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Craving Sugar While Expecting

Tips for Tackling Your Sweet Tooth

By Shannon McKelden

During pregnancy, women's bodies go through many changes. It seems like most of them involve food – what tastes good and how much we consume. One of the most common food-related issues is cravings, with sweets at the top of the list of most-craved items.

What is it about sugar that can entice an otherwise health-conscious pregnant woman to forget all about nutrition?

"Although we can't say with 100 percent certainty what the actual basis for these cravings are, most experts agree that the extreme hormone fluctuations of pregnancy are the likely culprit," says Dr. Ann G. Kulze, a nationally recognized nutrition expert and author of Dr. Ann's 10-Step Diet (Top Ten Wellness and Fitness, 2004).

Another theory is that the body is "directing" us to nutrients we need – for instance, craving ice cream because we are in need of calcium or red meat because we need the iron.

Katie-Anne Gustafsson of Eskilstuna, Sweden, may have fit this theory. All she craved during her first pregnancy was ice cream. "It started probably at the beginning of the second trimester," she says. "It was a deep need to eat ice cream. The craving defied all logic because ice cream is something I've always hated. I never eat ice cream!"

Yet another possibility that Dr. Kulze actually believes may be the most accurate involves the hunter-gatherers of the past. They knew that sweeter vegetation had a generally higher nutrient content, whereas bitter plants were more apt to have toxins.

"Knowing that pregnancy is associated with a heightened need for nutrients, coupled with the unique susceptibility of a developing fetus to plant toxins – it makes perfect sense that gravitating toward sweeter foods provided a survival advantage," Dr. Kulze says. "I, personally, think this is the most likely basis for sweet cravings."

Want to see more?

• Candida and Pregnancy: When Your Sweet Tooth and Cravings Spell Trouble
• Food Facts, Cravings
  and Cautions: The Formula for a Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
• Snacks Done Right: Satisfying Cravings
  in a Healthy Way
• Check out our Article Library.
• Talk about it!

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