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4 Steps to Reduce Cravings | Why We Crave
Am I hungry or am I just bored?
I ask myself this question a lot. I think that it happens especially after finishing a tough task or having a long day. I suddenly get this urge to eat something. Unfortunately, it's usually sweets since that’s my feel-good food.
We all get food cravings, some sweets, some spice, some everything nice. Cravings can be caused by smelling, seeing, or even hearing about a certain food. Sometimes when we hear about a savory plate of biryani and can’t hold it in…Now I'm in the mood for biryani. It happens.
What Causes Cravings?
Cravings occur in the regions of our brain responsible for memory, pleasure and reward. This combined with hormones such as serotonin lead to a nice package deal of physical response to desires. The foods we are most likely to crave are called hyperpalatable foods, meaning that they are easily digestible and have an enjoyable quality such as sweets and spice. These foods can stimulate the release of metabolic, stress, and appetite hormones including insulin, cortisol, dopamine, leptin, and ghrelin, all of which play a role in cravings. Typically our body has hormones in place that are released in our digestive tract to advise us when we are full on the other hand, the opposite is also true, when we are hungry, hormones like ghrelin send our body a ping to let it know it's hungry.
Think of it like a bell, we feel hungry, there's a ping that signals the rumble in our stomach, and when we’re full there’s another ping that makes us feel stuffed with some struggle to breathe.
What are the types of Cravings?
There are generally 2 types of cravings. Selective Cravings and Non-Selective cravings.
Selective Cravings are as the name states, desire to eat a particular food or flavor.
Non-Selective Cravings are when you just want to eat anything.
Quick Tip: When you just feel like eating anything it could be that you are either actually hungry or you’re just thirsty. My mom always says to drink a glass of water and it usually did the trick especially if I just ate 30 minutes prior.
Comfort foods, the stress eating MVP in our lives thrives on this concept. High sugar and high fat foods are hyperpalatable and impact the signals that go to our brain. So we are stressed and because we are looking for that relief we turn to these foods and get that almost immediate response. The food that we eat is sending these signals to our brain and giving us a good feeling. We are human so when it feels good once, the dopamine release will push us to want it more, leading to bad consumption choices and even food addiction. Now think about it this way, these hyperpalatable foods are getting in the way of your healthy lifestyle by throwing off these signals.
How to Curb Cravings:
Mental health and habits go hand in hand. Dopamine is our pleasure hormone, so when we feel that sense of pleasure there is a push to keep getting more. The Halal Holistic practitioner within us wants to be free of the factors that pull us away from the best we want to attain. Curbing this short term pleasure for the greater achievement of our better self is worth the sacrifice.
Steps to reduce the Cravings:
Reduce Stress! Makes complete sense…you are stress eating, you are munching because the sweetness makes you feel good, or the sound of the crunch is pleasing to your ears, but really it's just a play on your mind. You do not need those extra calories in your body especially if they are only making you feel worse.
Instead if you are feeling the urge to eat, notice that your body is craving a momentary relief. In TV shows with a serious theme, there is a comedy relief aspect that keeps things light. Maybe life is pulling you down, take a break for a few minutes and reassess. Getting a breath of fresh air, looking at the sun or even watching a baby laugh are all possible ways to find that momentary relief. Step back and look at what is around you, find yourself where you are. You are stressed, and that’s okay, but don’t let stress take the lead.
Sleep Better! Okay come on, this one is easy. You don’t sleep, you are going to be more stressed. Not only that, it throws your hormones off. Remember that ghrelin fellow that I mentioned earlier, the one that tells you that you’re hungry, it gets thrown off if your sleep patterns aren’t working.
Sleep management seems to be the fix for a lot of things. So a simple adjustment in our sleep schedules goes a long way.
Exercise! Ghrelin and other appetite stimulating hormones decrease in activity when you workout. On the other hand, the appetite suppressing hormones are pushed to work but this is for a short time. So when you workout you want to build up and challenge yourself. The higher the intensity, the better it is to reduce appetite.
Change The Scene, This one could be hard, especially on social media. You swipe through so much and you see food all the time. It definitely is hard, and I won't say to unsubscribe to their page, but I will say this more important than your actions is your reactions. If you see food, okay it looks tasty thanks, but move on don’t let that thought linger and give those unnecessary signals to your brain.
Some other notes, there is not sufficient evidence that your body is nutrient deficient and that is why you are having food cravings. However, there are healthier alternatives to these hyperpalatable foods.
If you crave sweets, Replace with Fruits
If you crave Chocolate, replace with dark chocolate 70% cocoa is full of antioxidants
If you crave Soda, Replace with a juice or sparkling water
If you crave Crunchy foods like chips, replace them with unbuttered popcorn.
If you crave Something savory, Try something with a kick like spiced nuts or hummus.
Of course alternatives are great to help you get through this habit, however we are aiming for optimal health. Reduce Stress, Get Sleep, Exercise, and take the lead in overcoming this habit.
Resources:
Sinha R. Role of addiction and stress neurobiology on food intake and obesity. Biological psychology. 2018 Jan 1;131:5-13.
Meule A. (2020). The Psychology of Food Cravings: the Role of Food Deprivation. Current nutrition reports, 9(3), 251–257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-020-00326-0
Anderberg, R., Hansson, C., Fenander, M. et al. The Stomach-Derived Hormone Ghrelin Increases Impulsive Behavior. Neuropsychopharmacol 41, 1199–1209 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.2015.297
Thank You for Reading and Hope to hear from you all soon!
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