Hiya Gorgeous,
You know the triggers. The pint of ice cream calling you from the freezer. The chocolate chip cookies taunting you from the kitchen counter. The nachos gnawing away at your willpower during happy hour. But, is it the food that’s pestering you? Of course not—it’s cravings.
We all have them, but do we really understand why? And more importantly, do we know how to tame them? In the past, I’ve been so deeply under the spell of my cravings that I’ve sprayed Windex on my Ben & Jerry’s (after throwing it in the garbage, because it was the only way I’d stop myself from pulling the darn pint out of the trash so I could keep eating it!).
You probably already know that food cravings can have little to do with hunger, but you may not be aware of how they work. Cravings have both biological and psychological components. The most common foods we crave are sugar, carbohydrates, chocolate, salt and, for some, cheese. Let’s walk through the main causes of these cravings and a few helpful tips for overcoming them!
5 Causes of Food Cravings
Leptin Resistance
Leptin is a hormone your body produces in your fat tissue. It’s primary job is to stimulate your appetite and tell you when you’re full. This all works fine when your stomach and your brain are in the same reality. But, the problem starts when constant surges of leptin trick your brain into feeling hungry, even when you’re not.
What causes this? One culprit is having too much body fat—more fat means more leptin is produced. Another cause is eating a diet high in sugary foods and processed carbs. The sugar triggers your fat cells to release surges of leptin. Whatever the reason, constant surges of leptin can lead to leptin resistance, which creates a feedback loop and further dulls your ability to perceive your real appetite. Eating a healthy, balanced diet is the best way to keep a normal balance of leptin in your body and, therefore, reduce your chances of being swept away by cravings (study).
Low levels of serotonin
Serotonin is a “feel-good” neurotransmitter produced mainly in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It’s directly tied to our mood, appetite and digestion. Eating carbs and sugar increases the release of serotonin (study), making us feel fabulous (temporarily). So, when our levels are low, our brains think, “Oh! That candy bar or bagel is going to fix this!”
A low serotonin level can be due to a variety of things, including poor gut health (90% of serotonin is made in the gut), alcohol consumption (study), depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. I don’t know about you, but I’m much more vulnerable to sugar and crappy carbohydrate cravings when I’m feeling down in the dumps.
Endorphins and Food Addiction
Eating sugary foods, and even salt (hello, chips!), increases the production of endorphins in your body (study). Endorphins are basically opiates that make us feel relaxed. So when we eat these foods and experience this feeling, we want more—similar to the way drug users get addicted to narcotics. In fact, a recent study shows that sugar can actually have a more intense feeling of reward than cocaine (study). It’s that powerful.
This is why the drug Naloxone (an opiate-blocker given to stop heroin and other narcotics from affecting the brain) also blocks the appeal and overeating tendencies for sugar, fat and chocolate (study). Another recent study looking at the addictive qualities of foods found that highly processed foods that are filled with fat and sugar can cause addictive eating because of their rapid rate of absorption (study). So the more you can avoid packaged and processed foods, the more control you’ll have over your food choices.
A wonky gut
As mentioned earlier, low serotonin levels are linked to cravings, and your gut is the epicenter of serotonin production. In order to maintain feel-good levels of serotonin, your gut needs to be in tip-top shape so it can absorb nutrients from your food and pump out serotonin through your gastrointestinal tract.
This process is greatly dependent on healthy levels and the proper balance of good bacteria. But when your diet isn’t very healthy, the bad bacteria can overpower the good guys, creating more food cravings! Cultivating a healthy balance of good bacteria by eating fermented foods, taking probiotics and embracing other gut-happy habits can create the intestinal peace necessary to calm your cravings.
Emotional Triggers
This is a biggie. Sadness, boredom, stress, poor self-esteem, negative body image (and the list goes on) can prompt you to cruise the pantry. Who doesn’t want a sleeve of Oreos when they look back on a painful breakup, losing a job or just having a bad day?
I refer to this as phantom hunger. But since food cravings are often fleeting and disappear within an hour, choosing to eat a healthier food or opting for a mood-boosting activity can satisfy you till the craving passes.
Now, let’s discuss some more strategies for how to stop food cravings…
Thank you so much for this Kris ♡
Lots of useful information and I will be following your suggestions to help with my sugar cravings which seem to be getting the better of me at the moment x
I’m cheering you on, Linda! xo, kc
Thank you Kris x
Thank you for these great tips and studies!! I have done some journalling when I find myself craving. It often subsides just from the writing. But if I still want something, then I am able to narrow down what it is I am craving–chocolate, sweet, salty/crunchy? Then I find something that will fill that need–chocolate can be satisfied with dates as they both have magnesium, I believe. Sweet can be satisfied by some fruit. And for salty crunchy I usually turn to celery.
Like others here, I have had the candida situation. The cravings are definitely out of control when the candida is running rampant!
I find that a glass of water with 1/2 lemon helps cravings. I have a glass first thing in the morning, and it has made a huge difference. Plus it is very refreshing. Water should be at room temperature.
Hello I just recently registered to receive your emails and just wanted to say I love it…love all the tips, advice, recipes and the animal info….my new favourite website!!!
Kris I wish I could meet you in person, because I think you have a great sense of humour…you would be fun to hang out with.
take care
Frances
Ya never know—maybe we’ll meet at one of my events one day. 🙂 Thanks so much for becoming one of my treasured readers. xo, kc
Loved the article, always do. Along with great tips the fun manner of writing makes me smile and laugh as I read it. Thank you!!!
I do oil pulling as it not only has huge health benefits but it seems to temporarily reduce cravings (maybe because your body senses fat and thinks it’s being fed?).
Hello everyone,
This piece was great- I enjoyed reading it. However, I am on a journey to recover from an eating disorder- binge eating is my current problem- and I feel like I can’t even make these healthy steps in the right direction. I have such an emotional connection to food that I want to break. Does anyone have any advice or words of positivity for me? I am so used to staying silent about my ED that Ive no support system…
Great informative article Kris, thank you! Always nice to be given some science-based background followed by actionable tips. Keep em coming!
Thank you for everything
Kris,
I see postings where some have talked about ways they were able to get rid of eczema and other issues they may have had. I have a teenage son who has acne and i would like to know if some of this problem stems from his diet or what’s in his “gut?” I’m about to order him some products to help with the outer portion of the acne that he’s dealing with, but if there’s something I can give to him that will help the internal of it, what do you suggest?
My son has acne caused by Candida also. The dermatologist put him on antibiotics and a pill specifically for Candida, also a topical cream. These antibiotics did not help much, so I stopped them. I now give him Probiotics (Jarrow 50 billion avail on Amazon) and cut the sugar out of his diet. He drinks only water and milk. I would like to get him off the milk, but he’s stubborn. His acne has cleared up quite a bit. Swimming in a chlorine pool or Jacuzzi helps quite bit. Best of luck.
I tend to crave foods most when I am stressed, upset, or burnt out. This past week our little one was in the hospital and there was high stress and almost no sleep. (Not to mention no gym and lots of sitting.) I comforted myself with all kinds of junk, including diet soda and meat. After only 1 week I am struggling to get back on track, I guess because the junk food makes me feel better, even if it’s temporary. What do I do, now I have slid all the way down the slope?
Thank you very much for the good information you give. It is quite nice to always get a little helper (reminder) on the way to new nutrition and a little life change. I was wondering where the cravings for “bad” food like chips and ketchup and chocolate as desert came from. They were so strong that I coeld not resist. And I did not understand why. But going an new way with less stress, Meditation and complete change of nutrition needs training and repetition: “Sleep enough, drink enough, meditate, don´t forget fresh air and be nice to yourself and your body…”
You could also apply Byron Katie’s work “The Work” to ending any cravings!
At night when I feel weakest I have a small glass of green jice that I save from earlier in the day. I know it oxidizes, but it helps.
Thank you so much. Finally someone explained this in an easy to understand way. Love this. Will be sharing with all
friends.
Thanks again,
Linda
I eat avocados with lime juice…kicks my cravings every time!!
This sounds like a good option.
Hi Kris,
Thank you for being such a wonderful inspiration for anyone and everyone who cared to juice and live healthy.
I have my own juice detox delivery company in Ireland which I set up 6 years ago. At the moment I am designing a brand new website from scratch as my current one was made by a friend of friend with no input by myself.
I love your website and would love to set mine up in a similar fresh, fun, funky way as the other juice companies in Ireland are very GREEN and serious.
How does it work with articles like “5 ways to overcome food cravings” Can I quote you? Can I direct my clients to your website via mine? because I love and believe everything you have discovered on your juicing journey and would love to share it with my clients.
The last thing I want to do is upset you or your brand with any copyright laws that I don’t know about.
I look forward to hearing form you and keep well.
Lisa
Than you for this article, I eat whole/real foods but find myself wanting salty treats. I eat out of boredom not hunger. Going to put these tips to good use!
Taste buds take about 8 weeks to ‘change their minds’ about whether or not you like a food or drink. If you want to learn to like something, a bite every day will usually do the trick. Very helpful knowledge when attempting to change your food preferences.
Yogert overcomes that powerfull crave plain yogert kills the crave all togather you can look it up and see why. Has to do with the probiotics within the yogert and the cultures involved. Also if your not in a sugar diet italian ice is better than most unhealthy snacks. Butveggis and dip do it for me. Craving something saltyvhave sunflower seeds ir almonds all better and just like having chips
This was helpful today, as I had reached for the Snickers and consumed more than I should have! In spite of my mile swim this morning, I wanted CHOCOLATE!