The most crucial period for diet is while you’re pregnant. It not only nourishes the mother’s body but also promotes the growth of the fetus. As a mother, you should always be aware of the nutritional balance your body needs throughout the various stages of pregnancy. One major problem that affects everyone is hot food. If you enjoy using a lot of hot chili peppers in your cooking, you may begin to wonder if it is currently safe for you to consume spicy dishes. To know can I eat spicy food while pregnant, read further.
While eating spicy food is often healthy for pregnant women, eating too much of it or having a sensitive digestive system can have some negative effects. Spicy food may make some women’s uteruses or intestines more sensitive. Spicy foods may even produce diarrhea, acidity, or gas. They typically travel through the digestive tract more quickly than non-spicy foods. Due to the uterus’ proximity to the intestines, these problems may cause cramping in the intestines, which in turn may irritate the uterus.
Spicy Foods in Pregnancy
While eating spicy food while pregnant is safe, it may make you feel uncomfortable. According to Hanes, “eating spicy food while pregnant is solely the pregnant person’s decision.” It may be less likely to cause discomfort if you often consume spicy meals, but it is still possible. There are certain advantages to spicy meals while pregnant.
They’ve been demonstrated to lower cholesterol. This early exposure to spicy sensations, while a child is still in the womb may inspire them to try more foods as they age. Even if you love spice, you might not crave it when pregnant, even though spicy meals are not harmful to you or your developing kid. Early in pregnancy, sickness and food aversions could prevent you from craving spicy foods. Spicy meals may later aggravate indigestion and heartburn.
Are Spicy Foods Safe for Baby?
It’s completely safe for your unborn child to consume spicy food while you’re pregnant. Really! Your child won’t be harmed. However, one word of caution: according to 2019 research, eating some foods while pregnant may alter the “taste” of your amniotic fluid.
The consumption of spicy food specifically hasn’t been studied, though. Nevertheless, feeding your infant so many buffalo chicken wraps can affect their taste buds, and they might subsequently develop a liking for certain well-known flavors. Not that it’s horrible, but just to let you know.
What are the Benefits of Spicy Foods During Pregnancy?
Spicy food is not only safe for your infant, but it also might offer certain advantages. While pregnant, you are eating spicy food may keep you healthy and keep your unborn child from becoming a picky eater.
Expose Baby to New Tastes
Future advantages of eating a diversity of flavors are possible. According to several studies, you are eating a variety of flavors while pregnant, and nursing boosts the chances that the baby will eventually accept various flavors! Your amniotic fluid absorbs flavors from the stuff you consume. By nine weeks gestation, your unborn child can taste the flavor of the liquid it swallows. The more diversity there is, the more likely your baby will try and like a larger variety of foods when they age. This is your kid’s first exposure to the tastes and flavors of your culture.
Heart Health
According to certain research, spicy food consumption has decreased levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and increased levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Your body needs HDL, or “good cholesterol,” to remove LDL, or “bad cholesterol,” from the body. HDL decreases your risk of heart disease and stroke. When HDL levels are insufficient, LDL accumulates, raising your risk of chest discomfort and heart attack. According to research, levels of both HDL and LDL rise during pregnancy. Whatever you can do to raise HDL levels (such as eating more spicy food!) is helpful because it aids in the removal of LDL from your body.
Side Effects of Eating Spicy Foods During Pregnancy
Although eating spicy food while pregnant is not inherently dangerous, the heat and intense flavor may cause discomfort. Even if you prefer spicy food, physical and hormonal changes during pregnancy may make eating difficult.
Heartburn
Heartburn is a common occurrence later in pregnancy. The muscular ring that guards your esophagus against stomach acids begins to relax early in pregnancy due to changes in hormone levels. The remainder of your organs reorganizes and squeeze into any remaining space as your uterus grows larger to accommodate the growing baby. This also applies to your stomach, which may shrink considerably and become more prone to heartburn due to acids being forced back into the esophagus.
Indigestion
The rate at which your stomach empties slows down as your pregnancy advances. Other types of dyspepsia that might occur during pregnancy could also be brought on by shifting organs. After eating, you could experience uncomfortable satiety.
Nausea
One of the typical early pregnancy symptoms is morning sickness. As their moniker suggests, crippling nausea, ongoing vomiting, and intense food aversions are not only present in the morning. Instead, they may persist for weeks or months, day in and day out.
Additional Precautions
Not all over-the-counter remedies for nausea, indigestion, and heartburn are safe for expectant mothers. Call your doctor if you have severe or ongoing digestive issues like:
- Diarrhea
- Burning pain
- Gas
- Cramping
- Bloating
Why am I Craving Spicy Food During Pregnancy?
Ninety percent of all pregnant women have certain dietary cravings during their pregnancies. There are several reasons humans crave spicy meals (or any other cuisine) during pregnancy, even though studies are unsure of the precise cause.
One possibility is that you can be more sensitive to particular tastes and odors due to hormonal changes during pregnancy. However, it’s more likely that your surroundings impact your appetites. According to researchers, people in Japan prefer to crave rice over chocolate.
Another hypothesis that is unlikely to be true is that a craving indicates a nutritional shortage. If that were true, broccoli and beans would be in high demand among pregnant women!
Can Spicy Meals Trigger Labor?
Everyone from your mother to your grandmother to the man who lives next door will undoubtedly advise you to eat something spicy if you’re nearing the end of your pregnancy and considering inducing labor early.
This tip is so common that researchers tested it alongside other labor shortcuts (including walking, sex, and laxatives) in 2011
Researchers questioned 201 postpartum women if they had ever tried to induce labor naturally and, if so, how. Of the 50% who responded, 20% said they had used spicy meals to accomplish the task.
The sole issue? Eating a platter of wings won’t make your body suddenly ready for delivery if you’re 38 weeks along with no dilation. This is not supported by science.
Pregnancy Myths Related to Spicy Food
Let’s dispel other myths that may lead to problems if they were believed. These claims below have a lot of scientific support:
- Myth-1: A baby’s health may be negatively impacted by spicy meals.
- Myth-2: No, eating spicy food won’t prevent preterm labor from occurring.
- Myth-3: Consuming spicy food when pregnant increases the mother’s risk of miscarriage and congenital problems.
- Myth-4: Spicy food can affect a child’s development and increase their risk of paralysis from birth.
Tips to Consume Spicy Food in Pregnancy
You can’t simply continue to eat spicy cuisine as you did in the past. Neither should you consume raw Chile or similar foods. The ideal approach is to incorporate it into your diet so that nutrients are balanced and neither your health nor that of your child are impacted.
- To avoid exposing pregnant women to external pollutants or the danger of infection, only consume branded and packaged spices.
- Start consuming spices sparingly or in smaller amounts, so they are still fresh. It is better to ground them at home.
- Verify the spice packaging’s expiration date. Spices that have gone bad shouldn’t be purchased because they could harm your health.
- Just one spicy dish each day is the maximum you should eat. Acidity or heartburn risk will be decreased as a result. Try to have the meal later in the day.
- Eat more meals and food that you prepare yourself. Set the quantity as you see fit to avoid irritants that can induce inflammation in a pregnant woman.
How can you Include Spicy Food in your Diet?
When eating spicy food while pregnant, you should exercise caution and moderation. The following are some spicy foods you can incorporate into your diet:
- Wasabi Peas: These are hot and crunchy peas that are safe to eat and cause no harm.
- Curry Sauce: A blend of onion, garlic, chili, and all common spices, curry sauce is widely used in Indian food and is safe to consume.
- Piri-Piri Sauce: It is a blend of onion, garlic, tomato, and the main ingredient ‘super-hot’ African bird’s eye chili.
- Middle Eastern Cooking Sauces: Sweet sauces made of black onion seeds, green chilies, tomato, and coriander.
- Spicy Pickles: Available at any convenience store, small amounts of these pickles alongside your food are safe and can satiate your craving for spices.
- Pepper: One can try out pepper-based soups whenever you have a cold due to low immunity. The anti-bacterial properties of pepper and its spicy effect make it an ideal spice during pregnancy.
It is preferred to make sauces at home to avoid excessive use of spices or oils, which can cause heartburn.
Conclusion
Eating spicy foods is entirely safe during pregnancy as long as they don’t bother you. It’s okay to keep eating spicy meals if you typically enjoy them. Many women discover that spicy food does not agree with them while pregnant due to morning sickness, heartburn, and indigestion. Spicy foods don’t necessarily endanger your unborn child, so you can experiment and decide whether you want to continue eating them in moderation or avoid them altogether.
Depending on your stage of pregnancy—which might change from pregnancy to pregnancy—you might be able to handle spicy meals or not. Your infant can eat spicy food without harm, but you might wonder if they enjoy it. As it turns out, they might be acquiring some sophisticated taste buds in there while you savor those mouthwatering flavors.
