How much salty foods can you eat and avoid any risk during pregnancy?  

The pregnancy news brings tremendous happiness and hopes for the future and so many questions. You witness many drastic changes making you question if it is entirely normal or not.

One such change that you will notice is food craving and especially for salty food. It is crucial to know that salt is an important part of a balanced diet being a rich source of sodium responsible for maintaining the fluid and pH levels of your body. It is also crucial for your baby’s development, which solely relies on you for its nutrition. But, like excess of everything, excess salt is also not good for your health.

Is salt intake crucial during pregnancy?

Like other nutrients, sodium is highly crucial for you and your baby alike. Here is a list of things that sodium is responsible for-

• Proper functioning of nerves, organs, and muscles

• Sodium deficiency causes weakness and fatigue

• Regulates the fluids in your body

• Responsible for your baby’s brain and neural development.

• Iodine deficiency can cause miscarriage, stillbirths, and various medical complications

• Low salt intake can cause under-weight births

So, it is needless to say that salt intake is important during pregnancy. But now, you must wonder what’s wrong with eating too much salt, and we have an answer for you.

Why is too much salt unhealthy for you and your baby?

Here are some points that will help you understand why too much salt is unhealthy.

• It can cause swelling in body parts, including the face, legs, hands, feet, and ankles, to name a few, kickstarting a medical condition called Edema.

• Sodium consumption leads to increased body fluid levels increasing the blood flow and eventually the blood pressure. This makes you prone to conditions like kidney failure, osteoporosis, stroke, etc.

We know this sounds scary, but it doesn’t mean you don’t eat salt at all.

Craving for salty food is okay, but how much is acceptable?

It’s time to address the elephant in the room. According to a study, pregnant women should have at most one tablespoon of salt every day, roughly amounts to 2300 milligrams of sodium or six grams of salt. Anything above this quantity can prove counterproductive, leading to unwanted medical complications. While we understand that your changing taste will make you crave for extra salty food like French fries but it is not healthy.

Key takeaway

So, yes, you will have to control your taste buds from going on a salty food rampage and empty all those fried chips. What you can do is switch to organic snacks without adding too much salt to them. But all said and done, it will come down to willpower, and we know you will do about anything to ensure the health of your baby.