Ask the Doctor: What causes pregnancy cravings?

Now that I am pregnant, I want to eat coffee berries all the time. Can I please know whether these and herbal tea are safe during pregnancy. Stella

Dear Stella,

Some pregnant women develop cravings for different things including raw mangoes and, in your case, coffee berries while others crave clay, or even soil.

Although these cravings may have a cultural or ethnic component and may sometimes be protective to parasites or poisons, many times, they may indicate a deficiency in a certain nutrient in the body. For example, one may take soil when they have an iron deficiency. In the longrun, however, fulfilling one’s craving by eating soil might cause a range of health issues including intestinal infections or heavy metal poisoning.

Coffee berries contain caffeine (also found in tea, soda, chocolate, energy drinks and some over-the-counter medications for headache) and if craved by a pregnant woman and consumed could reduce the blood supply to the foetus, risking birth defects, premature labour and delivery, and low-birth weight in babies.

The amount of caffeine likely to cause health problems differs in different women so, it is important to avoid taking any caffeine during pregnancy. 

Pregnant women more than anybody else require to eat a balanced diet comprising water, proteins, fat, vitamins, carbohydrates, and minerals in good proportions and quantities. This will ensure a healthy pregnancy outcome for both the baby and mother.

Herbal teas, apart from containing other herbs, should be avoided since the effect of individual herbs in pregnancy may not be known. Also, some herbal teas contain caffeine, which is not good for both mother and baby.

Help me know whether I have cancer

I always feel like something is stuck in my throat. I recently saw a doctor who said there was nothing wrong and instead gave me sleeping pills. Is it cancer? Moses

Dear Moses,

Feeling a lump in the throat much as it may be of uncertain origin is likely to be from stress and anxiety (Globus pharyngeus), the reason the doctor could have given you drugs for stress and anxiety and not sleeping pills.

Other causes of the lump such as a painless sensation in the throat may include acid from the stomach refluxing from the stomach into the throat such as when there is too much pressure on the abdomen (in pregnancy or obesity), having eaten particular foods such as sweet potatoes, cassava or posho and medications including painkillers (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin). Another cause could be where the stomach bulges through the diaphragm, pouring its acidic contents into the oesophagus. Smoking may also irritate the throat, making one to feel like there is a lump in the throat.

Giving up smoking in addition to losing excess weight, and dealing with the cause of acid reflux may be important. Also, visit your doctor again for a review.