Decoding Your Food Cravings
Brrr….. winter is setting in and my thoughts are turning to big family dinners and things of a carbohydrate nature, in general. You?
It’s actually pretty healthy and normal to crave food, especially as the days get colder and our bodies have to work a little harder to maintain a nice, comfy temperature. Digesting and processing food stokes the body’s furnace, so winter can actually trigger an increase in appetite. OK, so it’s partly the cold and partly just the fact that we get to wear sweaters and Uggs for 6 months before we have to face the music when tank top & miniskirt season hits again. Whatever your reason, chances are you eat a bit more in the winter. The average person gains 1-2 pounds over the holiday season and the surrounding chilly months, and overweight people tend to gain even more than that. Yikes!
By all means, eat. But if you’re craving a particular comfort food, night after night (mac & cheese, anyone?), maybe there is something missing in your diet. Maybe your body is trying to send you a message and it’s getting all muddled up in sweaters, Uggs, and visions of sugarplums.
Check out this fantastic list from Naturopathy Works to decode what it is your body is actually craving!
| If you crave this… | What you really need is… | And here are healthy foods that have it: |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate | Magnesium | Raw nuts and seeds, legumes, fruits |
| Sweets | Chromium | Broccoli, grapes, cheese, dried beans, calves liver, chicken |
| Carbon | Fresh fruits | |
| Phosphorus | Chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes, grains | |
| Sulfur | Cranberries, horseradish, cruciferous vegetables, kale, cabbage | |
| Tryptophan | Cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach | |
| Bread, toast | Nitrogen | High protein foods: fish, meat, nuts, beans |
| Oily snacks, fatty foods | Calcium | Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame |
| Coffee or tea | Phosphorous | Chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes |
| Sulfur | Egg yolks, red peppers, muscle protein, garlic, onion, cruciferous vegetables | |
| NaCl (salt) | Sea salt, apple cider vinegar (on salad) | |
| Iron | Meat, fish and poultry, seaweed, greens, black cherries | |
| Alcohol, recreational drugs | Protein | Meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, nuts |
| Avenin | Granola, oatmeal | |
| Calcium | Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame | |
| Glutamine | Supplement glutamine powder for withdrawal, raw cabbage juice | |
| Potassium | Sun-dried black olives, potato peel broth, seaweed, bitter greens | |
| Chewing ice | Iron | Meat, fish, poultry, seaweed, greens, black cherries |
| Burned food | Carbon | Fresh fruits |
| Soda and other carbonated drinks | Calcium | Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame |
| Salty foods | Chloride | Raw goat milk, fish, unrefined sea salt |
| Acid foods | Magnesium | Raw nuts and seeds, legumes, fruits |
| Preference for liquids rather than solids | Water | Flavor water with lemon or lime. You need 8 to 10 glasses per day. |
| Preference for solids rather than liquids | Water | You have been so dehydrated for so long that you have lost your thirst. Flavor water with lemon or lime. You need 8 to 10 glasses per day. |
| Cool drinks | Manganese | Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pineapple, blueberries |
| Pre-menstrual cravings | Zinc | Red meats (especially organ meats), seafood, leafy vegetables, root vegetables |
| General overeating | Silicon | Nuts, seeds; avoid refined starches |
| Tryptophan | Cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach | |
| Tyrosine | Vitamin C supplements or orange, green, red fruits and vegetables | |
| Lack of appetite | Vitamin B1 | Nuts, seeds, beans, liver and other organ meats |
| Vitamin B3 | Tuna, halibut, beef, chicken, turkey, pork, seeds and legumes | |
| Manganese | Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pineapple, blueberries | |
| Chloride | Raw goat milk, unrefined sea salt | |
| Tobacco | Silicon | Nuts, seeds; avoid refined starches |
| Tyrosine | Vitamin C supplements or orange, green and red fruits and vegetables |
- Lectures, Cheryl M. Deroin, NMD, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, Spring 2003 (healthy food recommendations)
12 Responses to Decoding Your Food Cravings
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Wow, this list is going up on the wall of my cube. And my fridge, for that matter. I wish I had had it when I was pregnant! Looking forward to trying some of these when I have cravings!
I have my own list of craving alternatives, but they’re just distractions. Would be nice to satisfy the cravings without diving into the chocolate chip bag…
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