Cravings are defined as intense, urgent or abnormal desires.

They are so common and the desire to eat is so intense that you feel nothing can stop you. Some believe that cravings are caused by nutrient deficiencies and view them as the body’s way to correct them. But others say that cravings are largely about what your brain wants, rather than what your body actually needs.

Food cravings are due to many things — be it physical or mental. In some cases, they will even be a symptom of an underlying condition and should not be neglected.

We have asked Neelanjan Banerjee, a CPD Certified Trainer & Nutrition Expert to throw light on this very topic.

This article explores whether specific nutrient deficiencies cause food cravings, what your food cravings may mean, as well as the possible reasons behind them.

What is Food Craving?

A food desire is an intense need to eat a specific form of food. Humans usually crave foods that are high in energy. Cravings are in the given order:

• Chocolate and different chocolate-containing foods
• High-caloric sweet
• Savory foods.

Some cultural variations are found, for instance, rice is the most desired food in Japan.

Food cravings usually occur in the late afternoons and evenings. Typically, the desire to eat high-calorie foods will increase throughout the day, whereas longing for fruits decreases. Generally, cravings for fruits are very rare.

11 Possible Causes for your Cravings

Food cravings will be caused by many factors, which may sometimes be split into two main categories: physical and mental. Being attentive to them might assist you to determine the factors that specifically trigger your cravings.

1. Leptin and Hormonal Imbalances

Leptin and ghrelin are typically called hunger hormones. These hormones are made by fat cells. Leptin decreases your appetite whereas the Ghrelin hormone does the contradictory. It increases your appetite and also plays an important role in your body weight. So changes in these hormones can result in food cravings.

2. Pregnancy

Most often, pregnant women feel an intense desire to eat a specific taste. The taste bucket can be divided into salt, sour, sweet, and spicy. These cravings generally occur only in the first trimester which is the first 5 weeks into pregnancy. The urges become stronger after you enter your second and amplifying in your third. It is perfectly fine to have pregnancy cravings so there is nothing to worry about.

3. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

Serotonin is a hormone that is responsible for feeling good and this influences the type of food that women can crave during PMS. During PMS, serotonin drops which result in cravings for carbohydrates.

4. Sleep Deprivation

As we have mentioned above there are 2 types of hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin. A lack of sleep can increase ghrelin levels which is responsible for body weight and reduces leptin levels. This makes your body crave more food.

5. A nutrient-poor diet

Protein and fiber generally make you feel full. When your diet is low in the mentioned 2 nutrients, then you may feel hungry very often and experience cravings.

6. Your Gut Flora

The microbes inside our gut influence our diet, behavior, as well as a variety of other health related problems . These microbes not only affect our food cravings but also our mood.

7. Physical Activity

Do you crave food after working out? This is pretty normal because our muscles are signaling that they need to replenish their carbohydrate stores which can be repaired after eating sugary foods. This actually results in increased body weight due to high energy intake which may lead to food cravings.

Also read : Muscle Strain treatment

8. Highly processed foods

Processed foods can cause addiciton like symptoms due to the ingredients present in them like added fat and sugar.

9. Stress

When you are stressed, your cortisol levels increases. This triggers cravings for salty, sweet and fried foods. This can be called as Emotional eating.

If you are going through stress, you may need to first control it. The best way is to try this natural and safe stress reliever Ashwagandha. Know it’s benefits in the article.

10. Your Mood

If you are in a bad mood, you might go for comfort food to make you feel better. This is backed up by science as well!

Food Cravings Deficiency Chart

Many believe that food cravings are caused due to nutrient deficiency. Although, not much evidence has been found yet.

You might be wondering that if you are deficient in some vitamin or mineral then you should be craving nutrient-rich food like fruits or vegetables but instead, you are craving unhealthy processed foods. Well yes, this is the reason science has not been able to back up the nutrient deficiency theory completely yet.

Also, some studies have found that ladies crave sweet-tasting foods, whereas men are more likely to crave savory ones.

But there is very little proof to conclude that ladies are deficient in nutrients present in sweet-tasting foods. The same is the case with men’s deficiency.

Probable Nutrient Deficiencies That Cause Food Cravings

1. Pica

In this condition, the individual craves non-nutritive substances, like ice, dirt, soil, chalk, laundry, or starch, among others.

Pica is commonest in pregnant ladies and youngsters, and its exact cause is currently unknown.

Studies observe that people with symptoms of pica usually have low Iron, Zinc, or Calcium levels.

That said, studies additionally report cases of pica not connected to nutrient deficiencies. The reason is that those who were given vitamin supplements failed to stop the pica behavior. Thus, researchers cannot definitively say that nutrient deficiencies cause pica-related cravings.

2. Sodium Deficiency

Sodium plays an important role in maintaining the body’s fluid balance. Craving of salt is an accompanied symtpom of Addison’s disease in which your adrenal glands do not produce enough hormones. Other diseases which trigger salt ravings include dehydration, and, electrolyte imbalance.

Cravings for high-sodium, salty foods generally means that the body needs a lot of metal.

Similarly, individuals whose blood metal levels are very low, either through diuretics (water pills) or exercise, have an increased craving for salty foods or drinks.

Thus, in some cases, salt cravings may be caused by metal deficiencies or low blood metal levels.

How to cut back Cravings?

For starters, skipping meals and not drinking enough water might result in hunger and cravings.

1. Sleep Well
2. Have regular nourishing meals
3. Participate in stress-relieving activities like Yoga or Meditation
4. Find out the trigger
5. Mindful Eating

Conclusion

Food cravings are caused by a range of physical or mental factors. Many a time they are nothing to be worried about. But, when you experience cravings for non-food things like dirt, soil, chalk, etc, then it generally means that you are nutrient deficient. So, increase your intake of that nutrient to compensate for that deficiency.

Do you or did you experience any food cravings? If yes, what are they?