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Does lacking specific nutrients cause specific cravings?

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Tricia7188
Tricia7188 Posts: 136 Member
in Debate Club
"Im on my period, mmm I'm craving steak. Must be low in iron"
Haha we've all heard this sort of sentence. I haven't ever had this personally happen to me, so I was just wondering if any of you have thoughts on this. Is it legitimate? It just seems to me that our bodies just wouldn't be that "smart" to know a steak is high in iron and therefore want it to correct our levels. .. but hey, never know! I'm not sure of other micro or macronutrients this could pertain to (protein, carbs maybe?) But iron is a big one because the strong correlation with red meat.
Also on a slightly different but related note, do you think a general nutrient deficit of ANY kind (low fat, low carb) cause any other specific cravings? There's been a picture floating around the internet of a list of foods someone could crave and then the nutrients your body may be lacking, causing the cravings.... Ya probably not. They were pretty random too, like "Craving pasta? Increase your Vitamin B"(or magnesium, or replace with any other micronutrient).
Pretty sure it's all a bunch of BS, which I wish it wasn't cause that would be fascinating and awesome!!! And that is why I posted this, so if anyone has legit info or personal experience I want to hear it!
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Replies

  • Tricia7188
    Tricia7188 Posts: 136 Member
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    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/127508233174625740/ lol this
  • Tricia7188
    Tricia7188 Posts: 136 Member
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    Opps I don't know how to post pictures here haha. Google "Cravings chart" and you'll see all the glorious pictures
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    I might look up and check later, but I don't think micronutrients besides salt have much evidence that they cause cravings. There is an odd correlation between iron deficiency and ice chewing, which is unexplained, especially as ice doesn't normally contain appreciable amounts of iron.

    For macronutrients, there is actually a weight gain hypothesis based on the idea that protein is the macronutrient that controls appetite, known as the protein leverage hypothesis:
    http://sydney.edu.au/science/outreach/inspiring/news/cpc.shtml
  • Tricia7188
    Tricia7188 Posts: 136 Member
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    Cool!!! Veeeery interesting on the protein front!
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    The only craving I get is for salty foods; I actually don't crave sweets. My doctor suspects it's because I have low blood pressure, and the fact that I eat way more sodium than is recommend could be why it's not lower. Don't know for sure, but that's the theory.

    As for if you're body is craving iron you want a steak, maybe it's because you know that steak is a good source of iron, so maybe your body is craving something and your brain associates that something with a food that has it? I dunno, just throwing an idea out there.
  • ChristinaOrr65
    ChristinaOrr65 Posts: 112 Member
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    I have heard this before, but I dont know if it is true. I feel like I only ever crave food that I like, and that is the reason. It took a while of eating healthier to stop craving some of the junk that I used to eat.
  • Tricia7188
    Tricia7188 Posts: 136 Member
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    ChristinaOrr65 wrote: »
    I have heard this before, but I dont know if it is true. I feel like I only ever crave food that I like, and that is the reason. It took a while of eating healthier to stop craving some of the junk that I used to eat.
    Same!! I feel like I could tell myself (based on the cravings chart) that oh I crave chocolate, must be low in _______ but really I just want it cause its delicious!!
  • Tricia7188
    Tricia7188 Posts: 136 Member
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    dubird wrote: »
    The only craving I get is for salty foods; I actually don't crave sweets. My doctor suspects it's because I have low blood pressure, and the fact that I eat way more sodium than is recommend could be why it's not lower. Don't know for sure, but that's the theory.

    As for if you're body is craving iron you want a steak, maybe it's because you know that steak is a good source of iron, so maybe your body is craving something and your brain associates that something with a food that has it? I dunno, just throwing an idea out there.

    I always crave sweets over salty, but now eating more veggies I definitely don't shy away from the salt and I love the flavor so much more.

    That does seem to be the rational for the meat/iron thing. I just don't see how our brains can make that connection and cause a craving for it. But maybe it can!
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    I'm going to change my opinion to more tentative until I can find the rat study mentioned here:
    http://ocw.jhsph.edu/courses/criticalanalysispopulardietssupplements/PDFs/Lecture2.pdf
    Diet Composition and Satiety-II
    { Micronutrients:
    z When made deficient in a
    micronutrient, rats will select a diet
    that corrects the deficiency
    z Humans may overeat in general to
    correct micronutrient deficiencies
  • Kalici
    Kalici Posts: 685 Member
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    ChristinaOrr65 wrote: »
    I have heard this before, but I dont know if it is true. I feel like I only ever crave food that I like, and that is the reason. It took a while of eating healthier to stop craving some of the junk that I used to eat.

    Every once in awhile I get horrendously strong cravings for Spagetti-O's. I don't know why because I hate them. To me they taste absolutely disgusting. In fact, just sitting here thinking about them is causing me to make the blech face. :(
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    Tricia7188 wrote: »
    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/127508233174625740/ lol this

    Most of the charts like that are bunk though. Quickly reviewing some of them can bring up things that don't make sense when analyzing either the food that is craved or the food that is suggest not matching the micronutrient.

    In that chart I can off the bat spot the chloride one as bogus - you'd have to have malabsorption issues to ever have a chloride deficiency, so the idea that evolution would produce signals for it is doubtful. Similar with phosphorous.
    Oily foods don't contain calcium - WTF? Really? The person making this chart is kind of insulting people with these kind of mistakes.
    Carbs because of nitrogen? The only foods that contain nitrogen is protein. Why would you crave carbs for nitrogen?
    That chart is put together by someone that has negative knowledge of chemistry and nutrition. Anyone who reads that has become less knowledgeable.
  • hopeandtheabsurd
    hopeandtheabsurd Posts: 265 Member
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    The only time I ever craved steak, it turned out I was pregnant but didn't know it yet. :o

    I had a craving for all.the.salt right before I got sick this week. Figure I needed it for all.the.snot that was to come.
  • zcb94
    zcb94 Posts: 3,679 Member
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    I wholeheartedly agree that cravings (and dislikes, for that matter) are associated with what your body needs (or could live without for now). For example, I tend to crave chocolate and salt on a "hormone funk" because of the magnesium that is so important for ladies' health. On the other hand, during her term with me, Dr. Pepper® repulsed poor Mom (tasted like blood), perhaps due to a flavoring that probably would have hurt me, but I don't know.
  • Tricia7188
    Tricia7188 Posts: 136 Member
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    hopeandtheabsurd wrote: »
    The only time I ever craved steak, it turned out I was pregnant but didn't know it yet. :o

    I had a craving for all.the.salt right before I got sick this week. Figure I needed it for all.the.snot that was to come.
    Hahahahahha all the snot! Makes since to me lol!!
    The prego craving thing is probably legit, but maybe it was just for more protein/general calories for the baby over the iron etc?
  • Tricia7188
    Tricia7188 Posts: 136 Member
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    senecarr wrote: »
    Tricia7188 wrote: »
    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/127508233174625740/ lol this

    Most of the charts like that are bunk though. Quickly reviewing some of them can bring up things that don't make sense when analyzing either the food that is craved or the food that is suggest not matching the micronutrient.
    Bunk for sure. Or "woo" as I've learned here, love this word haha!
  • Tricia7188
    Tricia7188 Posts: 136 Member
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    senecarr wrote: »
    I'm going to change my opinion to more tentative until I can find the rat study mentioned here:
    http://ocw.jhsph.edu/courses/criticalanalysispopulardietssupplements/PDFs/Lecture2.pdf
    Diet Composition and Satiety-II
    { Micronutrients:
    z When made deficient in a
    micronutrient, rats will select a diet
    that corrects the deficiency
    z Humans may overeat in general to
    correct micronutrient deficiencies

    Interesting!!!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    There's an opinion that reducing salt in ready meals etc increases intake to meet the salt needs.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    dubird wrote: »
    The only craving I get is for salty foods; I actually don't crave sweets. My doctor suspects it's because I have low blood pressure, and the fact that I eat way more sodium than is recommend could be why it's not lower. Don't know for sure, but that's the theory.

    As for if you're body is craving iron you want a steak, maybe it's because you know that steak is a good source of iron, so maybe your body is craving something and your brain associates that something with a food that has it? I dunno, just throwing an idea out there.

    This makes sense to me.
  • DoctorShock
    DoctorShock Posts: 11 Member
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    senecarr wrote: »
    I might look up and check later, but I don't think micronutrients besides salt have much evidence that they cause cravings. There is an odd correlation between iron deficiency and ice chewing, which is unexplained, especially as ice doesn't normally contain appreciable amounts of iron.

    For macronutrients, there is actually a weight gain hypothesis based on the idea that protein is the macronutrient that controls appetite, known as the protein leverage hypothesis:
    http://sydney.edu.au/science/outreach/inspiring/news/cpc.shtml

    This is interesting. I had been toying with a similar hypothesis and wondering if the satiating effect of protein could be the real driver behind the success or failure of low-carb and low-fat diets, since protein would tend to be increased as an effect of lowering one or the other macro, and if it's increased enough it could lead the dieter to eat fewer calories and lose weight.

    If you wanted to make a lot of money, you could market a weight-loss book on the basis of limiting calories and maintaining a minimum level of protein...

    Call it The Universal Law of Nutrition Plan!
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    senecarr wrote: »
    I might look up and check later, but I don't think micronutrients besides salt have much evidence that they cause cravings. There is an odd correlation between iron deficiency and ice chewing, which is unexplained, especially as ice doesn't normally contain appreciable amounts of iron.

    For macronutrients, there is actually a weight gain hypothesis based on the idea that protein is the macronutrient that controls appetite, known as the protein leverage hypothesis:
    http://sydney.edu.au/science/outreach/inspiring/news/cpc.shtml

    Along with that there is strong evidence that protein affects some hunger signaling in disordered eating. I've seen at least 4-5 articles on the subject.

    And apparently carb-rich diet result in increase tryptophan availability which may result in further craving of carbs - although it wasn't clear to me if this was mostly in depressed people or not (the tryptophan mediated signaling might not occur if you are "full up").

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