What are your cravings telling you about your health? Ever thought about why you are suddenly craving chocolate? Or feeling the need to munch on some greasy fries? There is an underlying reason for this which you probably were unaware of. Correcting this and finding the root cause would very likely halt those cravings. Have a read further and drop me a line below with your cravings. 
Cravings are generally a way of your body telling you that you are missing something and often people are craving for things that are in the “naughty list” so to speak. You rarely hear people say they are craving green beans and broccoli.
To have control on your cravings, you need to understand if it’s a physical or emotional type of craving.
Physical
Are you genuinely hungry, depleted in some essential vitamins? This would fall under ‘physical’ type cravings. I always crave chocolate and when I say always, I mean daily cravings. Come past 9pm, all I want to do is munch on chocolate. If you share the same addiction to chocolate then keep reading to see what your body is trying to tell you.
Emotional
Are you just bored and want something to munch on, dealing with a break-up and feeling the need to comfort munch? If this is the case then you fall under the ’emotional’ category. Try reading a book, writing a journal or try calling a friend to spill your guts out to. Sometimes, you try to replace the emotion with food that you eat.
Sometimes a change of habit can deal with the cravings. If you usually finish your meal with something sweet, try eating a handful of nuts instead or make yourself a cup of tea. If that deals with the cravings then you know the cravings are out of habit. If not, then your body must be telling you something.
If you feel your cravings are coming from an emotional place, deal with the emotion rather than replace it.
The majority of cravings are because your body is short of an essential vitamin or mineral so in actual fact, replenishing this and dealing with the root cause could very well nip that craving in the bud.
Here is a list of common food cravings and what they actually mean.
Sugar
A craving for sugar can be related to tiredness and a way of telling you your body that you are tired and require fuel. This one is a tough one and one that people often find hard to deal with. I would suggest replacing sweets with other healthier sweeter type foods like fruits, friend fruits. Also balance out the sugar levels in the blood by eating a handful of nuts after eating something sweet.
Fat
Craving for greasy fries and pizza often mean your body is craving some fat. Our body depends on essential fatty acids for vital body functions and we require fat to absorb vitamins A D E and K. If you find yourself craving junk food, try replacing it with healthy fats like avocados, nuts or coconut oil type foods. Next time you want to grab for a pizza slice, try a slice of toast with smashed avocado drizzled with coconut oil, a salmon filled bagels or even better, my no sugar bounty bars which are full of coconuts.
Salt
Salt cravings often mean you are lacking minerals and electrolytes. If you do a lot of activity/ sports, you maybe lacking electrolytes you have lost through exercise. Also dehydration can present as salt cravings because salt helps you body hang onto the fluids. Try adding a pinch of salt in your water to maintain hydration levels.
Chocolate
This is probably one of the most heard of cravings, and one I certainly crave for all day long. Cocoa is high in magnesium and often women menstruating crave chocolate. Can you guess why? Magnesium helps alleviate muscle cramps so chocolate is a good one to munch on for the “time of the month” period. If you are craving chocolate why not make some dark brittle chocolate squares topped with seeds and nuts for a healthy treat. You can find my recipe here. Or mix avocados with dark chocolate for a mouse and add a little honey for sweetness.
So cravings go beyond just emotional factors and into the scientific as you can see and I bet you didn’t know half of this! Well I didn’t neither until recently.
What are your cravings? I want to hear about them.
