Detoxification

Food cravings are not your fault and not a character flaw.  So don't feel bad for craving a food.

Cravings for sweet, fatty or salty food is something we can all share. 

It was Christmas and I found the perfect excuse to finish off a whole large dark chocolate bar.  Then I found myself the other day finishing off a whole bag of chili lime chips while binge watching "The Crown."

“How did that happen?!”, I laughed!  Am I that stressed?  Or just bored!

Sometimes these cravings are emotional eating and not associated with stress or fatigue.  Sometimes they are a combination of stress and emotion leading to food cravings like I experienced this past week.  

We’ve all been there. Standing in front of the fridge, shoving the baby carrots aside, and reaching for the cheesecake instead. You’ve heard if you’re really hungry you’ll eat those carrots—or an apple—but the pull that cheesecake has on you . . .? It’s hard to resist that craving. So hard. If food cravings are affecting your life, you’re not alone.

(Get extra help with your food cravings, by clicking on the image below to download your free 7-day Ditch the Junk Challenge)

Presently as I write this, we are in the middle of a worldwide virus spread so we are staying home and maybe you find yourself craving food out of just plain boredom.

Before we dive into everything you need to know about food cravings, the big questions are: Can we overcome food cravings? And if so, how? 

Maybe what you’re really asking yourself is: Should I feel guilty about eating that cheesecake because I wanted it so badly? (Hint: No!) 

When you know where food cravings come from, you can answer these questions and be more gentle with yourself.

Let’s dive into how we can conquer your irresistible food cravings.

Food cravings vs. hunger

When we really (really!) want to eat one specific food, that’s a craving. Food cravings are “frequent, intense, and irresistible desires to consume a particular type of food.”[1]

Cravings start as soon as we think about that food. Sometimes we can’t stop thinking about it. The longing for that food can consume our thoughts and compel us to find and eat it, even if that means stopping what we’re doing and heading straight to the fridge, cupboard, or store right now.

I know for me, a strong food craving can be for chocolate, anything with chocolate.  This can result from a stressful situation or maybe my body needs something in the chocolate.  What is a food you crave?  You can share it in the comments below.

Hunger is different from cravings. With hunger, we want food, but it’s often a less intense feeling and just about any food will do.

Hunger satisfies our basic need for sustenance. When we’re truly hungry, just about any food will satisfy us . . . at least temporarily (until the next hunger pang comes along).

Cravings, on the other hand, are when you could really go for that cheesecake or potato chips (depending if you crave salty or sweet foods) and nothing else will do.[1,2]  You can relate right!?

What food cravings can do to you

Food cravings are powerful. Research suggests that some people experience them more strongly than others. For example, people who naturally tend to have a stronger cravings also tend to:

• Overeat
• Have a higher body-mass index
• Try to lose weight unsuccessfully
• Experience digestive discomfort
• Suffer from low energy and stress

This reaction is strongly genetic.[3] Genes can affect food cravings, appetite, satiety (how full or satisfied you feel after eating), metabolism, body-fat distribution, and how we cope with stress.[4]

Studies show that people with a higher body-mass index tend to experience stronger cravings for foods that are more energy dense (food that are high in calories and low in nutrients).[1] 

So having low energy and excess and unwanted weight gain can go together because of the foods people crave.  

What triggers your food cravings in the first place is your natural physiology.  Do you feel better about it now?

The physiology of a food craving (it all starts with a cue)

According to one commonly used research tool, the Food Craving Inventory (FCI), there are five types of foods that we typically crave:

• Sweet
• High-fat
• Starchy
• Fast food
• Fruits and vegetables.[2]

Cravings for these foods can feel intense and powerful. That’s because, on a biological level, they’re associated with physical, emotional [psychological/mental], and even neurocognitive (brain) responses. 

Here’s what I mean.

Have you ever noticed that seeing a food advertisement or smelling something cooking can make you want that particular food right then and there? These sights and smells are called “food cues” and they are what kickstarts cravings.

Take for instance the going into the bakery shop of your local mall or grocery store and smelling the fresh cinnamon rolls.  That aroma gets me every time and immediately I start to crave a piece.  Mmmm I can smell a fresh one right now if I picture it.  Not as powerful as being right there though when my mouth starts to water.  

Food cues are everywhere and they kickstart your cravings

How many times every day or so do you experience food cravings? Once? Twice? More often than that?

Why do you seem to experience intense food cravings so often? 

Because food cues are everywhere!

Whether you’re looking at a screen, listening to a show, reading a magazine or newspaper, passing a billboard, or even getting some fresh air and exercise around our neighbourhood, we are surrounded by food cues.

We’re inundated with ads, logos, banners, and other sights, smells, and memories. Convenience store windows have posters of craveable snacks.

As we go by restaurants, bakeries, and cafes, they let off aromas of their mouth-watering freshly baked and cooked goods.

You can be out to pick up a head of broccoli, a new pack of pens, or an herbal tea and what’s there waiting for you at the counter? Chocolate, gummies, potato chips, and craveable snacks of all kinds,

FUN FACT: Research shows that people who live in environments with an abundance of food make about 200 food-related decisions every day! That’s a lot of thinking about food and deciding what, where, when, and how to eat.[7]

As you can see, our food environment gives us a never-ending supply of food cues that trigger our natural cravings. 

Next step: Seeking and finding those craveable foods

Once you’ve registered a food cue that has kickstarted a craving, why is it so hard to resist? 

Because our environment is practically designed to allow us to effortlessly give in to our cravings. When we have the overwhelming desire to devour a chocolate bar, it’s usually not that difficult to find one.

Many of us are surrounded by a huge selection of inexpensive and convenient foods and drinks available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. How easy is it to grab a craveable snack within minutes?

And if this food is in the house, you know you will eat it eventually.  Can you think of a food right now?

And that’s not all! Don’t forget that many processed foods have been specifically designed to satisfy our cravings and be “hyper-palatable.”[8] They’ve been tested and manufactured to have the optimal flavour, colour, texture, mouthfeel, etc. The idea is to really get the brain’s (neurological) reward system going. 

It’s really no wonder that convenient access to a variety of craved foods isn’t helping us manage our cravings.

(Get extra help with your food cravings, by clicking on the image below to download your free 7-day Ditch the Junk Challenge.)

Why do we have food cravings?

Conclusion