Theory About Cravings

OldAssDude

I have a theory that a craving is your body telling you that it needs something that is contained in the food that you are craving.

I know it sounds strange, and I don't know how, but its just a theory I have.

kristen6350

Then I must need salt, all the time. LOL

mccindy72

bcalvanese wrote: »

I have a theory that a craving is your body telling you that it needs something that is contained in the food that you are craving.

I know it sounds strange, and I don't know how, but its just a theory I have.

your theory has led to a global obesity crisis.

Packerjohn

mccindy72 wrote: »

bcalvanese wrote: »

I have a theory that a craving is your body telling you that it needs something that is contained in the food that you are craving.

I know it sounds strange, and I don't know how, but its just a theory I have.

your theory has led to a global obesity crisis.

Yep nobody needs excess of the stiff in pop, cake, chios, etc

kk_inprogress

mccindy72 wrote: »

bcalvanese wrote: »

I have a theory that a craving is your body telling you that it needs something that is contained in the food that you are craving.

I know it sounds strange, and I don't know how, but its just a theory I have.

your theory has led to a global obesity crisis.

And a whole lot of people justifying it that way.

Fiveling

This is generally the theory though. Assuming you eat fairly healthy in general, when you have random cravings for out of the blue, say, oranges or peanut butter, it's considered to be your body trying to push you towards where it knows certain nutrients come from.

janejellyroll

Fiveling wrote: »

This is generally the theory though. Assuming you eat fairly healthy in general, when you have random cravings for out of the blue, say, oranges or peanut butter, it's considered to be your body trying to push you towards where it knows certain nutrients come from.

Whose theory is this? I know this idea is popular amongst many people, but I'm unaware of any evidence showing that deficiencies or specific needs have been linked to cravings.

Ninkyou

I must need Pizza and French Fries all the time then.

cwolfman13

my theory on cravings is that people generally enjoy pleasure and pleasurable things...thus they crave them.

snickerscharlie

I crave a nice big whopper of a chocolate bar. With nuts. Does that mean I'm crazy?

VeryKatie

janejellyroll wrote: »

Fiveling wrote: »

This is generally the theory though. Assuming you eat fairly healthy in general, when you have random cravings for out of the blue, say, oranges or peanut butter, it's considered to be your body trying to push you towards where it knows certain nutrients come from.

Whose theory is this? I know this idea is popular amongst many people, but I'm unaware of any evidence showing that deficiencies or specific needs have been linked to cravings.

I believe doctors have talked about the theory. I don't have any studies. However, this theory as I understand it applies to people who end up with an eating disorder called pica, which makes them crave rusty nails and other such things. I doubt it applies to the general population. The only other one I've heard is that it's easy to confuse a craving for something sweet for thirst (i.e. you want to eat sweets but it's because you're thirsty).

AllOutof_Bubblegum

I'm thinking "no" on this one. Aside from some very good points already brought up, how in the hell is my body supposed to know what nutrients are contained in what foods? So there's a nutrient hidden exclusively in a Taco Bell Mexican Pizza that my body needs specifically at 2 in the morning and can't get from any other source? I call shenanigans.

senecarr

bcalvanese wrote: »

I have a theory that a craving is your body telling you that it needs something that is contained in the food that you are craving.

I know it sounds strange, and I don't know how, but its just a theory I have.

I think @kshama2001 espouses the same theory, and that chocolate cravings are caused by a lack of magnesium.

PeachyCarol

I think I don't put much stock in this theory unless you have pica.

janejellyroll

VeryKatie wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

Fiveling wrote: »

This is generally the theory though. Assuming you eat fairly healthy in general, when you have random cravings for out of the blue, say, oranges or peanut butter, it's considered to be your body trying to push you towards where it knows certain nutrients come from.

Whose theory is this? I know this idea is popular amongst many people, but I'm unaware of any evidence showing that deficiencies or specific needs have been linked to cravings.

I believe doctors have talked about the theory. I don't have any studies. However, this theory as I understand it applies to people who end up with an eating disorder called pica, which makes them crave rusty nails and other such things. I doubt it applies to the general population. The only other one I've heard is that it's easy to confuse a craving for something sweet for thirst (i.e. you want to eat sweets but it's because you're thirsty).

Outside of pica (where, you're right, there does appear to be a link) there is no evidence that cravings for specific foods are linked to dietary needs. You see it a lot in pop health articles or charts, but I don't think there's any reason to think this is any truer than the theory that we crave things because they taste good to us.

If this was true, you would think that cravings would, for many people, on the most nutritionally dense foods available to us. If my body is pushing me, via cravings, to get certain nutrients, it's doing a poor job compared to how well it could be doing.

kshama2001

senecarr wrote: »

bcalvanese wrote: »

I have a theory that a craving is your body telling you that it needs something that is contained in the food that you are craving.

I know it sounds strange, and I don't know how, but its just a theory I have.

I think @kshama2001 espouses the same theory, and that chocolate cravings are caused by a lack of magnesium.

Well, my view is more that looking at deficiencies is one thing to try. I do take magnesium, but I also increased protein in relationship to carbs, and exercise.

While looking for a study, I found this interesting article.

Are food cravings the body's way of telling us that we are lacking certain nutrients?

...Studies suggest that chocolate craving, especially among women, may result from a sense of deprivation or in reaction to stress, peri-menstrual hormonal fluctuation and modulation of neuropeptide concentrations. Regardless of the factor(s) that initiate chocolate cravings in women, the apparent physiological explanations are inconsistently expressed in a diversity of cultures, especially among those that consume large amounts of chocolate. Spanish women, for example, eat relatively large quantities of chocolate and exhibit limited chocolate craving. This is in contrast to many American women who consume relatively little chocolate yet present a strong chocolate craving. Clearly, the relationship between food preferences, mood and the menstrual cycle is complex.

Some investigators have proposed that carbohydrate craving (with resulting consumption) attenuates depression. This theory results from some observations that diet can modulate the serotonergic system in the brain, which is linked to mood. Research that shows administration of naloxone, an opiate antagonist, appears to reduce food intake provides additional evidence for a nutrition-neurological interaction. This effect appears to inhibit mainly the consumption of sweet, high-fat foods such as chocolate. Studies of cannabinoids and antagonism of cannabinoid receptors have shed more light on the complex neurochemistry of selective appetite. In addition, research on satiety or appetite control mechanisms residing in the gastrointestinal tract has led to the identification of an entire spectrum of gut neuropeptides with elaborate central nervous system feedback.

Read more: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-food-cravings-the-bod/

senecarr

Other hypotheses (not theories) are that what you're always craving is more protein:
http://sydney.edu.au/science/outreach/inspiring/news/cpc.shtml

kshama2001

kristen6350 wrote: »

Then I must need salt, all the time. LOL

I thought I wanted salt all the time but it turned out I needed iodine - I stopped using iodized salt and became deficient in iodine once I left an ex and stopped making his favorite, Thai food.

Since I started taking kelp tabs the salt cravings went away. I used to have a little jar of coarse Celtic salt and would nibble at it right out of the jar. But since what I really wanted was iodine and this salt contained none, it did not reduce the craving. But some part of me knew that there was a connection between salt and iodine - I was just using the wrong kind of salt.

kthompson601

I have heard this theory in connection with pregnancy--that pregnant women sometimes crave unusual (to them) foods or combinations of foods because the baby needs those nutrients. Don't think it's factual, though. When pregnant with me, my mom craved COLD pizza and would stick a delivery right into the fridge and wait for it to be cold before eating it. I on the other hand loathe cold pizza, it is a crime against pizza nature.

beemerphile1

It is true that cravings are your body needing a particular nutrient, not to be confused with your mind having a desire for a succulent delicacy. For instance, people that chew ice often do so because they have an iron deficiency (anemia).

SuggaD

cwolfman13 wrote: »

my theory on cravings is that people generally enjoy pleasure and pleasurable things...thus they crave them.

This is my theory too. Exactly why I want that second piece of pie right about now. lol

Qskim

I do think there is something to it. Particularly if nutrition is not a first priority (or possible economically).

amusedmonkey

Ah thanks for the memories! (and I hope you don't take this post personally)

When I was in school back in the late 90s the girls I used to hang out with started circulating this theory. I remember asking naively "if that's the case, wouldn't it make more sense to crave vegetables or some other food that has more of these nutrients instead of soda and biscuits?"

I was honestly just trying to know more about it and expected some sort of explanation. I was called a geek (jokingly) and the girls went back to their "diet of the day" selves. I still feel bad about shattering their safety net around these foods...

middlehaitch

The food cravings and nutritional shortfall link was a very common theory when I was growing up. 1950's UK was still partial rationing and post war food shortages. There was little in the way of excess food, so I think it may have held some grain of truth back then. Now I think the actual symptom of food craving is so diverse it is hard to know if there is any truth in the theory.
In the 70's it was debunked as an old wives tale.

Cheers, h.

snickerscharlie

Now I'm craving broccoli.













Not.

knelson095

Well...I think there might be a bit of truth to this. I was a bit constipated and bloated awhile back and when it resolved itself, I went back and checked my macros and I had subconsciously upped my fat intake for like 3-4 days, which seemed to fix it. I thought about it and checked back through my diary and realized that the last time that happened I did the same thing, without any conscious effort on my part. Like my typical days are 45-50% carb, 20-25% fat, and 25-30% protein, but those days I was blocked up I ate like 35/35/30.

Also, I found myself craving chocolate, which is weird as I don't really care for it all that much, and so I added a calcium, magnesium, and zinc supplement to my vitamin packets and it went away.

All anecdotal but w/e.

SuzieQzie123

When I was pregnant with both of my children at around the 13 - 15 week mark, I craved liver and liverwurst like you would not believe. This is not something that I normally eat but, I was having liverwurst on crackers for breakfast and, liver and onions for dinner a few times during that period.

SLLRunner

This is an interesting conversation.

I don't crave much of anything anymore, but I can recall having huge cravings before I lost weight when I didn't allow myself to eat certain kinds of foods. Since I have been allowing myself to eat whatever I want, the cravings have disappeared. All I can say is my diet is much more rounded than it was before.

vivmom2014

SuzieQzie123 wrote: »

When I was pregnant with both of my children at around the 13 - 15 week mark, I craved liver and liverwurst like you would not believe. This is not something that I normally eat but, I was having liverwurst on crackers for breakfast and, liver and onions for dinner a few times during that period.

Ooooh, pregnancy cravings would make a great thread!!

nutmegoreo

snickerscharlie wrote: »

I crave a nice big whopper of a chocolate bar. With nuts. Does that mean I'm crazy?

Crazy yes, but not for this reason

snickerscharlie wrote: »

Now I'm craving broccoli.













Not.

Thank goodness I have some in the fridge. Sounds like a spanking good snack.


OP, I have also heard about this idea, and there has been a chart posted a few times with what the equivalencies are. I don't know how much faith I put into it, but I do know that when my diet is better balanced, and my stress is under control, and my exercise is on point, and I allow myself some treats daily, I don't seem to be having as many cravings as before. Of course, it could be that I am getting everything that I need from my diet, eating enough food, sleeping enough, and not depriving myself of the things I enjoy. n=1

kommodevaran

cwolfman13 wrote: »

my theory on cravings is that people generally enjoy pleasure and pleasurable things...thus they crave them.

This is my first guess too.

janejellyroll wrote: »

If this was true, you would think that cravings would, for many people, on the most nutritionally dense foods available to us. If my body is pushing me, via cravings, to get certain nutrients, it's doing a poor job compared to how well it could be doing.

And my second theory is that in a more "natural", "ancestral", or whatever, environment, this did indeed work remarkably well. Calorie dense food is rare in the wild, and we are made to crave it. But today, the link between calories and nutrients is somewhat broken, leaving the most tasty foods typically nutritionally void, and food deemed "healthy" by many is bland and boring, at least in comparison. (It doesn't have to be like that, but lots of people seem to think so.)