What Your Food Cravings Really Mean
By Sara Butler
Food cravings have been the foe to many people looking to improve their health by eating better. Don't feel bad if that sounds familiar, cravings can be powerful things. To help overcome them you must understand them. After all, when you crave a food your body is trying to tell you something important, so make an effort to listen. Here are a few common food cravings and what your body may be actually trying to tell you when it craves these foods.
Salty Snacks
Sometimes you just get a hankering for some salty, deep-fried goodness in the form of a fry. Or maybe you want a crunchy, salty snack such as a potato chip. Craving these salty foods may mean you simply need to drink a glass of water, so that's a great place to start.
This craving can also mean your body needs more calcium. Some studies have found that having a deficiency in calcium can cause your body to crave salt.
If you give in and have a salty snack, then it will temporarily help to increase the calcium in your blood, but it's not a long-term solution. Instead, have some calcium-rich snacks such as yogurt, almonds, or even sardines.
Sweet Snacks
Sometimes nothing but a gooey chocolate cupcake will do, or something else equally sweet. In these moments your body may not be craving something sweet at all but may instead be deficient in magnesium.
Get more magnesium in your diet with foods such as seeds, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and spinach. And go ahead and have a treat every once in a while -- you deserve it as long as you watch your portions.
A Juicy Steak
Your body may sometimes call out to you and say "Feed me a juicy steak!" In times like this, its message is pretty clear -- it wants iron.
This is an instance where it's a good thing to give in to your craving as long as you get the best protein you can find. Opt for grass-fed beef when possible since it's a rich source of iron. If you want to branch out in the iron department, you can also get it from legumes such as kidney beans, poultry, fish, nuts, seeds, oatmeal, and some vegetables such as potatoes and mushrooms.
Your cravings are your body's way of trying to tell you what it needs. So make sure to look a little deeper and think about what it's trying to tell you in order to help you stay healthy.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Sandy Springs, Ga.