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Responding to the call of a pregnancy craving can be sublimely satisfying. Pregnancy cravings can be weird and wild and strike at very random times. I craved cabbage - and I HATE cabbage - but it tasted awesome for about 14 seconds in my fourth month. There’s almost nothing better than ripping open the packet of the random food you just had to have, within seconds of paying for it at the supermarket, and chowing your jerky/watermelon/bottle of ketchup/whatever in your car. Sound familiar?

The results of a non-scientific study among my mom friends indicates Burger King cravings are extremely common during pregnancy, followed by Taco Bell, with onion rings and chicken wings also ranking highly as junk food must-haves. And I was no exception - I wanted burgers and fries and milkshakes (which had to be strawberry, or else!) a little too often during my second trimester.

Here’s a little something that might help tempering those cravings. A study from the United Kingdom discovered that rats who ate diets high in sugar, fat and salt had heavier babies, who were more prone to obesity during their lives. The baby rats born to moms who ate a junk food diet were more likely to be overweight even if they were fed healthy diets.

Remember this is a rat study, not in humans. But it stands to reason that an all-junk-food diet isn’t going to do you or your baby any good, just as it won’t do non-pregnant folk any good.

So I think that bottom line is to do your best to eat healthly while pregnant, but the occasional Whopper or burrito or cupcake isn’t going to do you any harm. Chow on, mama!

Tags: healthy eating, junk food