Women experience some fairly bizarre food cravings while pregnant, from fried pickles to ice cream at midnight. Place the blame on the dramatic hormonal changes experienced by pregnant women, which have a significant impact on their ability to taste and smell. Don’t be shocked if you find yourself inhaling a can of Pringles even though you have never been a potato chip fanatic. Additionally, there are other justifications to indulge those cravings for junk food during pregnancy: You deserve a break because pregnancy is difficult! There are, however, a lot more justifications for resisting unhealthy food instead of healthy food. Continue reading to learn how your current diet can influence your child’s future health and eating habits.
There are several obvious reasons why choosing almonds over Almond Joy is the right choice. The founder of Oh Baby Nutrition and prenatal nutritionist Carley Mendes notes that “junk food doesn’t give the nutrients necessary to support the correct growth and development of your baby’s body, including his brain, bones, immune system, and organs.” Junk food may not only be deficient in the essential nutrients that you should be feeding baby instead, but it may also have long-term consequences that last long after you’ve cleaned up the Cheetos dust. Although more research is required (the majority of studies use rodents, and humans are obviously not rats), the following are the effects of junk foods on a developing fetus thus far:
1. An inclination toward fatty meals
Researchers examined the connections between a mother’s diet and her baby’s weight, interaction with food, and brain circuitry in a 2017 rodent study that was published in. It was discovered that pregnant rats who consumed junk food had heavier pups who immediately chose fat. The pups’ brain circuitry remained altered throughout adulthood, leaving them with a weakness for fatty food, even though a balanced diet in infancy reduced those desires.
2. A higher chance of allergies
Too much sugar, which is already a factor in cardiovascular disease, may also have a negative impact on other systems, affecting not only you but also your unborn child. Consider: Between the ages of 7 and 9, a discovered that women who consumed the most “free sugars” in the group—foods that include added sugar, whether in the form of sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, or fruit juices—saw a 38 percent increase in their child’s allergy risks. The mothers also noticed a startling 101 percent rise in the likelihood that their kids would develop allergic asthma. Surprisingly, the results were unaffected by the kids’ early exposure to sweets.
3. A higher chance of developing heart disease
According to, obese pregnancies and a high-fat, high-sugar diet during pregnancy can convey genetic defects to three offspring. What might this imply? Increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
4. A higher chance of developing a junk food addiction
According to a study in The FASEB Journal, rats who consumed junk food during pregnancy may have really set up their young to become dependent on a high-fat, high-sugar diet by the time they are weaned. Why? It seems that such delectable treats made the brain reward system in kids less responsive to “feel good” hormones, which could have led to overeating. Along with harming the unborn child, eating too much junk food can make pregnancy more difficult than it needs to be. According to Mendes, it can raise your chance of developing a number of pregnancy-related symptoms, including exhaustion, heartburn, stretch marks, gestational diabetes, and more.
Eating junk food: junk food cravings
Pregnant women should ideally consume fewer foods that are highly processed and contain white flour, sugar, and artificial additives. Trans fats, such as oils that have been hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, are especially harmful during pregnancy. the positive news, On the other hand, healthy snacking can ease pregnancy and offer the unborn child a head start on excellent health, supporting bone and immune system development as well as tissue and brain development. But if you consume junk food and can’t resist the taste of fat, sweetness, or salt, then just pick the proper snacks to sate your appetite. Mendes warns that if all you think about is what you should avoid, you could start to feel deprived. I constantly work with my clients to come up with healthy alternatives and healthy eating habits to their favorite pleasures.
How to replace the junk food?
Here are a few clever switches to satisfy your cravings: If you want nachos, Cheetos, or potato chipsConsider kale chips, beet chips, or dried seaweed (all of which Mendes describes as wonderful sources of folate). If you want sweets or cakes, Choose bananas, apples, or any other fruit (make them a bit more appetizing by drizzling them with melted dark chocolate or complementing them with almond butter); think about making Mendes’s DIY healthy chocolate cupcakes. In case you want: ice creamery fruity yogurt and Mendes’s homemade mango ginger creamsicles, which, as a bonus, can aid during morning sickness. or banana-based ice cream, Please be aware that The Bump and the contents and information it includes are not meant to be used as, and do not represent, medical advice or other health diagnostic. Always talk to a licensed doctor or other health care provider about your individual situation.
Effects Of Junk Food Consumption During Pregnancy
Your body goes through a great deal of continuous change from when your pregnancy test indicates a positive result until you hold your newborn in your arms. Every bit of food you take in while pregnant has a significant impact on how the fetus grows inside of you. Pregnant women have some reasonably bizarre food desires during pregnancy, especially for unhealthy foods. These cravings range from oily fried dishes to ice cream at midnight. During pregnancy, it might be challenging to resist those desires. This is the result of the severe hormonal ups and downs that a pregnant woman goes through during this time. Your sensations of taste and smell are significantly altered when you are pregnant due to these significant hormonal changes. Even though you’ve never been a fan of potato chips, don’t be surprised if you find yourself salivating before a bag of chips or waking up in the middle of the night to need a plate of fries.
Even though there are many justifications for these strange urges, junk food is always deemed to be unhealthy. Additionally, experts have discovered that mothers who are more inclined to eat junk food are more likely to have kids who have mental health issues. Junk food consumption is detrimental to women who intend to become pregnant soon. While specific desires are OK, others, such as those for junk food, can be harmful to both the mother and the unborn child. Let’s first define junk food before we delve into the hows and whys of it.