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Pass the Pickles, Please

Craving Salt During Pregnancy

By Shannon McKelden

Though sweets seem to be the most common craving during pregnancy, other women have no problem resisting the chocolate and ice cream – as long as you hand over the chips! It's become a cliche to crave pickles during pregnancy, and cliches usually become cliches because of the truth behind them.

No one is really positive what causes cravings for salt during pregnancy. It's possible that it's hormonal. The body also retains more water during pregnancy, and sodium levels may need some balancing out, thus the cravings.

Another theory is that salt cravings can be triggered by morning sickness during pregnancy and the subsequent loss of fluids caused by it. "Physiologically, the salt ... craving could be due to the body's desire to replace what is being lost through vomiting," says Michelle Collins, a certified nurse-midwife, who is also on the faculty at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. "However, we truthfully do not know that."

Interestingly, the timing of T.D. Smith's salt cravings exactly coincided with the morning sickness she felt early in her pregnancy. "I had terrible morning sickness," says the resident of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. "[It] lasted all day, every day. I was lucky to be out of bed for 40 minutes out of the day."

Smith, who is currently pregnant with her first child, experienced salt cravings starting about the fifth or sixth week of her pregnancy. "I didn't want anything to do with sweets," she says. "If it wasn't salty or sour I wasn't interested. I was constantly snacking on things like Ritz crackers, sour penny candies, most any type of potato chip [and] salted nuts."

Want to see more?

• Check out our Article Library.
• Pregnancy Cravings: 10 Tips for Tackling Your
  Sweet Tooth
• Food Facts, Cravings
  and Cautions: The Formula for a Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
• Snacks Done Right: Satisfying Cravings
  in a Healthy Way
• Talk about it!

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