We never know what we want - but when we get a dose of food cravings, we do whatever's needed to satisfy them. Turns out, some food cravings are actually telling you something about your health or some nutritional deficiencies, as said by weight loss expert and "The Appetite Solution" author Joseph Colella, M.D.
Cosmpolitan reports:
"So while food cravings aren't the best diagnostic tools on their own, listening to what you crave - and putting those cravings into context - can help you give your body what it really needs."
Chocolate
It could either be: 1) your period is coming, 2) you're pregnant, or 3) you're having a bad day.
According to Julia M. Hormes, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology at the University at Albany, State University of New York: people have a tendency to eat chocolate at times they think it's socially acceptable to eat - simply because society deems chocolate to have high levels of calories and fat.
You may crave chocolates when you're about to get your period or if you're having a bad day due to the notion that raging hormones make you crave it, or because chocolate has some chemicals that can improve one's mood.
Hormes explains: "We attribute cravings to whatever is obvious to us - we use any excuse to indulge."
You're on a restrictive diet: Hormes says: "Cravings can be the result of our intent to stay away from things that are pleasant and pleasurable to eat." Turns out, your body deems the sweet treat as the perfect food to eat when you're hungry and counting calories.
Candy
Pre-diabetic people tend to crave for candy. It can pose as an alarming risk if those candy cravings result in an amplified urgency to urinate, and if these sugar cravings are extreme and chronic, according to Dr. Colella. You can always visit your doctor for a blood test if you're getting concerned.
Time of the month: If you have your period, or about to get it, just know that any changes in your hormone levels can trigger an increase in your sugar cravings.
Too much processed carbs: When you eat white bread, white rice or pasta, it gives you an instant boost in your blood sugar. However, it also makes you crash and become in a lazy state. To get you out of that lazy mood, people tend to search for a sugar high.
Stress: Turns out, "sugar activates your brain's reward center." In situations where you find yourselves overtly stressed, you might crave for candy without even being aware of it. It isn't limited to just candy though, but just anything sweet to munch on.
