What causes cravings?

You get back from class and instantly crave a 12 oz steak, fish tacos, Berkey Creamery ice cream, a freshly cut pineapple or the nearest chocolate lava cake. Cravings are a weird sensation. It is almost an uncontrollable urge that arises without warning and sends you off to retrieve whatever food is being longed for, regardless of what time it is or how inconvenient that may be. Pregnant women send their husbands out to bring back a gallon of ice cream and a jar of pickles deep in the middle of the night, but cravings are not only linked to expecting women.Regardless of what your personal craving may be, I am sure we are all wondering what brings on these cravings and if there is anyway to put an end to them?

Nutritional Deficiencies  

One possible explanation to food cravings is nutritional deficiencies. If our bodies are lacking a particular nutrient, the brain will send messages asking for that particular food in the form of a craving. Salty cravings is the consequence of reduced mineral intake. Cravings are not the only time when our brain sends us messages to make up for something we are missing. If our body is getting dehydrated, we get thirsty, if we are lacking sleep are body becomes sleepy and it is hard to keep our eyes open. Cravings are no different. A chocolate craving can be the result of a magnesium, chromium, B-vitamin, or essential fatty acid deficiency. Insulin resistance, hypoglycemia, and chromium deficiency may induce carbohydrate cravings. Cheese and fat cravings are due to a lack of fatty acids in one’s diet. While this list is only an indication of why someone may be craving separate types of foods, there are more explanations than just nutritional deficiencies.

Hormones

Hormones fluctuate at different points in our lives, especially for females. During menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause among many other situations, testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen hormone levels will change, inducing certain cravings. It was reported that women tended to crave salts, carbohydrates, and sugary products as their menstrual cycle approached, even eating 25% more than they typically would nay other time of the month. Estrogen will oftentimes decrease one’s appetite but the progesterone hormones will reverse the messages the estrogen hormones sent to the brain, henceforth inducing cravings and increasing one’s appetite. During the beginning stages on pregnancy, a woman will have low estrogen levels and high progesterone levels, which may be an explanation for pregnancy cravings and a larger appetite. Stress can also play a role in altering one’s hormones, ultimately affecting their appetite and cravings.

Imagery

Cravings may have no further explanation than appearing as a vivid image in one’s mind, creating a craving of that particular food. A study conducted revealed that the strength of someone’s craving depended on how vivid the image of the food item was in their mind. When the volunteers for the study were asked to imagine non-food related scents or vividly imagine another non-food related item such as rainbows, they reported that the food they longed for earlier either decreased or disappeared. A separate study had volunteers watch a screen with black and white dots  for some time. Afterwards, the volunteers reported that the food item they had previously been imagining was not as vivid and their craving strength was reduced. The authors of the study concluded by expressing that the findings may reveal more information on drug and alcohol addiction and in order to curb cravings, simply visualize other images besides food.

It may be hard to determine the main cause of your cravings, it may be a combination of those listed above, or even reasons I didn’t touch on such as comfort food, habit, or lifestyle, but understanding your cravings and why they arise can be an important step in stopping them. Not all cravings are dangerous, but when people begin to crave fattening or foods high in sugar often, it can lead to poor health and limited self control.

2 thoughts on “What causes cravings?

  1. Amanda Terese Vigil

    When reading your blog post I was greatly intrigued by the possibility of people having more or a taste for sweet over salty, and why so many people describe themselves as having a “sweet tooth”. In an article published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers explore and describe their finding that “sweet taste preferences are partially genetic due to their location on the 16th chromosome” (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition). “Their study included 146 people (32% men, 68% women) aged 18–78 y from 26 Finnish families” (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition), the scientist gaged the individuals liking to “3 solutions of sucrose (3.0%, 7.5%, and 18.75%) and plain water and the intensity of filter paper impregnated with 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP)” (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition). The researchers also took note of their favorite sweet treats, the most common being “chocolate, candy, ice cream, sweet desserts, and sweet pastry” (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition) and in addition took note of the amount that they craved these foods by way of a “food-behavior questionnaire” (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition). In conclusion they found correlations between the choices that the parents and their children craved and favored most.

    Citation:
    “Sweet Taste Preferences Are Partly Genetically Determined: Identification of a Trait Locus on Chromosome 161,2,3.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. American Society for Clinical Nutrition, 2007. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.

  2. Samantha Marie Grillo

    I enjoyed reading this blog because it was interesting to learn about the different factors that can contribute to cravings. I didn’t realize that having nutritional deficiencies could lead to cravings, such as having low levels of magnesium and B-vitamin could lead to a craving for chocolate. The majority of people, especially college students, experience cravings, so it is important to understand the different factors that could be causing them.

    Here is the link to an article about why people often crave junk food more than healthy food: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1382217/Why-crave-junk-food-fruit-veg.html

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