Do you know why pregnant women crave for pickles and ice cream?

Prof. Know Why explains:

Pregnant women are famous for their midnight yearnings for pickles and ice cream. And the desire for chocolates is the stuff of legend.

It’s tempting to believe –as many people do –that cravings are the body’s way of telling us that we are lacking a certain nutrient which the food we crave can supply. Chocolates, as the belief goes, might soothe a broken heart by replacing compounds lost in oceans of tears. But pregnant women might crave ice cream because they need calcium and pickles because they lack sodium.

Pregnant women rarely crave for fruits and vegetables. More often, they yarn for foods that are very sweet, spicy or salty. From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes sense. A craving for highly palatable foods may have been nature’s way of boosting calorie intake, ensuring a healthy pregnancy.

So would-be fathers –get ready for your sweet-heart’s sudden demand of a chocolate-ice cream in the wee hours of the night.