Crushing Your Cravings!
We all have them, but where do cravings come from? Though this may be a loaded question with many answers at the end, there are a few common places we can start with. The most common cravings tend to lean towards sugar or carbohydrates. Understanding where these cravings come from is an important part of getting to the bottom of them.
The Science Behind Your Cravings
Sugar cravings come down to a hormone called leptin where its main role is to regulate fat storage and how many calories you eat and burn. When leptin levels are above the body’s predisposed threshold, your brain senses that you have enough energy which then regulates your cravings for sweet foods. Too much leptin and your body can become resistant to it. Once that happens your body has difficulty communicating to your brain that you aren’t hungry. So when you are changing the way you eat that can result in a weight loss, fat cells lose fat, which then decreases the amount of leptin produced. Combine that with the sugar telling your brain that all you want is another cookie or pastry, and you end up eating even more sugar, which is stored as more fat, which releases more leptin. And so on and so on.
Taking Control of Cravings
| Avoid Processed Food: Perhaps this is an obvious choice, but try telling that to your brain, your stomach AND Leptin at 8 pm on a Friday night when you’re getting ready to watch a movie. The biggest issue with refined foods is that they contain high levels of simple carbohydrates, which the body breaks down very quickly. This can lead to sugar spikes and drops which can affect the balance of insulin levels in the body. This can lead to unwanted weight gain, causing more leptin in the adipose tissues. Increase Dietary Fiber: Often when people are experiencing cravings is usually because they’re not filling up enough during their meals on more nutrient-dense foods. Fiber can help fill you up and as an added bonus. Soluble fiber like oats, legumes, apples, carrots and barley can additionally help improve your gut health and may protect against sugar cravings by keeping the bowels moving and regular. Increase Dietary Protein: Eating plenty of protein can help satiate you as it takes the body much more time to break down and release sugar into the bloodstream. An increase in protein may additionally result in weight loss, which can improve the body’s leptin sensitivity. Dietary Water Intake: Not drinking enough water is perhaps not the most obvious way to address cravings but a lack of fluid in the body can put stress on your cells and in turn, they have to work much harder to do simple processes that they’re used to doing and can stress your organs. What does this all mean with cravings? Organs that are responsible for glucose levels, such as the liver and pancreas use water to function. The liver releases stored glucose (glycogen) and if not preforming optimally, so our bodies crave sugar for energy when we may just be a little dehydrated. Addressing Nutrient Deficiencies: Sometimes cravings can point us toward a nutritional deficiency that your body is craving. For example, cravings for chocolate may be linked to a magnesium deficiency or salt or sodium cravings that can potentially point towards an adrenal imbalance, chronic stress or frequent anxiety. If cravings feel out of control, you may find working with a practitioner will help you get to the bottom of your cravings. |
