Pregnancy & Spicy Foods

Do you love spicy food? ME TOOOO. So let’s squash another pregnancy myth. Contrary to popular belief that spanned several generations, spicy food is apparently safe for pregnant women to consume … with a few exceptions.

A long-standing misconception has suggested that the consumption of spicy food while pregnant can stimulate labour. According to medical authorities and research conducted on the matter, there is no solid evidence that supports that eating spicy food does anything of the sort. In fact, it is suggested by many physicians that this concept should now be placed in a more mythical category and considered an ‘old wives tale’ forevermore. The idea that spicy food stimulates labour was therefore linked to miscarriage and preterm labour. Physicians and medical authorities believe this to also be untrue.

Here’s where the ‘exceptions’ come in though. Some pregnant women may need to avoid spicy foods if they feel as though their bodies can’t tolerate it. For some, eating spicy foods can sometimes make morning sickness even worse. And chances are, if spicy foods make certain non-pregnant women experience heartburn or indigestion, they will have an even rougher go while pregnant.

That being said, pregnancies can do lots of weird things to the body and the toleration of certain foods is a big one. What some women can eat a lot of while not pregnant can suddenly become intolerable to consume when pregnant. So if you love spicy food, and normally don’t experience heartburn and indigestion from eating them, this might change completely for you once you conceive. Therefore it’s important to pay attention to your body and how it responds to the types of food you eat. You might have to take a break from more caliente food choices.