Craving Mayonnaise In Pregnancy! Is It Safe?

By - Aneeza Pervez

Is craving mayonnaise in pregnancy safe or not? Are you pregnant and wonder if these cravings make your health worse and harm your baby? Indeed, all these concerns are appropriate.

However, craving mayonnaise in pregnancy is safe to an extent. But, it depends on the quality and quantity of mayo you consume. In this article, I’ve described all the essential facts of craving mayonnaise.

What Does It Mean When You Crave Mayonnaise?

Craving mayonnaise is the strong urge to eat or dab on mayo sauce. It is an unusual guzzle to eat a sandwich, hamburger, or anything else with a huge dressing of mayo. People may even swallow raw mayonnaise.

As a rule, mayonnaise is made by combining oil, egg yolks, and an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice. Flavor additives are also added to some mayo varieties. It ranges in color from white to pale yellow, and it is creamy to heavily gelled.

Commonly, mayonnaise is used in sandwiches, burgers, and salads. Salty and sweet cravings are satisfied with mayonnaise.

Craving Mayonnaise in Pregnancy

Cravings during pregnancy are nothing new! Even every pregnant woman craves something unusual and weird. Cravings during pregnancy depend on several factors. Some are the following:

All these factors contribute to the demand for ice cream with lime pickle or mayonnaise (raw or cooked). However, is it okay to crave mayonnaise in pregnancy? Can mayo harm the health of a fetus? Or mayo is good for pregnancy?

As a matter of fact, satisfying mayonnaise cravings during pregnancy is okay and safe. But avoid eating too much mayonnaise or using it as a means to fill up, that might result in stomach discomfort.

Is It Safe to Eat Mayo While Pregnant?

The majority of mayonnaise brands or homemade mayo are good to eat. Moreover, eating mayonnaise with sandwiches, salads, or with a spoon is safe during pregnancy.

The thing to consider while eating mayonnaise is its egg quality and quantity. If mayo is labeled with raw eggs, it might cause some side effects. Since raw eggs are rich in harmful bacteria that can interfere with your normal digestion and assimilation process. Indirectly, it harms pregnancy and fetus.

Nonetheless, homemade mayonnaise made with pasteurized eggs is perfectly safe and healthy. The reason behind this is that potentially harmful bacteria are destroyed during the pasteurization process when they are heated and processed.

Therefore, if the mayo states that it is pasteurized, you are good to go.

Benefits of Mayo for Pregnant Ladies

Mayonnaise may contain high content of saturated or polyunsaturated fat, along with some minerals and nutrients. But it is a thing to consider that high fat during pregnancy can be dangerous to both mother and child.

Moreover, the dietary content of nutrients and minerals is also less in mayonnaise. Thus, it cannot be used as a nutrient supplement or healthy food.

Following is the nutrient profile of 14g (1 tablespoon) of mayo condiment.

Following are some health perks that you can get from eating mayonnaise:

Keep Your Heart Healthy

Mayonnaise contains monounsaturated fats, omega 3, and vitamin E that plays an important role in maintaining and improving heart health. Moreover, it reduces the chances of strokes.

Also, mayonnaise contains 60 to 70% healthy fats that are helpful in nutrient assimilation and lowering cholesterol levels. In pregnant ladies, eating mayonnaise can control their blood circulation and prevent sudden heart attacks.

Manage Blood Sugar Level

Whether you are pregnant or not, mayonnaise consumption will naturally lower blood sugar levels. Pregnant women with gestational diabetes can choose mayonnaise with olive oil as a diabetes-friendly spread.

However, eating mayonnaise with sandwiches, burgers can be dangerous for these ladies. In case you are in a bad mayo craving, you can go with it.

Lower The Mood Swings

A woman’s mood swings are at their peak during pregnancy. They feel aww at seeing small puppies or burst into tears at emotional scenes. This is because their hormone levels fluctuate.

Studies have indicated that mayonnaise contains many nutrients that may help prevent depression. These nutrients are essential for keeping the mind sharp and preventing mood swings.

Makes Swallowing Easy

Pregnant ladies are choosy while eating. They avoid many nutritious foods and crave to eat something extraordinary. In this respect, adding mayonnaise to their usual diet plan makes their food taste good as well as easy to swallow.

For instance, adding mayo to hard foods like bread, or turkey will make them taste and smell voila!

More About Mayonnaise Benefits!

In addition to those already mentioned, mayonnaise is also good at the following aspects:

How Much Mayonnaise Should You Consume During Pregnancy?

Although, it is okay to crave and eat mayonnaise during pregnancy. But its intake should be limited. Don’t go too far with your mayo satisfaction, since it contains eggs and other additives that can be harmful to mother as well as infant health.

Be aware that you should only eat mayonnaise made from pasteurized eggs during pregnancy (and in moderation). Have a little when you like to keep your pregnancy in good shape.

Mayonnaise can be consumed as a salad dressing or spread on bread before making healthy veggie or chicken sandwiches. Alternatively, you can add other condiments to the mayo and turn this into a healthy snack! Be careful not to overdo it, though.

Overuse of Mayo During Pregnancy

Typically, mayonnaise is made from raw egg yolks, oil, and a few additives. It is risky to consume mayo if it is not pasteurized or preserved well. In this way, it can cause mild to severe discomfort to pregnant women. Most often, overuse of mayonnaise leads to stomach and foodborne disease.

Apart from this, mayo is also high in sugar, sodium, and fat content that can lead to gestational diabetes or many other pregnancy obstructions.

Following are the few risks associated with the overconsumption of mayonnaise during pregnancy:

Craving Mayonnaise While Pregnant, Boy or Girl?

It is an old wives’ tale that cravings indicate the gender of a child. In case you are craving sweets like chocolate, ice cream, and candy, then you are pregnant with a girl. However, craving salty and savory foods such as vinegar, popcorn, and sauces may reveal that you are expecting a boy.

If this myth were true, you’d be carrying a boy if you craved mayonnaise. Unfortunately, all these tales are merely rumors. These claims have no scientific basis.

It is actually hormonal fluctuations that trigger cravings during different phases of pregnancy. Most often, pregnant women crave sweetness during the first trimester, salty and savory during the second trimester, and then these cravings gradually diminish till the last trimester.

Rather than relying on your grandma’s intuition, I recommend you have an ultrasound to find out the gender!

What Happens If You Ignore Pregnancy Cravings?

Although pregnancy cravings aren’t normal. But, it is okay to satisfy these strange giggling. Pregnancy is the most entertaining time when it comes to food cravings and aversions for you and others!

While pregnant, dill pickles go well with ice cream, tomato sauce with tortilla chips, and salsa with corn chips. However, you should not become overly tempted by your cravings. Remember to keep your diet balanced and your pregnancy hygiene intact.

Mayonnaise Alternatives

When you are pregnant and crave mayonnaise, you can have a bit. But if you’re avoiding mayo due to some medical reasons, the following are some alternatives to mayonnaise sauce.

Related: Foods to Avoid While Pregnant

Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe for Unusual Mayo Cravings!

Mayonnaise that you bought from the market may contain certain health hazards agents, additives, and chemicals. These chemicals can interfere with your pregnancy and can affect infant growth and development.

Thus, if you have a bad mayonnaise craving, you can prepare one for yourself without using raw eggs. Yes, I’ve provided an easy yet healthy egg-less homemade mayonnaise recipe to satisfy your pregnancy craving more healthily. Let’s get ready!

Ingredients

Method

All is done. There’s nothing better than making your white sauce. You’ve created something healthier, modest, and tasty. It will remain fresh for a month in the refrigerator.

FAQs

Why do I crave sushi on my period?

Craving high-carbs, sweet and salty food before periods is due to hormonal fluctuation. It is mainly estrogen and progesterone that are the culprits.

Craving sushi before the flaky flow is due to hormonal imbalance. Additionally, if you enjoy the taste of sushi, you are more likely to crave it. It is due to the reason that our brain often recalls the taste that we once relish.

Will mayonnaise make you gain weight?

Mayonnaise is known as a high caloric condiment. Moreover, it is also high in sodium, and saturated fat, thus eating untracked mayonnaise can cause you to gain weight.

Surprisingly, 1 tablespoon of mayo sauce contains 10 grams of fat and 90 calories. This fat content is too much for dieters and bodybuilders if they consume it with other fatty foods.

Is mayonnaise good for skin?

Omega and vitamin E in mayonnaise play an important role in promoting the health of the skin. It has skin whitening and scrubbing properties. Moreover, it is a good moisturizer with deep cleansing properties.

Women have used it for beauty purposes for a long time on skin and hair, and surprisingly it gives excellent results.

In order to use mayonnaise on the face or hair, rub it directly or with honey on hair scalps or face skin. Then wipe and wash after 10 minutes. It will provide great moisturization and a smooth look to your hair and skin. Moreover, it can be used on the elbow, knee, and underarm skin to lighten the tone.

What do pregnancy cravings indicate?

In general, craving weird or unusual things during pregnancy is a side effect of pregnancy. Several factors can contribute to pregnancy cravings, such as hormonal changes and heightened taste and smell perception. These cravings can be indicative of nutritional deficiencies as well.

There is also the belief that your child desires to try new flavors. Some old ladies claim that food cravings can give you insight into your baby’s gender. However, there is no scientific evidence to support either concept.

How do you know if you’re having a girl in early pregnancy?

Even so, the gender of a child can’t be predicted with 100% accuracy unless an ultrasound machine is used. However, we can guess the gender from the mother’s behavior and pregnancy condition to some extent.

Here is a list of a few conditions that can help you find out whether the baby is a princess:

However, all these signs are still in research.

Let’s Agree On This!

During pregnancy, you are in the most beautiful phase of your life. A lot will happen, from ups and downs to wise and weird things. You can’t imagine how wonderful it is to lift yourself and let a new life emerge from you.

When you see this newborn, all of your troubles will disappear. Hence, it is okay to go through the rough phases of pregnancy.

My conclusion is that if you are pregnant and craving mayonnaise, salt, or sugar, you should try to satisfy it in a healthier manner. Make sure not to overindulge. Keep your diet and health in check as much as possible during your first and second trimesters.