First Trimester: Coping with Nausea & Food Aversion

Up to 90% of women experience some form of food aversion, nausea or vomiting during their pregnancy. The good news is that only about 1:5000 will experience nausea and vomiting that requires medical intervention. Most women, find their symptoms are limited to the first trimester and are manageable with some easy adaptations.

Food Aversions

By far the most common food aversion women experience is aversion to protein. From an evolutionary perspective, this makes great sense, in fact, evolutionary biologist, Margie Profet, proposed that nausea during pregnancy evolved as a protection mechanism against toxins and other dangerous substances that could harm the developing embryo.

In ancestral times, meats had greatest chance of harbouring bacteria and parasites, which posed the greatest risk of harming the developing baby. In addition to protein aversion, my clients also describe food aversions to spicy and smoked foods. An interesting observation, as the flavours in these foods can easily mask the taste and smell of meat turned bad. Women also report an aversion to fresh green veggies. Again, these leafy green powerhouses have the potential for contamination with bacteria like salmonella and e.coli. The body is so SMART!

May women who follow a paleo/real food diet rich in quality protein sources find this new aversion to protein and food in general to be troubling and worry about possible malnutrition during this important period of fetal organogenesis. My first word of advice is DON'T WORRY! Simply focus on food QUALITY rather than stress about calorie levels or macronutrient percentages. You baby will draw upon your stores and get just what he or she needs. You only need 200-300 extra calories during pregnancy, which is a far cry for the common belief that you are ‘eating for two’. It’s more like you're eating for 1.1 or 1.2. Your body is smart and produces certain hormones that actually make it easier to acquire and store nutrients from your foods during pregnancy. Your baby will get what it needs to grow, and your hunger will return in a few weeks. Just chill and do your best.