8 Causes of Cravings
Stop kicking yourself for eating that cookie or ice cream or candy! I’ve got news for you, there’s a reason WHY you’re craving sweets or whatever it is that you’re craving.
Look at the foods, deficits, and behaviors in your life that are the underlying causes of your cravings. Many people view cravings as weakness, but they are important messages that are meant to assist you in maintaining balance in your body. When you experience a craving, deconstruct it. Ask yourself, what does my body want and why?
There are 8 Primary Causes of Cravings. They are:
1. Lack of Primary Food. Primary Food is the relationship food that feeds your spirit. Being dissatisfied with a relationship or having an inappropriate exercise routine (too much, too little, or the wrong type), being bored, uninspired by a job, lacking a spiritual practice may all cause emotional eating. Eating can fill the void of insufficient primary food or be a substitute or entertainment.
2. Water. Lack of water can send a message that you’re thirsty and on the verge of dehydration. Dehydration can manifest as mild hunger, so the first thing you should do when you’re feeling hungry is to drink a full glass of water. On the other hand, excess water can also cause cravings, so try to balance your water intake. I use this handy dandy water calculation with my clients (and myself).
3. Yin/Yang Imbalance. Certain foods have more YIN qualities (expansive) while other foods have more YANG qualities (contractive). Eating foods that are either extremely yin or extremely yang causes cravings in order to maintain balance. For example, eating a diet rich in sugar (yin) may cause cravings for meat (yang). Eating too many raw foods (yin) may cause cravings for extremely cooked (dehydrated) foods or visa versa.
4. Inside Coming Out. Many times our cravings come from the foods that we’ve eaten recently, foods that our ancestors ate, or foods from our childhood. A clever way to satisfy these cravings is to eat a healthier version of whatever it is that you crave. For example, if you’re craving a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar, instead you choose a dark chocolate bar that is at least 70% cocoa and avoid ingredients like vegetable oil, artificial sweeteners, or milk substitutes.
5. Seasons. Your body craves foods that balance the elements of the season. In the fall, people crave grounding foods like squash, onions, and nuts. During the winter, many crave warm, hot, and heat-producing foods like meat, oil, and fat. During the spring, people crave detoxifying foods like leafy greens or citrus foods. Lastly, during the summer, people crave cooling foods like fruit, raw foods, and cream. Seasonal cravings can also be associated with the holidays, like turkey, stuffing, matzo ball soup, bagels and lox etc.
6. Lack of nutrients. If your body has inadequate nutrients, it will produce odd cravings. For example, inadequate mineral levels produce salt cravings, and overall inadequate nutrition produces cravings for non-nutritional forms of energy, like caffeine.
7. Hormones. When women experience menstruation, pregnancy, or menopause, fluctuating testosterone and estrogen levels may cause unique cravings. Hello chocolate and salt, anyone?!
8. De-evolution. When things are going really well, sometimes a self-sabotage syndrome happens. We crave foods that throw us off, thus creating more cravings to balance ourselves. This often happens from low blood sugar and may result in strong mood swings.
Save this post to reference when you find yourself craving something; you can play detective to figure out what may be the cause of said craving.