Can you eat spicy food while pregnant

Eating spicy food in pregnancy. Read time: 5 minutes. Can you eat spicy food when pregnant? Are there any effects of eating spicy food when pregnant? View references. Lecanuet JP, Schaal B. Fetal sensory competencies.

Ventura AK, Worobey J. Early influences on the development of food preferences. Curr Biol ;23 9 :R Indigestion and heartburn during pregnancy [Online].

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Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. When you find out you're pregnant , you may immediately begin wondering what kinds of changes you need to make to your diet. If you love cooking with plenty of hot chili peppers in your food, you might start to question whether spicy foods are safe for you to eat now. The good news is that eating spicy food will not harm you or your baby.

That being said, your body may react differently to spicy foods during pregnancy. At the start of pregnancy, morning sickness can make these foods unpalatable, and later on, they may contribute to heartburn or indigestion.

Eating spicy food during pregnancy is safe, but it may contribute to pregnancy discomfort. If you regularly eat spicy foods, eating them while pregnant may be less likely to make you uncomfortable, but it is still possible. Spicy foods have some benefits during pregnancy.

They have been shown to reduce cholesterol and early exposure to spicy flavors while in the womb may encourage children to try a wider variety of foods when they're older. While spicy foods are not dangerous to you or your developing baby, you may not crave them when you are pregnant, even if you normally love spice. Early in pregnancy, nausea and food aversions may not make you feel like eating anything spicy.

Later on, spicy food may exacerbate heartburn and indigestion. Every pregnancy is different. Be sure to consult with a healthcare provider about your circumstances if you have any questions about eating spicy foods while pregnant. Spicy food will not harm a developing baby. If eating spicy food bothers your stomach or you have an aversion to the taste, you can choose to avoid these foods.

But you do not need to be concerned about your baby's health and development either way. Updated: Aug. Originally Published: Jan. November See All Trying Birth After. A hot topic: are spicy foods healthy or dangerous? Capsaicin's connection to heart health. Underwood MA, et al. Amniotic fluid: Not just fetal urine anymore.

KidsHealth from Nemours. How can I deal with heartburn during pregnancy? Vazquez JC, et al. Heartburn in pregnancy. Witt M, et al. Embryonic and early fetal development of human taste buds: A transmission electron microscopical study.

CO;2-S [Accessed May ]. Menella JA. Ontogeny of taste preferences: basic biology and implications for health. Orloff NC, et al. Pickles and ice cream! Food cravings in pregnancy: hypotheses, preliminary evidence, and directions for future research.

Chaudhry Z, et al. Women's use of nonprescribed methods to induce labor: a brief report. Triggers of spontaneous preterm delivery - Why today? Join now to personalize. Photo credit: iStock.