What is your biggest food craving? Mine is chocolate, but not just any chocolate. Dark, rich, chunky chocolate. The kind that's not very sweet, not gooey, not mixed with anything like caramel or toffee. An occasional almond is fine, mixed in or on the side, but only once in a while. Without a doubt my favorite way to eat it is by itself along with a glass of ice water. And only a tiny square or two will fix me up just fine.
Is there any logic or meaning behind food cravings? Some say no, but George Mateljan's (of whfoods.org) article below offers some other explanations. He's talking primarily about peanuts, but the ideas presented are worth checking into for any type of food craving...
"What do we know about Food Cravings in general? Why do we crave peanuts?
I believe that a persons body is always trying to stay optimally healthy and to heal from injury or illness. Therefore, I believe that your body might be trying to tell you something through your cravings. Exactly what it's trying to tell you, however, is difficult to determine.
In a nutritional sense, cravings can sometimes be related to nutrients that are most needed by the body. Peanuts, for example, are a good source of manganese, niacin, folate, copper, and protein. Peanuts also contain some resveratrol, the phytonutrient that's become so famous in red wine. Peanuts are not unusually rich in this nutrient - an ounce of peanuts contains about 50 micrograms of resveratrol at most, compared to nearly 1,000 micrograms in an ounce of red wine. However, over the course of time, if peanuts are enjoyed on a daily basis, they could be a worthwhile source of this resveratrol.
Cravings can also be related to food allergies, and it is possible for a person to crave a food to which they are most allergic. (Although this may seem contradictory, craving a food to which we are allergic is a fairly common occurrence in nutrition, and one that is documented in scientific research.) In the allergy research literature, peanuts turn out to be a very common allergenic food.
So how can you tell if your personal craving for peanuts is based on the helpful nutrients that peanuts are providing or if it's the result of an unwanted allergic reaction? You may not be able to make this decision without the help of an experienced healthcare practitioner. If you have never worked with a nutritionist or other healthcare provider who is familiar with food allergies and elimination/challenge diets, I would encourage you to consider taking that step.
Of course, meeting your nutrient needs or getting caught up in a potentially adverse food reaction may not be the only reason you might be craving peanuts. Peanuts might be an unusually enjoyable food for you based on your past food habits. Or perhaps, they are a "comfort food" that is reassuring to eat. While pleasure and comfort certainly aren't reasons to avoid peanuts, feeling in control of your " Healthiest Way of Eating" is always an important aspect of nourishment.
If you would like to read more about peanuts and food allergies, see pages 540 and 719, respectively, in The World's Healthiest Foods: Essential Guide for the Healthiest Way of Eating book or visit our website."
I am ever grateful that my dark chocolate craving is not related to an allergy, I can't imagine a worse fate. Some folks say that craving chocolate means you are after the opiate-like feeling of wellbeing that it triggers. Others say it's the sugar. All I know is, when the craving hits, I'd go out of my way to get my hands on one splendid dark chocolate nugget, but can easily overlook a piece of cheap wannabe chocolate that is sitting right in front of me.
Health Nut Wannabe is all about finding easy ways to eat the right things, and learning more about what makes them good for us.
I'm getting off the fast food treadmill and becoming part of the Whole Food Nation.
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Is there any logic or meaning behind food cravings? Some say no, but George Mateljan's (of whfoods.org) article below offers some other explanations. He's talking primarily about peanuts, but the ideas presented are worth checking into for any type of food craving...
"What do we know about Food Cravings in general? Why do we crave peanuts?
I believe that a persons body is always trying to stay optimally healthy and to heal from injury or illness. Therefore, I believe that your body might be trying to tell you something through your cravings. Exactly what it's trying to tell you, however, is difficult to determine.
In a nutritional sense, cravings can sometimes be related to nutrients that are most needed by the body. Peanuts, for example, are a good source of manganese, niacin, folate, copper, and protein. Peanuts also contain some resveratrol, the phytonutrient that's become so famous in red wine. Peanuts are not unusually rich in this nutrient - an ounce of peanuts contains about 50 micrograms of resveratrol at most, compared to nearly 1,000 micrograms in an ounce of red wine. However, over the course of time, if peanuts are enjoyed on a daily basis, they could be a worthwhile source of this resveratrol.
Cravings can also be related to food allergies, and it is possible for a person to crave a food to which they are most allergic. (Although this may seem contradictory, craving a food to which we are allergic is a fairly common occurrence in nutrition, and one that is documented in scientific research.) In the allergy research literature, peanuts turn out to be a very common allergenic food.
So how can you tell if your personal craving for peanuts is based on the helpful nutrients that peanuts are providing or if it's the result of an unwanted allergic reaction? You may not be able to make this decision without the help of an experienced healthcare practitioner. If you have never worked with a nutritionist or other healthcare provider who is familiar with food allergies and elimination/challenge diets, I would encourage you to consider taking that step.
Of course, meeting your nutrient needs or getting caught up in a potentially adverse food reaction may not be the only reason you might be craving peanuts. Peanuts might be an unusually enjoyable food for you based on your past food habits. Or perhaps, they are a "comfort food" that is reassuring to eat. While pleasure and comfort certainly aren't reasons to avoid peanuts, feeling in control of your " Healthiest Way of Eating" is always an important aspect of nourishment.
If you would like to read more about peanuts and food allergies, see pages 540 and 719, respectively, in The World's Healthiest Foods: Essential Guide for the Healthiest Way of Eating book or visit our website."
I am ever grateful that my dark chocolate craving is not related to an allergy, I can't imagine a worse fate. Some folks say that craving chocolate means you are after the opiate-like feeling of wellbeing that it triggers. Others say it's the sugar. All I know is, when the craving hits, I'd go out of my way to get my hands on one splendid dark chocolate nugget, but can easily overlook a piece of cheap wannabe chocolate that is sitting right in front of me.
Health Nut Wannabe is all about finding easy ways to eat the right things, and learning more about what makes them good for us.