Home / Guides / Nutrition

Salty or Sweet Cravings in the Second Trimester: What They May and May Not Mean

NNova editorial team · 6 min read

Salty or sweet cravings are more often linked to sleep, stress, nausea, eating patterns, and appetite changes than to a specific nutrient shortage. Intense cravings, or cravings for non-food items, are worth discussing with your provider.

Cravings do not always mean a deficiency

Food cravings are very common during pregnancy. They may get stronger with fatigue, stress, dehydration, or blood sugar swings, and they do not always mean you are short on a vitamin or mineral. A craving alone is not a reliable way to tell whether your diet is missing something.

What may be worth checking

  • Iron levels, if you have fatigue, paleness, or shortness of breath. Your provider may already check for anemia with routine prenatal blood tests.
  • Eating pattern, if long gaps between meals make sweet cravings stronger.
  • Sleep and stress, if salty or very intense flavors feel especially appealing.
  • Food aversions and nausea, if certain foods have become hard to tolerate.

In rare cases, a strong craving for ice, dirt, clay, starch, or other non-food items is called pica. Pica may be linked to iron deficiency, but it can also have other causes. Eating soil or clay can also expose you to lead and parasites, so it is best to tell your provider about these cravings.

Contact your provider promptly if cravings become hard to control, you feel unusually weak, you notice hair loss, your heart races, or non-food items start to seem appealing. These symptoms are worth a visit and blood tests.

Learn more

Follow your pregnancy in Nova

Week-by-week growth, a symptom log and a report for your doctor.

Get it on the App Store

General information only; it does not replace advice from your doctor or midwife.