Theory About Cravings

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  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
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    I do think there is something to it. Particularly if nutrition is not a first priority (or possible economically).
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    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
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,484 Member
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    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
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
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    Now I'm craving broccoli.













    Not. ;)
  • knelson095
    knelson095 Posts: 254 Member
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    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
    SuzieQzie123 Posts: 45 Member
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    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
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    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
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,647 Member
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    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
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    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 :tongue:
    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
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    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.)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    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.

    Last real craving I had was during Lent when I wasn't eating meat. I was craving lamb (which I think is because I was specifically planning on lamb at Easter). I don't find cravings impossible to resist, though.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    my theory on cravings is that people generally enjoy pleasure and pleasurable things...thus they crave them.

    stop using common sense!
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    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.

    Last real craving I had was during Lent when I wasn't eating meat. I was craving lamb (which I think is because I was specifically planning on lamb at Easter). I don't find cravings impossible to resist, though.

    Neither do I. I think, like SLLRunner, my bad cravings in the past were tied to denial.

    Now that I allow myself to eat what I'd like? Well, I get a "taste" for things, or feel like having them, but I wouldn't call it a craving compared to what I used to experience.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    The only craving I have experienced because of a deficiency is ice. Lots and lots of ice when my iron level was 0
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
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    I don't usually crave sweets... sometimes gummi bears or sour gummi candy like sour patch kids. I think it is more because I love them and don't eat them very often. In those years of life when I didn't really care about calories I ate a lot of sour patch kids... Wegmans had a bulk candy section with bins and bins of sour gummi candy - it was one of my most favorite things :)

    When the mood strikes I crave spicy foods and I crave sushi when I'm really hungry.

  • motterotter
    motterotter Posts: 701 Member
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    Craving chocolate eat magnesium
    craving sweets eat more chromium phosphorus sulfur and tryptophan like oily fish cheese nuts legumes liver
    Craving oily snacks you need more calcium
    Craving coffee or tea you may be low in iron phosphorus sulfur
    Chewing ice usually iron deficient
    Premenstrual craving eat more zinc
    You should eat whole foods and not take a pill to cure your cravings while your body may know what you are missing you will reach for whats familiar being on a regular processed food heavy diet will lead to mild malnutrition
    Food cravings may be overwhelmingly strong and there is nothing wrong in a little indulgence if i crave cheese i would rather have some and stop obsessing over it
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
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    PeachyCarol wrote: »
    I think I don't put much stock in this theory unless you have pica.

    Yes this !

    When I was pregnant my doctor wanted to hear all aBout what foods I craved. When I asked him why?? He said, because people with pica will crave certain foods so I have to ask to try to see if your at risk for this . he went on to say it was only about gathering info to try to spot people with pica and that normal cravings are nothing to worry about. I wasn't eating anything odd but a lady in the waiting room once told me that she craved mulch. She may have had pica, but I didn't ask. I just moved off of the topic because of her strange reply .
    For the most part besides people with pica , I'm sure some people will use their cravings as an excuse for poor self control. People love to have an excuse rather then dealing with the issue. When someone truly knows moderation and portion control, they can handle cravings with no big deal. Tonight I wanted ice cream, I had a serving within my calories and macros. No big deal. Portion control works :)
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    I'll say one thing for evolution: she's very crafty. All those millions of years of working toward driving me toward Whataburger and Tex-Mex.
  • VykkDraygoVPR
    VykkDraygoVPR Posts: 465 Member
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    I dunno. I don't get cravings for calorie dense, nutrient void foods. I want those foods, but it isn't a craving. They just sound good.

    The only time I've had cravings, it's been for veggies or fruits. Doesn't happen often, so I usually indulge. Doesn't mean that cravings represent needs, though!
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    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).

    No. People that have an iron deficiency often chew ice, but it is not correct to say people that chew ice often do so because they are deficient in iron. There are far more people that chew ice than there are iron deficient people.
    Nor is there any proof that people are doing so to get iron to fill the deficiency. While it is statistically know that it happens, there is no explanation yet for why anemia tends to increase ice chewing. It also doesn't make evolutionary sense to me - I do not imagine humans would have evolved with easy access to ice.

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