33 Proven Foods That Fight Nausea During Pregnancy

If you’re here, I know you are struggling with morning sickness symptoms.

Hyperemesis gravidarum, morning sickness, struggling to eat, feeling nauseous no matter what… it’s enough to drive anyone crazy.

I remember dealing with morning sickness and struggling to teach my students. Every day I prayed that I didn’t throw up in front of them. Or on them. It was my teacher nightmare. I wanted my class to be memorable, but not in that way!

Dealing with morning sickness is definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and I’m sure you would agree.

That’s why I wanted to create the best, most comprehensive resource on the subject. To help you find at least a little bit of relief.

This resource will answer many of the questions that I’m sure you have:

• What foods reduce nausea during pregnancy?
• What foods make pregnancy nausea worse?
• How can I make my nausea go away?
• When will my morning sickness go away?

What Is Hyperemesis Gravidarum?

Hyperemesis gravidarum is the medical term for severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (source). If you’re dealing with vomiting several times a day on a regular basis or you simply can’t keep fluids in your body, you may need IV fluids.

If you’re dealing with HG, seek medical intervention now. This list of foods may not be helpful to you.

Be sure to speak with a health care provider if you feel that your symptoms of morning sickness are severe.

Is it normal to be nauseous all day when pregnant?

It is sadly normal to be nauseous all day during pregnancy. “Morning” sickness is a ridiculous term that can be frustrating for newly pregnant moms. While there are things you can do to reduce the likelihood of morning sickness, it might be something you have to deal with all day. The exact cause of morning sickness is unknown, but thankfully there are foods that will help you feel better.

What Can Help Morning Sickness?

Getting good nutrition during pregnancy is so important for your unborn baby.

There are six VERY important things to remember when dealing with morning sickness:

1. Smells are the biggest trigger
   • You probably will want to avoid cooking when you are struggling with morning sickness. This includes others cooking around you. Your sense of smell is heightened during pregnancy, and not in a good way. Figure out what smells trigger nausea, and do whatever you can to stay away from them.
2. Cold foods are tolerated best
   • You will see that in the list below, all the foods included are cold or room temperature. Hot foods have more of a smell, and therefore are going to be nauseating. Stick with foods that don’t have a strong smell, which will typically be bland, cold, dry foods. The only exception is hot tea, which can be very soothing.
3. Eating smaller meals frequently is super helpful
   • Try to aim for eating at least every two hours, or even more frequently if possible.
4. Eat before even getting out of bed in the morning
   • Keep crackers next to your bed and eat them before sitting up in the morning. You might even find it helpful to nibble on crackers in the middle of the night if you’re feeling nauseous.
5. Try to include protein in every meal
   • According to research, pregnancy sickness nausea should serve as a warning sign that your body is experiencing a protein deficiency. Think about it. Does the smell of meat turn you off? Most definitely it does. So of course, you aren’t getting enough protein in your diet. It’s one of the superfoods for pregnancy. Focus on proteins that DON’T make you sick (a protein drink, nuts, yogurt, etc).
6. Sodium is probably something your body is lacking
   • It is likely that you are dehydrated. If you are eating salty crackers or potato chips can help you feel a little more like yourself. An electrolyte drink can also help to replace some electrolytes that your body has lost.

Why does eating stop morning sickness?

Think of morning sickness as a form of Hypoglycemia. Your body is demanding so much energy than ever before. Therefore you need to feed your body a constant supply of energy (food!)

A big reason for vomiting during pregnancy is that you’re not eating frequently enough. Eat small amounts at a time, but very frequently.

Try to get away from the typical larger meals schedule for at least a couple months. Have simple snacks easily accessible and close by at all times.

Also, even though you’re struggling right now, this is the best time to start documenting your pregnancy. 

What Foods Help With Pregnancy Nausea?

Typically, bland foods and dry foods are the best foods! This list contains the foods that are most likely to fight nausea.

1. dry toast or bread
2. crackers
3. dry cereal
4. bananas
5. cold apple slices (Green apples are usually preferred because of their tartness)
6. bagels and cream cheese
7. Ginger Ale
8. boost protein drink
9. watermelon
10. smoothies
11. crystallized ginger (anything with ginger, which is known for helping motion sickness, could be helpful with morning sickness as well)
12. granola
13. pretzels
14. yogurt
15. peanut butter
16. potatoes
17. sour things (lemon hard candies, Sour Patch Kids, lemonade, lemon water, etc)
18. pickles
19. berries
20. grapes
21. cucumbers
22. peppermint gum
23. cheese
24. grapefruit
25. chicken noodle soup
26. avocado
27. baby carrots
28. citrus fruits (lemons, oranges- Even just the smell of lemons can help fight nausea)
29. almonds
30. cottage cheese
31. lemon drops or other hard candies
32. anything super cold (ice cream, sorbet, Italian ice, popsicles, frozen fruit, etc.
33. potato chips

What To Eat For Breakfast With Morning Sickness

Wondering what to eat in the morning when pregnant and nauseous? The best options are bagels, toast, fresh fruit, cottage cheese, yogurt, avocado toast, granola, a smoothie or dry cereal. Definitely include a protein source in your breakfast: peanut butter, yogurt, or a smoothie with protein powder.

Best Snacks For Morning Sickness

Whatever light snack you eat during pregnancy, make sure to eat them frequently. A high-protein snack is very helpful such as yogurt or almonds. Fresh fruit, cheese, cucumbers, pretzels or granola are other good healthy snacks that will hopefully keep morning sickness at bay.

Best Fruit For Morning Sickness

Watermelon is definitely a popular fruit that is tolerated well by women with morning sickness. The added bonus is its high water content, which is extra helpful if you are experiencing severe morning sickness, or simply as an extra way to stay hydrated.

Do bananas help with pregnancy nausea?

For many women, yes! Of course everyone is different, but bananas are a great source of vitamin b6. Vitamin b6 supplements are often taken by women experiencing morning sickness to help control nausea. Potassium is also essential in maintaining a fluid and avoiding an electrolyte imbalance within the body.

Drinks That Help With Nausea During Pregnancy

Staying hydrated is so, so important during pregnancy (and sometimes, so difficult!). You know that getting plenty of fluids is important, but I get it. If you’re nauseous, you don’t WANT to drink anything.

Some drinks to try would be:

• water with lemon
• electrolyte drinks or sports drinks
• herbal tea without caffeine (Ginger tea or Peppermint tea is a great choice)
• Ginger Ale
• other carbonated drinks
• smoothies
• lemonade
• broth (which is rich in electrolytes, too)

If you’re struggling to drink anything at all, women often find that the colder the liquid is, the better.

You might even find that sucking on ice cubes throughout the day in order to get hydration is your best tolerated option.

You could even try drinking through a straw. It will take a little trial and error, but you will find something that will make drinking fluids more tolerable. If you have to drink lemonade all day everyday, so what? Do what you can to make it through.

Also, check out my tips if you are having trouble drinking water during pregnancy.

Want to find a specific morning sickness tea? Check out my 5 morning sickness tea recommendations.

What Foods Make Morning Sickness Worse?

Remember what I said before. Stay away from hot foods with strong aromas. You will definitely not want to be cooking or even eating out at this point.

You might also want to be careful about eating:

• greasy food
• heavy meals
• spicy foods
• milk (although for some women, milk is helpful)
• caffeine and/or coffee
• overly sweet foods
• meats
• eggs

When Does Morning Sickness End?

Of course you came here wondering how to nourish yourself through this tough time… but don’t you also want to know when this is going to END?!

Most likely. Probably? Definitely, I bet. Yeah, you definitely want to know when this torture is going to end.

Don’t worry. The good news is you are NOT alone.

I bet you didn’t know that more than 90% of pregnant women experience morning sickness! That’s the overwhelming majority of pregnant women going through the same exact thing that you are.

We gathered data from 819 women and discovered that:

• morning sickness ended during the first trimester of pregnancy for 30% of women
• morning sickness ended during the second trimester for 37% of women (with the majority, 28%, ending in the first month of the second trimester)
• That means that for 58% of women, morning sickness has ended before the fifth month of pregnancy
• 3% of women found that morning sickness subsided during the third trimester
• 30% of women experienced morning sickness for their entire pregnancy, up until giving birth

You can get a better visual of the data that we collected in the graph below.

I REALLY hope that you find relief soon, but it’s important to be informed. I think that many women don’t realize how likely it is that morning sickness isn’t going away until the baby is born.

I wish you the best and nausea relief soon!