Pregnancy: Taste Change

Why do taste preferences change during pregnancy? It can be due to variety of factors, including hormonal fluctuations, increased sensitivity to smell and taste, and the influence of nutritional needs on food cravings. While the other factors can be: 
 

• Hormonal changes, such as the production of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), can cause nausea, appetite changes, and food aversions. 
   
• Pregnant women may experience increased sensitivity to smell and taste, which can influence their food preferences. 
   
• Some studies suggest that pregnant women may have a decreased sensitivity to sweet taste in the first trimester, but this is not a consistent finding across all studies. 
   
• In the second trimester, pregnant women have been found to consume more sweet foods, but not salty or non-sweet/non-salty foods due to hormonal changes, and changes in the sense of smell. 
   

However, more research is needed to fully understand the variation in taste during pregnancy 
 

Source:-Bowen D. J. (1992). Taste and food preference changes across the course of pregnancy. Appetite, 19(3), 233–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/0195-6663(92)90164-2