acidic foods can be replaced with foods that contain large amounts of vitamin C:

• Chilli. It contains a large amount of vitamin C. It is enough to add a little chopped pepper to your dishes. They will become more spicy and healthy. But if you have stomach problems, it is better to avoid Chili.
• Bell pepper. It can be eaten fresh or added to various dishes. In addition to vitamin C, it contains vitamin A, which is beneficial for eye health.
• Strawberry. Berries collected during the ripening season are useful. You should not buy strawberries in winter - they contain a large number of chemicals.
• Rose hip. You can prepare a delicious decoction and tea from the berries. Or you can dry them and use the pulp. You should not eat the seeds - they are not tasty.

• Currant. It is useful fresh and frozen. You can also make delicious compotes and jam from it for the winter. But with heat treatment, its healing properties are slightly reduced.
• Cherry. It is quite acidic, so it is recommended to mix it with sugar or honey. It is useful to add cherries to various desserts.
• Apples. Especially useful during pregnancy. It is recommended to eat them fresh. The peel must be eaten - it contains the largest amount of useful components. But you need to buy apples only in trusted places. Before eating, they should be washed thoroughly under running water.
• Exotic fruits. Pineapple, kiwi and mango also contain vitamin C. Moreover, it is useful to eat fruits during pregnancy. They improve digestion and are easily digestible. You can eat them separately or make delicious fruit salads.

Is there any benefit?

We have sorted out the question of why you crave sweets during pregnancy. It is clear that it is not always easy to tame the desire to eat candy. But we need to look for possible alternative products that not only contain a sweet taste, but also have beneficial properties.

In the first trimester, nutritionists allow you to replace sweets with dark chocolate, as it contains useful elements. In addition, this product helps to lift your mood.

But, starting from the 2nd trimester, you will have to completely replace sweets with fruits. Since even a small piece of chocolate causes a spike in blood sugar, and this is not necessary for a pregnant woman. Therefore, sweetness must be sought in alternative products that provide benefits.

Folk signs about this

Many women have a question about who will be if they have a sour craving during pregnancy. There is a folk superstition that says that if you want something sweet, it will be a girl, and if you want something sour, it will be a boy.

But there is no point in believing this. After all, every woman’s body is individual. And many expectant mothers want both, bitter and salty. The most reliable way to determine the sex of the unborn child is to undergo an ultrasound.

If you want something sour while pregnant, you don’t need to deny yourself this. Many women develop such cravings for certain foods that it is very difficult to control them. Yes, and you don’t need to do this. After all, this can harm yourself and the fetus.

You've probably heard more than once that during pregnancy a woman's food needs change dramatically. After giving birth, mothers remember how they hated beets all their lives and suddenly, at the 10th week, they realized that this was the only thing that would help them feel good now. Or they just can’t fall asleep until they eat a bunch of dill, bite it with pickled cucumber and, finally, wash it all down with pomegranate juice with a bite of dark chocolate.

Sergey Vladimirovich Akopyan, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the MEDIKA Fetal Medicine Center (St. Petersburg), an expert at the NaPopravka service, told Letidor about what women are most often drawn to during pregnancy and how to explain such a sharp change in tastes.

Sergey Vladimirovich Akopyan

Why does eating behavior change during pregnancy?

Not all expectant mothers change their taste preferences. For many, eating behavior, contrary to stereotypes, remains the same. But if changes do occur, they can be divided into two conditional groups.

What salty foods can you eat and in what quantity?

Not every salty dish can be included in the diet of expectant mothers. For example, it is better to avoid chips, smoked meats and other fast food altogether, since such a menu will not bring the slightest benefit. How to satisfy an irresistible desire?

1. Pickled cucumbers. Of course, pickled vegetables are far from the healthiest food, but 2-3 cucumbers a day will not harm a pregnant woman in the first trimester.
2. Pickled tomatoes. This type of vegetable is not as harmless as cucumbers - they can lead to swelling and pressure surges, but eating one tomato once a week is not prohibited.
3. Lightly salted fish. Red varieties soaked in salt marinade are especially useful for expectant mothers. A few slices of salmon or trout every day will compensate for the lack of nutrients and allow you to satisfy the desire to enjoy something salty.
4. Caviar. Of course, red and black varieties have the greatest benefits, but herring caviar is suitable as an economical option for every day.
5. Sauerkraut. Although it is not as salty as we would like, sauerkraut perfectly satisfies hunger, curbs cravings for salt, and also provides the body with folic acid, which is especially necessary during the first trimester.

Progesterone and pregnancy

The main “initiator” of such problems in the body of the expectant mother is the hormone progesterone , which is actively produced during pregnancy. This hormone helps preserve the baby in the womb , and the beginning of its production is the moment when the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine wall. Progesterone production occurs before the thirty-eighth week.

With the beginning of hormone production in the body, consistent biochemical changes in the smells, tastes and even tearfulness of the expectant mother begin . Progesterone has the function of “adjusting” the program for replenishing deficient elements . If there are any, then the pregnant woman instantly receives a signal about this problem in the form of an acute desire for a certain product or substance. The same hormone improves the absorption of necessary foods and stimulates the rejection of inappropriate foods.

If you have a craving for alcohol...

Strange taste preferences that arise during pregnancy are not uncommon. Most of them are much easier to satisfy than to fight an irresistible desire. But what if you want to drink beer during pregnancy?

As you know, drinking alcohol can lead to the development of serious abnormalities and harm the health of a developing organism. It is for these reasons that you should not drink alcohol, including beer, during pregnancy.

Remember that giving in to the desire to taste beer can harm your baby.

According to doctors, if a pregnant woman wants beer, this means a lack of vitamin B in her body. You can compensate for the deficiency of this substance by consuming foods such as:

• liver;
• milk;
• legumes;
• chicken eggs;
• apples;
• tomatoes;
• yeast;
• oats;
• cheese.

Is it possible to determine the sex of a child before a missed period?

If the expectant mother has a strong energetic connection with the future baby, she will feel not only the birth of a new life, but will also understand who she will have - a boy or a girl.

Some characteristics can also be used to determine what gender the child will be. When the basal temperature remains elevated, a boy will be born. If your nipples become dark and their sensitivity increases, you are expecting a girl. The center of the abdomen may darken. If the strip is deviated to the left, a female baby will be born, and to the right, a male baby will be born.

Causes of cravings for certain foods

There are several hypotheses that explain the desire to eat something special, in particular:

• hormonal changes;
• emotional instability;
• lack of certain substances;
• physiological characteristics;
• mental disorders.

According to doctors, a strong desire to eat something unusual occurs in pregnant women when there is an acute lack of any nutrients in the diet. If the craving for eating inedible substances becomes intolerable, you should inform your doctor about this so that the specialist can prescribe the appropriate vitamin complex.

You should not give in to momentary desires and eat inedible (plaster, chalk soap, etc.) or harmful products - this can lead to very negative consequences.