Food Cravings Are Normal

Food cravings are a topic that comes up a lot with my clients. Everyone, now and then, has a craving for sweet or salty foods which isn’t “bad” unless those cravings become part of your everyday life and have a negative impact on your health and wellbeing.
If you want to live a healthier lifestyle, then understanding your cravings is an essential part of your success!
Cravings are usually seen as a negative, something we should suppress and should fight against as much as possible – until we give in and binge on junk.
But did you know….cravings can actually be good for you? It’s your body telling you it needs something. Not just anything. Something very specific. The key to understanding cravings is to listen very carefully to determine what is causing them.

Find out what your cravings may be telling you with my latest Health and Wellness Tips Sheet – Understanding Cravings, you can download it for free <HERE>.

8 Causes of Cravings

Cravings can be influenced by many factors including physical, emotional, and environmental.

Physical Factors

 1. Fatigue. A common physical factor that influences cravings is fatigue.  Food is our fuel, so it makes sense that when we are feeling tired and lack energy we want food.  But your body may be misinterpreting the message and what you really need is rest, not food.

 2. Nutrient Deficiency. Cravings can also be triggered be due to lack of nutrients, especially minerals and vitamins or sometimes because of bad food choices like fast food or processed foods which aren’t nutritious and make our bodies crave more and more to get the nutrition it needs.

 3. Dehydration. Thirst is often confused with food cravings or hunger.

 4. Yin-Yang Imbalance. Eating foods that are extremely yin (expansive) or yang (contractive) causes cravings in order to maintain balance. For example, eating a lot of raw food (yin) may cause cravings for cooked (dehydrated/contractive) foods and vice versa.

Emotional Factors

 5. Lack of Primary Food. You don’t have to be physically hungry, you can also be emotionally hungry.  Eating can be used to fill the void of Primary Food (exercise, career, relationships, and spirituality).  The cause of certain cravings could be a bad relationship, not enough love, stress, depression, exhaustion or dissatisfaction.  Why do we reach for food in these situations?  Let’s face it, it’s not going to make the kids stop yelling or take care of all the things on you’re to-do list that are overwhelming you.  But, food temporarily gives the illusion of helping.  That’s because it is a distraction.  As long as we are eating we can provide ourselves with a distraction from the realities that are causing us grief, stress or anxiety.  Also, some foods trigger the release of “good chemicals”  like dopamine that provide feelings of pleasure and help us feel good – for a while.

 6. De-evolution. When things are going well in your life, sometimes self-sabotage happens. We crave foods that throw us off, thus creating more cravings to balance ourselves. This often happens in conjunction with low blood sugar and may result in mood swings.

Environmental Factors

I can’t walk by a baseball game and not start craving a hot dog.  Certain foods are habitually associated with specific elements in our environment.  Another example — popcorn at the movie theater.  Food is deeply ingrained in our culture and we have become conditioned to desire certain foods in different situations.

 7. Seasonality. Changing seasons can trigger specific food cravings too. The body craves foods that balance the elements of the seasons. For example, one might encounter cravings for detoxifying leafy greens and citrus; in the summer, cooling foods like fruit, raw food, and ice cream; in fall, grounding foods including squash, onions, and nuts. It’s common to crave heat-producing foods in winter like meat, oil, and fat; cravings are also associated with holidays.

 8. Inside Coming Out. Sometimes, our cravings stem from foods that we have recently eaten, foods eaten by our ancestors, or foods from our childhood. Try eating a “cleaner” version of those comfort foods from childhood. Or if you are craving foods that you ate in past days, a tongue cleaner can be helpful.

What Can You Do?

Food plays an integral role in out lives, much more than simply being a source of energy and nutrients.  So many times we find ourselves desiring food for reasons that have little to do with actual hunger or a real physiological need.
Finding out what is the source of your food cravings is the first step of reducing them and helping you to find a healthy balance.   Remember that cravings are not bad.  There is a difference between craving something salty, eating a few chips and feeling satisfied and craving something salty, eating a whole bag of chips and being consumed by guilt.

Curb Your Food Cravings With These Tips

Plan Your Meals.  Are you eating a well balanced diet that includes all the food groups?  Eliminating meals and certain food groups from your diet will often backfire and cause cravings for missing nutrients.

Stimulate Happy Feelings.  Music evokes emotion and can have a profound impact on mood.  When a food craving hits try to distract yourself by putting on some upbeat, happy music and singing along.

Minimize Stress.  Stress may induce cravings especially in women.  Try meditation or physical activity to lower your daily stress levels.

Practice Mindful Eating.  Eating mindfully helps you be present while you eat and can teach you how to distinguish between cravings and real hunger.

Get Enough Sleep.  In a study published Feb. 29 in the journal SLEEP researchers found that sleep deprivation can disrupt eating patterns and appetite leading to cravings. Check out my blog post on getting enough sleep.

Food cravings don’t need to derail you healthy eating goals.  When one strikes take notice of it and, without judgement, try to understand it and choose to take an intentional response.

Do you need help understanding your food cravings? Find out how I may be able to help, contact me to schedule a complementary Health Strategy Session.

 

 

Sources:

1 Rosenthal, Joshua. Integrative Nutrition: Feed Your Hunger for Health & Happiness. New York, NY: Institute for Integrative Nutrition, 2014. Print.

2. Rosenthal, Joshua. Crack the Code on Cravings: What Your Cravings Really Mean. N.p.: n.p., Crack the Code on Cravings: What Your Cravings Really Mean. New York, NY: Institute for Integrative Nutrition, 2016. Digital accessed 6/17/17

3 Erin C. Hanlon, PhD, Esra Tasali, MD, Rachel Leproult, PhD, Kara L. Stuhr, BS, Elizabeth Doncheck, BS, Harriet de Wit, PhD, Cecilia J. Hillard, PhD, Eve Van Cauter, PhD; Sleep Restriction Enhances the Daily Rhythm of Circulating Levels of Endocannabinoid 2-Arachidonoylglycerol. Sleep 2016; 39 (3): 653-664. doi: 10.5665/sleep.5546. Digital accessed 6/17/17