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What you never knew about cravings

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1. Nutritional deficiencies don't cause most cravings

Experts used to suspect that if you craved a burger, you were low in iron, and if you craved chocolate, your body needed magnesium. But if the root of all cravings was nutritional needs, we’d all be jonesing for kale, says nutritionist Jaime Mass. Instead, recent research suggests that most cravings have more to do with your brain than your body.

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As it turns out, sugar and fatty processed foods trigger the same areas of the brain as drugs do. And that causes a release of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine, which means our brain wants us to keep going back for more, says Mass. That's why we crave the foods that got us high in the first place.

2. Sugar trumps fat
While both of these light up the brain’s pleasure centers, you’re more likely to crave doughnuts than bacon, according to a 2013 study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. For the study, researchers tracked brain activity in more than 100 students as they drank chocolate milkshakes that were either high in sugar or high in fat and contained the same number of kilojoules. They found that the sugar-laden beverages were more effective at activating areas of the brain linked with compulsive eating than the fattier shakes.

Related: What does eating in moderation really mean?

3. Bad sleep can make you eat crave-worth
If you tossed and turned last night, you’ll want to get your hands on all of the foods today. When you're tired, you're more likely to crave carbohydrates and sugar to pick yourself up, says Mass. Plus, you might feel hungrier in general because your levels of the hunger-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin are thrown off, she says. In fact, in one 2012 Mayo Clinic study, people who slept 80 minutes less than they usually did, wound up eating an extra 1,000 kJs the next day.

4. A crazy pms appetite can be a sign of trouble
Though you know your hormones are the reason you want to down salt and vinegar chips in the days before your period strikes, a 2011 University of Pennsylvania study found that women who reported the most PMS-related hankerings were more likely to suffer from body-image issues, like eating disorders and guilt, after downing their need-to-eat-now foods.

The study authors suggests that the women who seriously restrict their food experience major cravings around the time of their periods because their bodies are trying to compensate for not eating enough. Consider this another reason why you shouldn't hold back from treating yourself.

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