Chrissy Teigen took to social media earlier this week to get real about postpartum life—or at least her postpartum palate. On Wednesday, the supermodel-turned-cookbook author opened up about her taste preferences on Instagram Stories after welcoming 17-month-old daughter Esti.
Despite slathering her bagel in a jalapeño cream cheese, Teigen admitted that she actually can't handle spicy food like she used to.
"You guys, I am Thai, we eat the hottest food in the world. But since Esti, I can’t take spice as much anymore," she told her followers. "I still do it but my body is rejecting it. How do I get it back?"
So what's the deal? Can your palate actually change after giving birth? The answer is somewhat nuanced.
While it's incredible common for women to experience changes in taste during pregnancy, there's a lot less research out there about postpartum palates. However, plenty of new mothers have taken to Reddit to report similar experiences as Teigen.
"Weird question but..did your taste [palate] change after pregnancy," one mom asked on in an online thread. "I used to hate peanut butter. Then [I] had a baby. Now I freaking love it."
Several users chimed in to agree, writing, "YES. With all three kids [my taste] changed" and "I used to hate broccoli, and now I love it. I used to LOVE ice cream...now it's just ok."
"I haven’t liked red wine or most Mexican food since my first pregnancy 4 years ago," another mom added. "My second pregnancy got me back to a place where I feel better about both, but my taste buds definitely changed!"
Like Teigen, plenty of postpartum mothers have also experienced a change in their heat tolerance, specifically. "I'm a little less daring with spicy food now, ever since I was pregnant," one Redditer reported, while another said their tolerance changes with each pregnancy.
"With the first pregnancy, I couldn't tolerate any heat," the person wrote. "Even bell peppers were too spicy for me. With the 2nd one, my taste buds dulled down and everything tasted bland. I was craving spicy food but couldn't taste it, so I started making my own habanero salsa. I also started over-salting my food because I couldn't taste any salt.. super weird."
According to Jennifer Jolorte Doro, a postpartum chef, certified birth doula, lactation counselor, and co-founder of Chiyo, hormones are to blame, even after pregnancy.
"After giving birth, hormonal shifts can change how certain foods taste to you, so you might discover preferences for flavors or textures that are different from what you liked previously. Postpartum fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone levels can impact the sensitivity of your taste buds," Jolorte Doro tells Delish.
"In traditional Eastern medicine, the postpartum period is seen as a time of “cold” in the body, so women avoid eating cold foods because they’re thought to slow the body's recovery process. Instead, warm and nutrient-dense foods—that are high in protein, fiber, iron, and antioxidants—can support healing, restore balance, and replenish vital energy reserves during the postpartum period," she said.
