Most of us can identify with giving in to that mid afternoon craving for…well, anything sweet! Or maybe salt is your thing? Either way, we then get angry with ourselves for lacking willpower. As it turns out, cravings are not just about mental fortitude; there is a physiological basis to them. Let’s look at a few of the physiological factors which may be fueling your cravings, and some easy habits and whole foods which can help.

1. Circadian Rhythm – Our natural built-in clock helps sets us up for cravings as we experience a natural lull in energy mid-afternoon. To wake ourselves up, our brains tell us to eat sugar, or drink caffeine, or both!

The Fix: Keep your blood sugar balanced throughout the day by eating every few hours. Ensure each meal you eat has a combination of some quality protein, quality fat (i.e. organic grass-fed butter, organic extra virgin coconut oil, and avocado or avocado oil), and complex carbohydrates (non starchy vegetables and whole grains). Eating in this way will minimize the effect of the natural energy lull, and keep you from getting hungry, which is exactly the point your cravings are too intense to resist!

Whole Food Hack: Instead of coffee, try a green tea with a little raw honey. You’ll get a lot less caffeine, which can stress the body with its temporary, artificial energy highs. What you will get is a milder caffeine effect, along with anti-obesity, microbiome-friendly compounds present in the green tea. The honey will help satisfy your sweet craving, while adding some beneficial microbes to your digestive tract. If you really need something sweet, opt for some strawberries or grapes, which contribute to the release of endorphins, as I explain below.

As your body begins to function on quality, whole foods delivered consistently throughout the day, your cravings will ease up. And in the absence of food cravings it becomes easier to make good food choices. Hooray for positive reinforcement!

2. Endorphins – Endorphins are neurochemicals which decrease the sensation of pain and increase feelings of pleasure. Sugary and salty foods increase the production of endorphins. It’s no wonder we crave cookies and potato chips! Sadly, those same foods come with a host of negative health effects if eaten regularly.

The Fix: A natural endorphin booster is exercise. As an added bonus, exercise helps counter stress – which we know powerfully influences our food choices. When under stress, that carton of Ben and Jerry’s practically begs for you to devour it! Researchers at the University of Exeter found that a walk allayed cravings in chocoholics! So consider swapping your afternoon coffee break with a brisk 10 – 15 walk around your office building!

Whole Food Hack: Strawberries and grapes are rich sources of endorphin-producing Vitamin C.

3. Microbiome – An emerging body of research suggests that our food cravings may actually be significantly shaped by the bacteria that we have inside our gut (known collectively as our microbiome).

When microbes break down (metabolize) dietary substrates, they produce by-products called metabolites. Studies have found that microbial metabolites in the urine of chocolate cravers are different than those of “chocolate indifferent” folks, even when eating identical diets!

In 2014, a medical research team in the United States published an article looking at the role of gastrointestinal microbiota and eating behavior. They posited the following, “Like microscopic puppetmasters, microbes may control the eating behavior of hosts through a number of potential mechanisms including microbial manipulation of reward pathways, production of toxins that alter mood…changes to receptors including taste receptors, and hijacking of neurotransmission via the vagus nerve…which is the main neural axis between the gut and the brain.”(1)

Fitting nicely with Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest”, researchers believe microbes in your gut send signals to your brain about food they need to survive and flourish. It appears the bacteria in our digestive tract don’t just hang out and hope to survive; they manipulate our food preferences based on their food preferences!

As an example, candida albicans, one of the best known not-so-friendly bacterial species in our gut, is known to thrive on sugar. And we know those with candida albicans overgrowth – which poses several health challenges – tend to crave sugar or starchy food, which quickly breaks down into sugar molecules in the body.

The Fix: Mind your microbiome, to ensure the maximum amount of friendly bacteria. Remember the gut-brain axis? Mental stress is also digestive stress! So make it a priority to regularly practice mindfulness or other stress reduction techniques.

Whole Food Hack: Prebiotic foods help feed the bacteria in your GI tract, and include things like artichoke, sweet potato, onion, garlic, and oat bran. Fermented foods contain large amounts of probiotics, or good bacteria, and include foods such as homemade yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, apple cider vinegar, and kombucha tea.


Bottom Line: Eating a balanced meal of protein, complex carbohydrates, and fats every few hours, exercising, and stress reduction or mindfulness practices can all help get your cravings under control. Foods which can help you along include green tea, strawberries, grapes, sweet potato, onion, garlic, and your preferred fermented food (eaten daily).


1. J. Alcock, C. Maley, and C Athena Aktipis. Is eating behavior manipulated by the gastrointestinal microbiota? Evolutionary pressures and potential mechanisms. Bioessays. 2014 Oct; 36(10): 940-949.

 

References

http://advances.nutrition.org/content/5/3/312S.full#sec-8

http://www.road-to-health.com/64/What_are_Endorphins_.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3161588/

Top 4 Endorphin Releasing Foods

https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/archive/2008/november/title_1709_en.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25103109

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17929959

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23163751

Rezzi S, Ramadan Z, Martin FP, Fay LB, et al. Human metabolic phenotypes link directly to specific dietary preferences in healthy individuals. J Proteome Res. 2007;6:4469–77

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