Controlling Cravings
There are 8 primary causes of cravings.
1. Dehydration: Our bodies don't send us the message that we are thirsty until we are on the verge of dehydration. Sometimes dehydration causes us to become mildly hungry, so the first thing you should do when you have a weird craving is to drink a big glass of water.
2. Lifestyle: Being dissatisfied in a relationship, exercising too much or too little, being bored, having stress, being uninspired by your job or lacking focus can all contribute to emotional eating. Eating can be used as a substitute for entertainment or to fill a void.
3. Yin/Yang Imbalance: Certain foods have more yin qualities (expansive), and some foods have more yang qualities (contractive), which when overeaten can cause cravings of the opposite type foods in the effort to balance things out.
4. Inside Coming Out: Oftentimes, cravings come from foods that we have recently eaten, foods eatin by our ancestors, or foods from our childhood. A clever way of satisfying these cravings is to eat a healthier version of those foods.
5. Seasonal: Sometimes the body craves foods that balance out the elements of the season. In the spring, people crave detoxifying foods like leafy greens or citrus foods. In the summer, people crave cooling foods like fruit, raw foods and ice cream and in the fall peaple crave grounding foods like winter squash, onions, and nuts. In winter many crave hot and heat producing foods like meat, oil, and fat.
Other cravings, such as turkey, eggnog or sweets, can also be associated with the holiday season.
6. Lack of Nutrients: If the body is getting an inadequate amount of nutrients it will produce odd cravings. For example inadequate mineral levels may produce salt cravings, and overall inadequate nutrition produces cravings for non-nutritional forms of energy like caffeine.
7. Hormones: Hormones can cause cravings. When women are menstruating, are pregnant or during menopause they may have unusual cravings due to fluctuating estrogen and testosterone levels.
8. De-evolution: When things are going extremely well, sometimes a self sabotage syndrome happens, where we suddenly crave foods that throw us off balance. We then have cravings to balance ourselfes. This often happens from low blood sugar and may result in strong mood swings.