Deconstruction Cravings

Understanding physiological sources for unmanageable food obsessions.

Countless people assume weakness or deficiency when overpowered by food desires. Experiencing an extreme irrepressible appetite for sugar, longing for dense salty foods, yearning for hard and crunchy qualities, or creamy and smooth textures is universal. Even the most intelligent, temperate and successful citizens can relate to unmanageable compulsions termed “cravings.” How might these desires be resolved? Knowing the origin of these pesky disruptions in our otherwise manageable existence can assist in reducing the tremendous influence cravings impose and facilitate autonomy over food intake.

There is an instinctive knowing human beings possess. We innately recognize the precise nutrients required to sustain the mechanics of daily living, working, thinking, and administrating the different systems of the body. Lack of sufficient amounts of healthy nutrients or ingestion of too many non-nutritional substances such as coffee and refined or processed foods generates an environment deficient in health. Absence of this critical nourishment causes our body to hunger after foods that contain those nutrients not present. Christiane Northrup, M.D. author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom confirms, “It’s important to realize that a meat based, refined food diet itself is partly responsible for imbalanced eating and overeating, A diet that lacks whole grains, beans, and vegetables almost guarantees food cravings. Refined foods encourage binge eating because they are not “whole”. The body knows this, and it grazes, seeking the micronutrients, fiber, and vitamins that are missing.” Children are trained to suppress this inner wisdom. A slow whittling away of this inherent knowledge and receptivity is set in motion every time a child is forced to eat all of the green beans and liver or directed to consume everything on his/her plate before rising from the table. In order to recapture this intuition we must first return to a basic balanced diet. Only then can we rely totally on our instincts to guide us as we are in need of nutrients.

A surplus of nutrients triggers cravings as easily as insufficient quantities. While taking supplements and consuming power bars and protein drinks can be helpful in obtaining missing nutrients in the body, one must be cautious in their overuse. Supplements are condensed nutrients that contain no energy. These condensed nutrients can be the basis for food preferences that remove the overload of nutrients out of the body. For example, excess protein in the diet manifests as sugar hunger. Protein is needed to metabolize carbohydrates. The digestion process of the sugar will use up the excess protein in the body. Activity levels, diet and environment should determine the amount of supplementation desirable. Due to the stimulating environment and increased pollution living in a city requires more supplements than residing in the country, as does a hectic life style as opposed to comfortable or tranquil living. These micro foods are meant to supplement a healthy diet not substitute the natural nutrition of whole foods.

Radical change to daily diet initiates food cravings. Weight loss regimes can trigger fat cravings in response to a restrictive low fat diet or skipping meals. A common response to a high protein diet is uncontrollable yearnings for white flour, sugar and other refined carbohydrates. It is normal for people to crave the “junk” foods they have stopped eating as a signal of detoxifying those foods out of the system. When a craving for food no longer in the diet arises, it is a sign of cleansing.

All life on earth is in a constant state of balancing two limitless pairs of opposing forces. In the study of Chinese medicine these two powers are identified as yin and yang. Left and right, hot and cold, outside and inside (all yang and yin respectively) are a few examples of this natural occurrence. Precipitated by what we ingest this harmonizing is also experienced by the body. Yin energy is passive and represents provisions that fuel mental, psychological, or spiritual activity. Yin cuisine includes alcohol, sugar, dairy, fruit, vegetables and sea greens. When consumed these foods promote relaxation and flexible character. Yang is active, representing rations that stimulate physical activity, purposefulness, focused work and tension. Beans, tofu, seeds and nuts, whole grains, fish, poultry, some well aged cheeses (brie and Roquefort), red meat, miso, eggs and salt contain yang vitality. Eating foods in the balanced section (see chart) establishes harmony, peace and health. Eating extreme yang foods like steak and eggs generates a craving for extreme yin foods such as coffee and sugar. Drinking alcohol may create a yen for salted nuts, which then produces the need for more alcohol. Craving mostly foods on one side of the chart is a response to yin or yang life circumstances. For example, working at a tense or stressful job (yang) may produce desires for pastries, bagels (all white flour products are classified as yin) and coffee or soft drinks. A stable diet of balancing foods, displayed in the middle section, will reduce cravings for the excessive selections on the outer sections of the chart.

There are also seasonal cravings. Again it is an inner awareness to hunger for raw foods in the summer and cooked foods in the winter. The raw foods cool the body during times of excess body heat (also good for hot flashes) while stewed, roasted or baked vegetables are warming in cold temperatures. According to Joshua Rosenthal director of The Institute for Integrative Nutrition yearning for meat and oils is also stronger during the winter especially for vegetarians. (For more info on seasonal eating see Cuizine Oct./Nov. 2001 Healing Foods of the Harvest)

Low serotonin levels manifest as cravings prior to a woman’s menstrual cycle. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter found primarily in the brain that is believed essential for relaxation, sleep and attentiveness. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have reported the most frequent symptoms of PMS consisting of cravings for carbohydrate rich foods, sleep disturbances, and depression, coincide with dwindling serotonin levels. When comparing PMS sufferers with women who did not experience PMS symptoms, the researchers found carbohydrate intake increased 24 percent during meals and went up 43 percent during snacks. After eating a high-carbohydrate snack the women showed some relief from depression, tension, anger, confusion, sadness, and fatigue, and they felt more alert and calm. The researchers concluded that premenstrual women overeat carbohydrates in an attempt to raise serotonin levels and improve their negative moods. Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., author of Food & Mood, suggests, “when serotonin levels are low or when NPY [an appetite-stimulating neuropeptide] are high we unknowingly turn to oatmeal, cookies, jelly beans, waffles, or any other carbohydrate-rich foods, which in turn boosts serotonin NPY, shutting off cravings”. Raise serotonin levels without sacrificing health by incorporating complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, whole grain breads, and starchy vegetables into the diet.

Cravings may be a signal of the need for water. As the body gets older it doesn’t always register hydration requirements. This need is frequently disguised as a sweet tooth. Since sugar is a yin substance, it produces more fluids in the body. Experiment with increasing water, fruits and vegetables before submitting to sugar cravings.

These cravings are not the problem. They are a solution to physiological circumstance that is biologically created. Take away the circumstance and the cravings disappear with ease. The good news is that no willpower or self-discipline is necessary.
This article by Rose Payne, CHHC was published in Cuizine Magazine Feb. 2002.

Rose Payne is the founder and Director of High Level Wellness a holistic health and nutrition center in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She is an AADP certified Holistic Nutrition Counselor and National Educator with a private practice that offers assistance countrywide. She is also the Director of the Immersion Graduate Program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC. Her passion is helping clients transform their lives through the power of nutrition. You can contact Rose at info@high-level-wellness-online.com

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