Constant CRAVINGS! Why we have them?

by Susan Cross | Posted: February 26th, 2010 | No Comments »

Why do we have cravings? and what can we do to banish them?

Our body is nothing short of miraculous. We have the best computer chip in our brain and we never even think about it. As a matter of fact, we take it for granted. Our heart beats approximately 103,680 times a day, we take in an average of 17,280 breaths each day, our body automatically wakes up each morning (we hope!) and it knows when to go to sleep (ok maybe we can do better on that one!). You get the idea, our body does all of these miraculous things, each and everyday. So it has innate wisdom right? Well then there must be reasons we have cravings. Let’s see what they are.

I often feel like a detective when getting to know a new client. We go over her health history, but the real clues, for me, come from the food diary – especially the cravings. Cravings reveal so many clues about what our body needs, and where it is out of balance. I would love women to stop viewing their cravings as a weakness and begin to think of them as important clues, that once uncovered, will restore both their energy and their health.

How to recognize those cravings:

The Sweet Tooth:
There are several reasons we experience sweet cravings. Refined sugar is highly addictive. Once we eat a little, even if it is a bowl of cereal, we want more. Our body has a very important ph balance that is acid/alkaline. Alkaline is where good health comes in, and acidic is where addictions and problems begin to arise. I will do a piece completely devoted to the PH balance of the body – which must be balanced to attain optimal health. Many people are more acidic than alkaline. Sugar is part of the acid addiction, as is salt, caffeine, white flour and processed foods, dairy, alcohol and tobacco and drugs.

These cravings can really take over. I used to drink coffee. My adrenals were exhausted, I didn’t know that, and coffee became very important to me, just one a day, but I had to have it. I quit cold turkey about a year ago. The week I gave it up I had no headaches, none of the normal caffeine withdrawal symptoms. However, I began to crave sweets. I soon realized that my body is addicted to the acid it is missing from the coffee, and is trying to get me to sneak it in, in the form of sugar!!! See how challenging these cravings can be?

I will be doing a demonstration at our VIB workshop in March – showing you some easy at-home cures to restore your ph balance.

Lack of Nutrients:
This little fact may surprise you but hunger is not dictated by calories. Even though calories are a measurement of energy, your hunger is dictated by nutrients. This is why people eating organic, unprocessed, whole foods are naturally thin and don’t over eat. Their body is in balance, they receive their body’s daily requirement of nutrients. If the body is filling up on nutrient-empty foods – processed foods, fast foods, refined sugar and the white stuff, you will experience constant cravings. Your body is sending you a message that its nutrient supply has not been met. It will keep eating until the nutrients are supplied. This is where supersize me takes over!

S.A.D/Emotional/Comfort:
Due to the combination of our economy and the winter months, this one might ring true for many. You may be experiencing seasonal affective disorder, not getting outside enough, not exercising enough, and if you are lucky enough to have a job, you may be uninspired by it. You could also be dissatisfied with your personal relationship or lack thereof. When there is a void of any kind going on in our emotional/spiritual life, guess how we usually fill it? Food. We crave comfort food. Don’t be hard on yourself. Use this time to reflect on what could be working better. Try to substitute your favorite comfort foods for healthier versions. For more on this subject, please read my two posts, Seasonal Affective Disorder and Emotional Eating.

Dehydration:
Often we think we are hungry or crave certain foods when in fact, we are thirsty. Our body is made up of almost 70% water and just about every process in the body needs water to help get its job done. When we are dehydrated it can feel like exhaustion, brain fog, light headedness and/or hunger. Before giving into a craving go have a large glass of water and wait ten minutes. Chances are that craving will vanish. Make sure to drink several liters of water per day.

Metabolism/Hormonal:
When women experience pms, menstruation, perimenopause, menopause, thyroid/adrenal imbalances or pregnancy, fluctuating estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, and a myriad of other hormone levels may cause unique cravings. These are also very important clues to what your body is in need of. Many women have cravings for red meat and spinach around their periods – iron! I will do specific articles on thyroid, adrenal and hormonal imbalances.

Change of Seasons:
Now this differs from seasonal affective disorder. The change of seasons is natures way of letting the body know what it needs. This should be honored. Often it isn’t, and major cravings set in. For instance, the weather gets chilly and our body doesn’t want an ice cold smoothie. It craves warming foods. We don’t pay attention, we have the smoothie anyway and guess what? Your body still wants the warming foods. We eat even more. Give your body what it needs. In winter we need more grounding foods, root vegetables, meats, good fats. It is ok to eat more in the colder months, maybe even gain a few pounds. It is not a big deal. Once Spring comes the body will naturally crave cleansing foods like dark leafy greens, vegetable juices and outside activity. The weight comes right off.

Self-Sabotage/Nerves!
I am ashamed to admit it, but this one used to be me! Contrary to what you might think should happen, often when things are going very well, self-sabotage can takeover. Have you ever experienced this? The phone rings, it’s great news – you just got the dream job, the date, the speaking engagement, the client. You hang up and are so excited, and then so nervous, you begin to crave sweets, wine, chips. That is self-sabotage. The ‘I don’t deserve it they must have made a mistake, what if I can’t do it’ feeling. By the way, just about everyone has experienced this at one time or another. We begin to crave foods to throw us off balance, back into a place of feeling negative about ourselves. First acknowledge this is happening, breathe and move away from the fridge! Instead call a supportive friend and tell them your good news. I say ‘supportive’ because there is another form of self-sabotage, where we unconsciously call someone who isn’t supportive, we hang up feeling completely drained and don’t realize that we created this outcome. The self-fulfilling prophecy. I used to do that one too!

Sleep:
Nothing will bring on the carbohydrate/sweet cravings like lack of sleep. If your sleep is off by even one hour, studies show that it slows metabolism way down and increases cravings. Please get your sleep.

So we now know why we experience cravings. Please read my accompanying post, tomorrow, to learn how to diminish and conquer cravings. It will include a healthy food list with choices to satisfy existing cravings.

Remember to FEEL GOOD!