We know how it feels when we're longing to eat chips or chocolate and we can't get your hands on some. The craving just won't go away. Or the day when we wake up feeling like we just have to eat fried chicken or pizza else our life isn't going to be complete. Lets see why these cravings happen and how to deal with them.
Reasons for Cravings
There are many scientific explanations for food craving. Modern medicine explains that when our bodies crave certain foods, we are deficient in certain nutrients. This deficiency is caused by unhealthy eating habits, excessive eating of only one type of food (sandwiches), eating or drinking nutritionally deficient foods like fizzy drinks, maida (white flour), sooji (semolina), corn-flour, biscuits etc. To this list, add day to day stressors - typical of big cities - and the resulting increase in adrenaline, leads to mineral and electrolyte imbalance which causes food cravings.
Ayurveda and Chinese medicine have different explanations on cravings that talk about personalities and food likes and dislikes. According to some ancient medicine texts, it is said that many emotions are directly related to the kind of food cravings a person may develop. For instance, anxiety, stress and a sense of overwork coupled with the feeling that one has no time for oneself can typically lead to a craving for sweets. On the other hand, a feeling of fear and dread of some impending situation creates a craving for salty foods and a feeling of restlessness can make you crave for sour things.
They also talk about how different types of people tend to have different types of cravings. Earthy, affectionate and practical are said to lean towards sweet cravings whereas dynamic, aggressive people prefer salty eats. Temperamental, creative people they say take to sweet and sour foods when they crave. These are not rules per se but more like common observations made by medicine men of the past.
The Biggest Trouble-making Craving Food
You guessed it! Sweets - we know all about them. Matter of fact, we have an overload of information on how sweets are no good for our health. Have you heard people who like alcohol saying that they don't really like sweets? Well, here's the fact - alcohol has a post-digestive "sweet-like" effect on the body. Both alcohol and sugar are carbohydrate derivatives.
A study done on a group of people who quit alcohol showed that when they were alcoholics they didn't feel the need for extra sweet in their systems. However when they quit drinking, their hidden, natural cravings for sweets returned. It is a known fact that people who love alcohol and those who love sweets respond in similar ways to stress by taking to over indulging in sweet foods and drinking too much alcohol.
What is the solution?
When a craving comes on, opt for healthy items such as banana bread and apple bake with cinnamon. Get used to a milder sweet taste in the form of fruit yogurt. Similarly with salty foods, try eating roasted nuts or a brown bread sandwich but try to keep away from fried foods. And if you eat because you're stressed then turn to other forms of de-stressing like yoga, walking, meditation, even try a hobby. Eating to combat stress should not be an option if you want to lose weight healthily.
Now that the healthy ideas are out, don't be afraid to try them. Eat healthy, deal with cravings the right way and you'll definitely lose weight steadily!
