7 Causes Of Food Cravings

 7 Causes Of Food Cravings

Your body is amazing. Your lungs are always breathing, your heart keeps beating. It is an incredible super computer that knows when to sleep and when to wake. It even speaks to us, telling us what it needs, if only we learn how to listen. Cravings are our bodies way of speaking its needs, although not always in the most obvious ways. Let's take a look at some of the most common causes of food cravings.

Primary Food Deficiency

This is one I always recommend to my clients to explore. Sometimes our food cravings have nothing to do with food. We have just learned to associate food with that feeling or situation. Are you reaching for that bag of chips because you are bored? Does chocolate sound good because you just had a fight with husband? Do you really need that midnight snack- or is eating just something to do because you are awake and can't sleep?

Not Enough Water

Your tummy is rumbling so you must be hungry right? Not necessarily. Thirst and hunger signals can manifest in similar ways sometimes. Before that rumbling turns into a craving for something unhealthy, try drinking a full glass of water, wait 10 minutes and see if the craving subsides.

Dietary Imbalances

When we are not meeting our nutritional needs, our body will send messages to restore balance. However, your mind doesn't know how know the flavor of iron and magnesium, so it will create a craving based on memory associated with a certain food. For example, if you find yourself craving meat, you could be low in iron or zinc- try leafy greens or root vegetables. If you are craving chocolate, you could actually be needing a dose of magnesium- try a handful of raw nuts instead.

Memory Or Tradition Driven

Sometimes our food cravings are as simple as a manifestation from a childhood memory or a traditional holiday meal. A signal sent by habit or behavior and not due to a nutritional need at all. Maybe your mom made macaroni and hotdogs when you were a child and you are missing your mom, so you make a bowl to be closer to the memory. Holiday meals are traditionally created by society and family. Thanksgiving would not be complete without sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pie! Is it a craving? Or is it because you have been looking forward to a slice of Aunt Sally's pumpkin pie all year?

Seasonally Driven

Do you ever find yourself craving more carbs and fats in the winter and more salads in the summer? Sometimes our bodies will crave foods that have helped us historically create balance with the elements of the season. The winter months can be brutal and craving hot foods or foods that will produce fat on our bodies to help keep us warmer can just be a natural part of our way of surviving the cold temperatures. It can also just be that we crave these foods for comfort. In the summer heat, our appetites tend to decrease and we crave cooling foods such as fruit and ice cream.

Hormonal Imbalance

We women are all too familiar with cravings during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause- those times in life when hormones are out of balance! Fluctuations in estrogen and testosterone can create some crazy and persistent cravings! Men can experience food cravings too, but typically it is due to a dietary imbalance or a craving for comfort found in a home-cooked meal from mom.

Self Sabotaging Rewards

When you have been on a restrictive diet and have not seen the results as quickly as you like, you throw your hands up and say "What's the use?" and dig into the office candy stash. Or maybe you have been "good" all week in walking past the donuts in the break room, so you deserve to have pancakes for breakfast on Sunday, right? In both cases the choice is not the healthiest. If you are going to have a food that is off your plan, make a conscious choice to do so in moderation and take full ownership of that choice.