Getting To The Bottom Of Your Food Cravings
You are what you eat and most importantly, you are what you assimilate. Your food preferences and cravings reveal a great deal about what may be occurring in your body. Cravings may either be a message from your brain revealing how you are feeling or that your body is in need of certain nutrients. At other times, cravings may be due to not getting enough sleep and needing energy or due to dehydration and not drinking enough water, which the body misinterprets as hunger pangs. Lastly, your cravings may not be your own and may be the cause of candida overgrowth or parasites that you host in your body.
Here is a look into what some of your food cravings may mean:
- Salty cravings are often associated with chronic stress, which runs havoc on the adrenal glands. Research at University of Utah in Salt Lake City showed that people who take a break to breathe deeply or meditate before reaching for salty snacks reduced their stress hormones by 25% and cut their binging in half.
- Sweet cravings are often related to candida, blood sugar fluctuations, and a chromium or tryptophan deficiency. Instead of indulging in sweets, choose fresh fruit, nuts or high-fiber foods like beans, legumes and complex carbohydrates that keep your blood sugar stable.
- A chocolate craving may mean your body is deficient in magnesium. If you opt for chocolate make sure it is 75% cacao or higher. Other sources higher in magnesium content include Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds and leafy greens.
- Craving carbohydrates could signify low tryptophan, the precursor to the hormone serotonin, which has a calming feel-good effect. This explains why you crave carbohydrates when you feel anxious and stressed. Satiety after eating comes from making this chemical in the body. Carbohydrates have to be eaten alone or with less than ten percent protein for serotonin to be made. Eat low glycemic carbohydrates such as lentils, beans, whole grains, and high fiber foods.
- Lastly, cravings for red meat may indicate iron or zinc deficiency. Menstruating women are especially vulnerable to iron deficiencies depending on the heaviness of their menstrual cycles. Whereas zinc plays an important role in immune function and low levels increase susceptibility to colds and flu. Beans, legumes, unsulphured prunes, figs and raisins are high in iron. Shellfish, lentils, spinach and pumpkin seeds are high in zinc.
When it comes to getting to the bottom of your food cravings there are several approaches available to you. With each craving, first drink an 8-ounce glass of water, wait half an hour and see if your craving goes away. If so, your craving is because of dehydration. To determine if your cravings come from nutrient deficiencies there is a simple nutritional evaluation blood test available. A stool test will determine whether or not your cravings come from either candida or parasites. See your naturopathic doctor to determine which approach is best for you.
Learn more about nutrient deficiencies and the benefits of Micronutrient Testing.
