The Hidden Meaning Behind the Top 5 Food Cravings and What to Eat Instead

If you're trying to lose a few pounds or want to maintain your current weight, food cravings may seem like a real problem.  

I'm here to tell you - cravings are not all bad.  

⭐️ They're signals from your body.  They're one of the many, fascinating ways your body and brain communicate. 

⭐️ Cravings can be a stress response or from boredom. 

⭐️ Cravings can also be physiological:  cues of something your body needs or wants.  

The best solution for emotional cravings are - 

• Movement - exercise, take a walk, organize a messy drawer, call someone, play with the dog
• Green tea - the bitter flavor kills your appetite a bit ( 😉 Nature's Ozempic)
• Water - sometimes (often?) we're just thirsty!  

If someone says they frequently crave a certain thing, it may mean something else. 

Often, they're signs of a nutritional deficiency. 

Here are some of the most common ones:

SALT 

In TCM, salty flavor corresponds with the Kidneys (and therefore Adrenals).  In Western Medicine, salt also corresponds with the Kidneys and Adrenals!  I love when they match up like that.  Addison's Disease and Bartter Syndrome can cause salt cravings.  

Regular, old-fashioned adrenal fatigue can too.  If you're pushing too hard, have too much stress, or don't rest enough, your body may crave salt either as a reward system ("I deserve this!") or to replenish lost electrolytes. 

Controversial take - salt is fine.  CAVEAT:  Salt is fine, if it's high-quality, natural SEA SALT. 

Salty flavored chemicals (found on most of your highly processed, pre-packaged foods) are NOT OK.  Salt-flavored chemicals (anything that starts with sodium-xxxxchemical namexxxx) lead to inflammation, edema (swelling), toxicity, and circulation problems.  

The solution:  cook whole foods at home and add as much sea salt to your dish as you want.  Seriously.  Nobody wants an over-salted dish.  The amount that tastes good to you is what you need.  

Another solution:  add a pinch of sea salt to a glass of water.  Bonus:  squeeze in a 1/2 of lemon or lime in there too.  😎 Nature's electrolyte drink.  

CHOCOLATE

How bad this is depends, once again, on the QUALITY and the QUANTITY.  

Craving it can signal a deficiency in Magnesium.  This is why women crave chocolate before or during their period.  Magnesium supports muscle relaxation. 

I've also heard (and believe) that we crave chocolate when we're really craving romance.  🥰  

Good quality chocolate is high in cacao.  Cacao has actual health benefits: it's good for circulation, libido, and brain function.  

How do you know you're getting enough cacao in your chocolate?  The label will read "DARK CHOCOLATE."  AND it will give you a %.  The higher the %, the more cacao is in there.  For example, 85% cacao is very high.  45% is not.  Milk chocolate has almost NO cacao. 🧐 White chocolate has NO cacao.  

It's the non-cacao part of the chocolate bar or candies that isn't good for you.  That's the sugar part.  This we want to minimize.  

SUGAR

Sugar cravings are one of the worst.  

We crave it for energy, usually.  If you tend to skip meals, over-do things, or aren't getting enough quality sleep, your body says, "Eat this and then we can keep going."  Which is true.  But it's also a double-edged sword.  

The more sugar you consume, the more you want.  It's a monster you don't want to wake up.  

Instead of eating sugar, eat potatoes and carrots.  Seriously.  

The natural sugar in root vegetables gives your body exactly what it needs...plus vitamins and fiber.   

I've heard that some doctors say to their diabetic patients, "Avoid potatoes and carrots because of their sugar content," to which I have to say, I've literally never seen someone become diabetic from eating too many potatoes and carrots.  Please, if you disagree, send me proof.  Proof of someone who never ate refined sugar, but through eating a bunch of root vegetables ended up with diabetes.  Nope.  It's probably never happened.  I don't think so.  

This is what people who eat carrots and potatoes every day look like: 

ICE

Some people love to chew on ice or can't stop with the iced drinks.  

It may be because you feel hot all the time, like if you're menopausal or if you're overweight.  In this case, it's not going to work out for you. 

➡️ Trying to cool internal heat with external cold will backfire.  It causes more damp and more stagnation, which in turn, leads to more heat.  Which leads to more ice-chomping, and you see where this goes.  

The best solutions for internal heat are Peppermint or Green Tea (drank warm or room temp ideally).  I recommend Wild Yam for hormone balance.  Moxa (mugwort, burned above the body) therapy treatment also works.  Paradoxically, doing warm therapies on the outside help you feel cooler on the inside.  

Another reason people crave ice is due to iron deficiency 🩸 or anemia.  The obvious solution for this is either to eat more grass-fed beef, buffalo, or lamb, or take a supplement like Ferrofood or (for vegans or vegetarians) Floradix.  

CAFFEINE

The reason?  You're tired.  Get some sleep.  There's no amount of coffee that can replace the rest you need.  

Can't sleep?  Try acupuncture or herbal medicine.  😁