The old wives and mothers say that if you crave salty, you're having a boy which, in my case, was true. If you crave sweet, you're having a girl, a sweet little girl.
Conceiving a child was the last thing on my mind. We all thought the nausea and feeling so incredibly ill was due to my treatment. However, the day I walked in the door from work and ate half of a brick of cream cheese and drank nearly a bottle of olive juice, made me wonder. Bingo. Our son was well under way. Joy and terror rolled into one.
It may not be the the actual food that you want/need, but something in the food. Your taste buds play a big role in this process. While we're pregnant, the high hormones levels have the power to alter our sense of taste and smell. Foods and odors can be both enticing and/or offensive. Your taste buds may be interpreting your desire as a craving.
Cravings and aversions go hand-in-hand. Meat is the most frequent aversion. Oh yeah.
Craving non-food items can be dangerous and even though you might be embarrassed, you have to tell your doctor. Your doctor has heard it all. The things you're craving could have a serious impact on the health of your baby, so just spill it!
I love the science of this part. The intense perception of bitterness during the first trimester may be an evolutionary protection because toxic plants and fruits taste bitter. Primitive women were protected by nature.
It's a remarkably compelling article about the practice that continues in the Deep South to this day. Packets of white dirt are sold at local stores and flea markets. The white dirt is a "soft, chalky clay called kaolin and is widely used to make porcelain, paper and paint" according to Ms. Chen's article.
Eating dirt is not isolated to the American South. In fact, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world eat dirt. Our ancestors, over two million years ago, were eating it. The practice may have been brought to the United States from sub-Saharan African slaves and Native Americans ate dirt well before Columbus arrived.
Considering the prevalence of this practice, it's time for some serious research to determine "why" it's been something that people do and have done for millions of years and if there's a benefit.
So, in light of some of the truly wild cravings I learned about when I did research, mine was mild. Here are some examples I read about in an article from www.babycenter.com. The article was entitled, "Food cravings and what they mean".
- Pickles wrapped in cheese
- Salsa straight from the jar
- Steak fat
- Black olives on cheesecake
- Cheese Whiz sandwiches
- Eggplant pizza
For the sake of our relationship, I have to confess that, from time-to-time, I dipped potato chips in peanut butter. Just sayin'...
Feel free to share your own cravings or ones you know about...
TTFN, Claudia
Join me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch