Eating fast food during pregnancy may be tempting to many women because your body may cause you to crave salty or sweet food. However, eating junk food may not be a good option because pregnant women need nutrient-rich food to nourish themselves and the growing fetus. Since junk food is low on nutrients, eating it can adversely affect the baby’s health. Some negative effects of junk food may be an increase in digestive issues, weight gain, and risk of genetic abnormalities in children. Therefore, it is recommended to adopt healthy eating habits and choose your food options mindfully. This post shares some side effects of eating junk food while pregnant and how you can curb the craving.
Why Should You Limit Eating Junk Food During Pregnancy?
You and your baby need a good amount of nutrients during pregnancy for healthy weight gain in you and proper development of brain, bones, organs and immune system in your baby. Junk food is low in nutritional value, so it doesn’t provide many of the necessary nutrients you need during pregnancy. If you fill up on junk foods, there’s little room left to eat the nutritious food you need. Here are the possible ways junk food may affect you and your baby : The study, which was carried out on pregnant rats, revealed that the rats that ate high-fat food during pregnancy had heavier pups, which preferred fatty foods. Their brain circuitry got altered to have a weakness for fatty foods throughout their adulthood. However, a balanced diet showed a lesser craving for fatty foods in the rat offspring (1). Limiting your intake of junk foods may be easier said than done. Hence, read on as we share some tricks to manage cravings.
How To Control Junk Food Cravings?
First decide that you want to eat healthy foods during your pregnancy to increase the health of you and your baby. Get smart and cook some dishes at home to feed your cravings. Here are the alternatives if you have a craving for:
potato chips or such stuff – go for baked kale chips, beet chips or dried seaweed.
cakes and candies – snack on bananas, apples or any other fruit paired with almond butter or a drizzle of melted chocolate.
ice creams – fruity yogurt or ice cream made with bananas.
And, if you want to eat some food from outside, then here are some options (8):
Stir-fried chicken or seafood, which is light on the oil and sauces A whole wheat roll-up or wraps without mayonnaise and with salad Two slices of vegetarian pizza with a green salad as side dish Brown rice or whole-wheat pasta with tomato based sauce Clear soups Avoid salads with creamy or oil-based dressings as they can be very high in fat.
