What our food cravings really mean 3


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Have you ever had an intense craving for something and thought “I wonder why I’m craving this?” or “what could this mean?” Do you sometimes notice you crave something for weeks then you never eat it again for a few months? Well, let me sound like a professional doctor and tell you why.

First off let me say, for almost 3 weeks now I’ve been on a high craving for beets, arugula, quinoa and chicken. That’s all I’ve been eating. And I cravvve it like crazy, almost when you’re really thirsty and you crave liquids, that’s how it is right now. I even eat it for breakfast! I’ve gone through bags and bags of arugula, pounds of chicken, bunches of beets, and I just recently bought a large bag of organic quinoa from Cost Co. I know it’s weird. Am I the only one who has long periods of crazy cravings? One thing I have learned is, when you have cravings it means your body is deficient in something. However most people can’t tell what their body wants so we just eat tons of “junk” stuff like carbs, and sugar to satisfy that craving. But you never feel satisfied, do you? Thats because your body doesn’t want carbs or sugar, at least not the ones we tend to grab.

Here’s another question, have you ever felt like you wanted something but you don’t know what it is you want? So what do you do when you feel like that? Well I’ll tell you what I do. I walk into the kitchen and start eating everything I see. But mainly carbs, because they just are so good but the satisfaction never last long and I end up heading back into the kitchen to load up on more carbs. That’s why it’s so terrible when I bake, I end up eating all the muffins or cookies in one day. The problem with that, is I’m not fully listening to what my body wants. I’m listening to my damn brain, which is always a problem. I have to stop it. Now what I could do when I start stuffing my face with carbs, is to stop, and think (wait that uses the brain) and realize I’m eating carbs, and you know what that means? My body wants protein. Once you eat enough protein, it cuts your carb and sugar cravings.

Now, once you start to listen to your body you will make better choices with the foods you eat. But once you stop listening, here comes the carbs and sugar. Like my cravings, I’ve listened to what my body wants even if it’s not what my taste buds want and I end up feeling satisfied. However this morning I didn’t listen and ate a bunch of frozen waffles. Frozen things are so yummy when you eat them still frozen. Like frozen cookies or muffins or cupcakes! Cupcakes are good frozen! Now I know my body wants me to eat those beets sitting in the fridge but man do I not want to eat them right now. See I’m listening to my brain again. And am I satisfied this morning? No! But I have my cat sitting in my lap, so it’s stopping me from going back into the kitchen.

Now, back to my professional doctor talk. Let me give you a list of things that you may crave and what it may mean. I found this list on a website.

1. When people crave chocolate, they’re deficient in copper and magnesium.
2. When people crave dairy products, they’re deficient in calcium.
3. Nuts = essential fatty acids, proteins, OR organic sodium (NOT table salt);
4. When we have PMS and have those uncontrollable chocolate cravings, we are deficient in magnesium. During our periods, the amount of magnesium we need sky rockets (which explains those uncontrollable cravings). — You can find magnesium in liquid or capsule form, or in any yellow vegetable, or in the carob chip (a substitute for chocolate).
5. Carbohydrates = Most people crave carbs when they get off work or after a long day at school, this is because your nerves are raw (from thinking and doing so much) and the first thing you will reach for are carbs! Take some liquid magnesium on your way home from work (they’ll kick in by the time you get home so you won’t eat those chips) and start taking a B vitamin complex. Carbs contain b-vitamins and in today’s society they get stripped out throught he food process, so it’s important to make sure you’re getting enough.
6. Salty = TRUE sodium; (From NATURAL sea salt which contains iodine.); Your body gets absolutely NOTHING from table salt, that’s why you want more chips when you find yourself at the bottom of the bag.
7. Sweet/Sour = Your liver is trying to rinse and clean;
8. Dill pickle juice = liver support; So eat DARK greens (kale, spinach, asparagus, etc.);

Note: when pregnant women get really hot, it means their thyroid thermostat is off and the liver is congested, so try eating sweet and sour foods.

9. Sweets = You are deficient in GOOD nutritional sugar. Try eating fruit instead of reaching for a piece of candy. Wait 15 minutes and see if you still crave it. Most likely, even if you do still want a piece, you won’t eat the whole bag because of the nutritional sugar you got from the fruit.
10. DIRT = There are actually people out there that crave dirt! This means you’re deficient in trace minerals. Get on a good multi-vitamin that contains trace minerals. I like naturessunshine.com or you can get one from a health food store. Otherwise, pull a carrot out of the soil, and eat it without rinsing it. But DON’T do this to the carrots that come pre-packaged from the store!
11. Fried Foods = Lacking GOOD oil;
12. Spicy Foods = Thyroid imbalance or lack of fire/sulfur in the body; Eat garlic, horseradish, etc.
13. Caffeine = Exhausted adrenals; Take licorice root and vitamin C.
14. Nicotine = Vitamin B deficiency and emotional issues;
15. Alcohol Cravings = (specifically alcoholism in the family line) = L Glutamine deficiency;
16. Meat = Amino Acid deficiency or phosphorus burn (i.e. what occurs when the light bulb goes off in your head; It’s a result of thinking a lot); You crave protein to refuel.
17. Ice = Iron deficiency;
18. Beets = Iron deficiency;

Have you ever wondered why you crave chips or food right when you get off work? You end up eating so much that you’re full by supper time? The reason people eat a lot at night is because their nerves are hot from a busy day so they crave magnesium and carbohydrates. People crave foods that cool the nerves. Take ONE magnesium capsule when you get off work so you won’t crave the carbs when you get in the door.

So there is a few things that most people crave. Did you see what was at the bottom of the list? Beets. But since I don’t eat red meat (which is where you get iron) I must be needing it. If you’re wondering why I don’t eat red meat, I don’t want it. Good enough answer? This summer I was going through a red meat crave but it’s over now.

So listen to your cravings! Don’t just eat carbs and sugar specially if it’s frozen like I do. And don’t listen to your brain. I know, I have great advice.

What strange cravings do you have? Sometimes I crave cats…

One last thing I forgot to mention, thanks to Vinny, is eating for pleasure. Of course we all have that kind of treat we eat to make ourselves happy. Whether its good for us or not. Lots of people come home from a hard day at work or even a day that went horribly wrong. And what do we want to do? Treat ourselves to something yummy and pleasing. For instance, my mom eats chocolate chip cookies, or a chocolate bar, and I’ll make a cup of homemade hot chocolate, or I’ll also eat a chocolate bar (extra dark though). So what I’m trying to say, eating for pleasure after a hard day or just because you feel like you deserve that special treat is ok. It doesn’t mean your body is deficient in anything. We all do it and that’s what makes us happy when we are stressed. Specially when i’m sad, I just want to cry over a carton of ice cream, which of course makes it all better. Maybe sometimes a hug would help or to be cuddled? Ya I’d like that.

Note: I am not a doctor, however I am wearing a white coat. Doesn’t that count?


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