Food cravings are bizarre little
phenomena. It’s commonly
assumed that food cravings are
due to nutrient deficiencies,
but sometimes the cravings are
due to life situations more
than a deficiency.

For example, research shows that
pregnancy, menstruation,
stress, and depression can alter
your body’s levels of
endogenous opioid peptides (EOP).
EOP are the ‘feel good’
substances your body releases
during exercise or being
in love. This, the research suggests,
can intensify food cravings.

In these life situations, your
body is playing tricks on
you. You’re not deficient in
pickles and ice cream at
3:00 a.m., you’re just pregnant.
Satisfying the craving
simply completes the loop of
desire and fulfilment, but
you didn’t actually need any
nutrients in the concoction.

Aside from these situations,
however, cravings can indeed
point to deficiencies. But
it’s important to know how to
interpret what your body is asking for.

A craving for chocolate doesn’t
mean your body actually
wants chocolate; you may be
lacking B vitamins or magnesium.

You can alleviate this by increasing
your intake of flax
seed oil, seeds, nuts, beans and fruit.

And a craving for oily or fatty snacks
like potato chips or
soda pop means you need calcium from broccoli,
kale, and legumes.
Sometimes the craving can be simply turned
off by interrupting
the senses with other stimuli. A study in
Australia found
that non-food odours can curb unwanted
cravings; smelling
jasmine, for example, reduces chocolate
cravings.
So, the next time you’re craving something
for no apparent
reason, do some research. You’ll likely
discover something
important about your health!