What your cravings for certain foods can say about your health

There are 2 main types of food cravings: selective and non-selective. The non-selective (food in general) could simply mean that you are thirsty or hungry. But selective craving (for a specific product) is a complex psychological and chemical mechanism your body can use to send you messages.

today, not incredible.club, we have compiled a list of selective wants and shown what each one of them can indicate. Also, at the end of the post, we show you why we rarely feel the urge to eat healthy food.

Cravings for chocolate are often linked to a lack of magnesium, which in turn can lead to anxiety and depression. This study provided evidence that eating between 100 grams and 400 grams of dark chocolate daily may be a natural way to cure depression, which may also explain your craving for this food. Unfortunately, regular candy bars available in supermarkets and other stores lack dark chocolate or contain high doses of sugar.

Instead: eat almonds or, if you like, stick with bars that contain more than 70% cocoa. But if you find yourself suffering from depression, make an appointment with your doctor.

There’s a clear link between obesity and lack of sleep, not just because not sleeping makes it harder to lose weight, but also because your body craves sugar when you’re tired, as this study shows. Since most of the sugary products available are full of refined sugar, this habit can have serious implications for your health.

Instead: replace candies, donuts and other treats with fruit such as cherries, peaches or watermelon. Dried fruits such as raisins can also satisfy you.

Since cheese is a dopamine bomb, it’s hard to tell the difference between a craving and a simple addiction. On the other hand, if you really have a low-fat diet and you feel like eating cheese, it could be a sign of vitamin A or D deficiency, which are very present in dairy products.

Instead: try eating nutritional yeast, which contains these vitamins but not all the fat in the cheese. If you want to eat cheese, avoid the so-called “plastic cheese” present in most pizzas from commercial chains and try the low-fat ones, such as minas frescal and feta.

This very common desire can mean a lack of carbohydrates and healthy fats, especially omega 3. French fries are also a source of sodium, as they are usually made with a lot of salt. And sodium deficiency can be caused by excessive sweating.

Instead: replace the unhealthy canola oil used to fry commercial potatoes with olive oil. Consume higher doses of salmon, nuts and avocado. But, if you think you are sodium deficient, contact your doctor.

Popular soft drinks contain a huge amount of caffeine, which may explain your craving for this type of beverage. Since soft drinks often contain just the right amount of caffeine to wake you up without making you feel like you’ve overdone it, this fact is often overlooked and you end up becoming addicted. Cravings for Coke can also mean your bones are losing calcium and magnesium. Unfortunately, Coca-Cola retains these two substances, creating a vicious circle.

Instead: avoid consuming high doses of caffeine. Sodas also contain a lot of sugar, which can cause diabetes in the long run. If you’re tired, try eating dark chocolate or drinking black tea in moderate amounts.

A compulsive craving for ice could mean your body is severely iron deficient, according to this study. Chewing ice can lead to a little mental boost, like coffee, which cures the fatigue caused by a lack of iron. Of course, there’s basically no risk (other than to your teeth) in chewing on the occasional ice cube left over from your soda or juice.

Instead: see your doctor. If you think you are iron deficient, try eating more beans and spinach.

Punctual cravings, unlike regular hunger, are deeply related to a person’s psychological state. Although in both cases dopamine and hormones are released, the cravings are related to the repetitive need to feel pleasure. For example, chocolate melted in your mouth or a very sugary candy can trigger the release of dopamine in your brain, giving you immediate pleasure. This urge to consume sugar comes from our ancestors, who lived in much more restrictive conditions in terms of calorie supply. Therefore, as a kind of defense mechanism, our brain developed a sensation of extreme pleasure when consuming hypercaloric foods. It was a way to flood our bodies with calories in a scenario where our cave ancestors had no way of knowing when they would have access to their next meal.

What kind of food do you feel like eating? What do you replace unhealthy snacks with? Let us know in the comments and share your tips with your fellow followers!