What Your Food Cravings Really Mean
Food cravings are funny things — once the desire for a certain food strikes, it can be hard to think about anything else until you give in. You can spend your weekend meal prepping and have a ton of nutritious food ready for the week, but when a craving for salty food sets in it’s easy to push those balanced meals and snacks aside and reach for a bowl cornflakes, a bag of chips or boxed mac & cheese, instead. Research them psychological — nostalgia, memories, emotional attachments, reveals that cravings can pop up for a lot of different reasons, many of pleasure, and reward all play a role here. But psychology isn’t the only factor behind cravings. Hormonal changes and nutrient deficiencies, as well as your environment, play a role in some situations, too. To learn more about what drives some of the most common food cravings — salty, sweet, caffeine, and more — we work directly with some leading nutritionists. Beyond lending some insight into why our cravings appear, they also shared some helpful advice for curbing cravings. Keep reading for further information about some of the most common cravings.
- Salty Food Cravings
- Sweet Food Cravings
- Ice Cream Cravings
- Caffeine Cravings
- Chocolate Cravings
- Cheese (Dairy) Cravings
- Junk Food (Processed Foods) Cravings
- Fried (Fatty/Oily) Food Cravings
- Crunchy Food Cravings
- Meat Cravings
- Carbs Cravings
- Healthy Food Cravings
If you’re craving salty foods, there’s a good chance you’re dehydrated. This might be from sweating, illness, exercise, chronic stress, drinking too much alcohol, diuretic medication, or even from stomach troubles that have you in the bathroom a lot. Salt cravings are often a sign your body is trying to rebalance electrolytes and wate, which can easily unbalance. Another reason you crave salt might be because you regularely eat salty foods - you tend to crave what you eat a lot of in your diet.
Hydration may be the key to kicking your salt cravings. You’ll want to make sure you drink enough water each day, and add in electrolytes if you’ve lost a lot of fluids through sweating or sickness. a common rule of thumb to make sure you're drinking enough water each day is to divide your weight (in pounds) in half and drink that amount in ounces. Also, try eating foods that are higher in salt naturally like beets, celery, and carrots, or adding quality salts such as pink Himalayan salt to meals or vegetables. If stress might be the culprit that’s driving your cravings, make an effort to decrease your stress levels with exercise, a healthy diet, and rest.
Tip: Keep a water bottle with you at all times to encourage regular hydration throughout the day.
We crave sugar in response to imbalanced blood sugar levels - as they go up cravings subside, but as they come down our body craves more. Blood sugar imbalances can happen for a lot of reasons, including not eating enough, and eating too many starchy foods and not enough protein and healthy fats. Sugar cravings are also common when we’re tired, because sugar tends to be a go-to source of energy when our body needs it quickly. Your body will be asking for the most simple form of flucose to fuel itself when it's not getting enough calories.
Keep your sugar intake to a minimum and make sure to eat balanced meals containing protein and healthy fats. Eating fulfilling, nutritious meals ncluding a hearty and balanced breakfast and drinking plenty of water will help you curb your sugar cravings. Try turning to vegetables such as sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, naturally sweetened foods such as coconut, grapes, and berries, or high-fiber foods like garbanzo beans and lentils. If sugar cravings keep popping up because you’re tired, make sure you’re getting enough sleep. You can also try to incorporate calming activities like meditation and yoga into your day.
Tip: Prep lots of fruit and nuts for when you get snacky.
If you crave ice cream it probably means your body is in need of healthy fats or experiencing low levels of calcium. It is one of the most common pregnancy cravings - when the baby is growing inside you it needs high levels of calcium to stay healthy.
Make sure you eat enough calcium rich foods like apricots and figs, leafy greens such as spinach, kale and okra, nuts such as walnuts and almonds, chickpeas and tofu. Or try making your own ice cream from pureed fruit such as blueberries, bananas and strawberries.Tip: Purée soft fruits until sikly smooth, add granola, nuts and seeds as toppings.
Coffee cravings can happen for a number of reasons — sometimes it’s simply just a habit, while other times we’re reaching for it to help fight the exhaustion we feel when we’re stressed. Similarily, it can be a sign of low iron levels since symptoms include fatigue and weakness.
To fight coffee and caffeine cravings, you’ll want to stay hydrated, make sure you’re getting enough rest, and eat iron-rich foods like beans, shellfish, spinach, red meat, quinoa, tofu, and broccoli. If you have a feeling your craving may be habitual, try changing up your habits and starting your day with a glass of tea or lemon water before reaching for caffeine.
Tip: Once in a while switch out your coffee for a tea to break the habit.
Chocolate is high in both sugar and fat and can be craved for a multitude of reasons including a sugar fix, PMS, hunger, caffeine craving, habit, stress, or if your body is in need of magnesium. Meanwhile, sometimes your body develops a habit of reaching for certain foods when you’re in a specific mood.
Dealing with a chocolate craving is going to depend on its source. One option is to look for a healthier food that’s high in fat and sugar, like avocado toast or an apple with almond butter. If your craving is because of a magnesium deficiency, try eating magnesium-rich foods like avocado, beans, almonds, tofu, fatty fish, and even dark chocolate with a high cocoa percentage - 85% or higher - as it will have more antioxidants and less sugar.
Tip: Keep dark chocolate stocked in your fridge for those moments.
When you are craving cheese or other dairy products you might not be getting enough calcium or vitamin D or not eating enough fats. Another reason might be emotional eating. It is well known that foods high in fat and sugar can evoke chemical reactions in the body. The amino acid l-tryptophan found in cheese boosts serotonin production - the hormone that influences how happy you feel.
Similarily to ice cream cravings, you want to make sure you are eating enough foods high in calcium and healthy fats. Also, make sure you are eating a well-balanced and nutritous diet. Should the reason for your cheese or dairy craving be emotional, try adding some regular exercise to your daily routine, to help release dopamine in your brain, the feel-good chemical.
Tip: Try some plant-based cheese alternatives, like nut cheeses.
Sometimes we crave junk food because we eat it all the time and have become addicted to it. Sometimes nostalgia and memories of positive or negative times in our lives drive our junk food cravings.
Try focusing on balanced meals that contain a variety of nutrients and limit the amount of processed foods you eat. Remember that many food cravings aren’t driven by specific nutrient deficiencies. In many cases, undereating or restricting certain foods can leave you wanting them even more.
Tip: Try swapping out for healthier options, like a side salad instead of fries.
If you're craving oily and fatty foods, your body is craving fat. Unlike what many belive, fats, consumed the right way, are necessary for your body. It needs fat in order to run, keep your cells healthy, protect your organs and many other functions.
You can satisfy this craving with higher quality fats like avocado, coconut oil, seafood such as salmon, meat, nuts and seeds. Also, make sure to use cooking and dressing oils which are lower in saturated fat, including avocado oil, canola, corn, grapeseed, olive, peanut, sunflower, sesame and sunflower oil.
Tip: Keep nuts on hand for your daily snacks.
Craving crunchy foods like nuts or granola can be a hint to an inner frustration and irritation. The act of chewing and cracking the food in your mouth can momentarily realese that angst.
Instead of eating an entire bag of chips, try adding exercise to your daily routine. This helps to release any tension you might be feeling as well as release endorphins to boost your mood.
Tip: Pack carrot sticks as a healthier crunchy snack.
Cravings for meat, red meat especially, are a sign of iron, zinc or vitamin B12 deficiencies. IF you eat mostly a vegetarian or vegan diet or work out a ton, it can be that you are not getting enough proteins.
Adding foods high in the above-mentioned nutrients to your diet, such as beans and legumes, can help to curb this craving.
Tip: Try minimizing your weekly meat intake by adding plant-based options.
Just like a sugar craving, a craving for pasta, bread or other carbs can mean you are experiencing low blood sugar levels. Carbs are our bodies best source of energy. So, eating to few carbs, can send your body into starvation mode.
When craving carbs, opt for the healthier options like whole-grain toast, whole-wheat pasta, black beans, potatoes and sweet potatoes, oats, lentils, quinoa and brown rice.
Tip: Bake some quinoa cupcakes for a healthy and carb-rich snack when you hit that afternoon-dip.
Healthy food isn't exactly what you think of when the word "cravings" comes to mind, but there are definitely instances where your body will crave healthy food. Most likely we crave healthy foods, when we are experiencing a nutrient deficiency that is signaling our brain to consume foods containing these nutrients. Consistent intake of healthy foods can also lead your body to recognize a pattern and habitually crave healthier meals.
This is one craving you don’t need to fight. If you’re body is asking for healthy foods, follow your cravings and eat something nutritious. It really is as simple as that.