Craving for Junk Food in Pregnancy

Food craving is absolutely normal during pregnancy. Junk food craving is a cause of concern, be it a pizza or a doughnut or any other junk food you can think of.

From the very onset of your pregnancy to delivery, you and your baby are undergoing constant changes. Major ones are:

• Food cravings
• Your weight
• Blood pressure fluctuation
• Blood sugar levels
• Mood swings

The following are the Do's and Dont's to ensure that your food cravings are healthy and benefit you and young one!

1. Absence of Whole Grain: Fibre is a nutrient essential for energy and also helps in smooth bowel movements. The doughnut or pizza base does not have whole fibre even if they claim to, so there are more chances of you having bouts of constipation.
2. Salt from Mayonnaise and Sauces: Without an extra blob of mayonnaise that Sub sandwich will not taste as good and moreover it has high amount of salt, which is just not friendly to a fluctuating blood pressure, it may also cause swollen feet due to water retention in your body.
3. Limited Nutrient Quotient: Junk food has very limited meat or vegetables. The major portion of any junk food is the fattening, less nutrient cheese. This will surely affect the nutrient intake of the expecting mother and her baby.
4. Sugars and Fats: Many expecting mothers have a craving for nibbling chocolates at unearthly hours. Foods high in sugar are known to cause mood swings and irritations. This could shoot up your blood pressure or even include gestational diabetes as a chain reaction.
5. Expecting Mother to the Baby: By eating all the fast food which is fully loaded with sugar, salt and fat; rest assured it goes directly to the baby. Babies born obese and with other health disorders, tend to develop associated health disorders in their growing years or later on in life.

Tips to Stop Junk Food Cravings?

'You are what you eat' and so is your unborn baby. To make sure both of you get the rightly balanced, healthy, good nutrition, it is very important that you completely avoid fast food during pregnancy. Some tips to tackle junk food cravings:

1. Clean your Kitchen Stock: Get rid of all junk food in the house and stock it up with healthy snacks – preferably organic. You can opt for baked options, rather than fried. Buying an oven is an excellent idea, so that you can make and eat tasty, healthy and nutritious snacks at home without preservatives and additives.
2. Snack on Fruits and Nuts: These are so much better than artificially prepared munch bites you get from the local supermarkets. Have fruits and always keep dry fruits handy to fulfil the craving in you. Always eat fruits as soon as you cut them, as they lose their nutrients soon after they are cut.
3. Photograph Therapy: Put up a nice, huge photograph of a curvy you, prior to pregnancy. The more you eat now, the harder you will have to struggle to get back into shape after delivery hence; this will surely make you strong enough to escape the lure of junk food.

It is important for you to always keep a watch on your pregnancy diet what you eat and want to eat. If you can't, do take the help of a family member or a friend to keep you away from junk food.