Dealing with food aversions

Beans are great protein sources!

Many pregnant women worry about their food aversions negatively impacting the healthy pregnancy diet they hope to maintain, especially as some expectant mothers develop an aversion to some important nutrient sources. However, there are two things you can do to ensure you and your baby are getting all of the nutrients you need in your diet.

1. Substitute foods.

• Meat aversions: supplement your protein needs by eating soy products, beans and protein-rich grains.
• Milk aversions: supplement your calcium needs with other dairy products, such as yogurt and cheese.
• Dairy aversions: If you can’t stomach any dairy products you can supplement your calcium needs with calcium-fortified foods.
• Vegetable and fruit aversions: Most pregnant women who develop food aversions to fruits and vegetables find that it is usually an aversion to a certain colour of fruit or vegetable, so we suggest eating fruits and vegetables of a different colour. It is very rare to develop a food aversion to every single fruit and vegetable so you should have some options.

2. Prenatal vitamins and nutrient supplements.

This is a particularly effective method during the first trimester and if you have an aversion to not only a certain food, but also to its alternatives.

Do you have any of your own tricks for dealing with pregnancy food aversions?