You’re in the middle of class, and you suddenly doze off and the image of a cupcake enters your mind. Although you try, you can’t knock that image out of your head. Suddenly your mouth starts to water and you can’t help but feel distracted. Wonder what’s happening? You are caught under the spell of a food craving.
Everyone knows the feeling of a food craving, especially for unhealthy food and sweets. But what is it that you are really craving? Is it the taste, or the positive familiarities associated with the food? Are you yearning for that sugary or fatty taste, because you love it, or purely because you know you should not be eating it? Will ignoring the urge to splurge make your craving disappear, or will it haunt you even longer?
As reported by The Wall Street Journal’s health journal, research is taking on a new urgency due to the nation’s obesity problem, because cravings are very much believed by scientists to have an influence on snacking behavior, binge eating and bulimia.
According to functional MRI scans so far, some research findings include information such as the fact that food cravings trigger the same satisfaction in the brain as cravings for drugs and alcohol. Also, women have been reported as having more food cravings than men, and younger people having craving for sweets more often than older people. As if it isn’t unfair enough that women have more unhealthy food cravings than men, only 57 percent said they were satisfied after giving in to their food cravings, while 85 percent of men were satisfied after.
Your food cravings have a deeper meaning. Researchers have found that the body’s craving for food is its effort to correct its nutritional balance. If you are craving meat, such as steak, your body probably needs more iron. If you are craving chocolate, your blood may be low on magnesium, or chemicals such as phenylethylamine, a compound people produce when they are in love. Another possible reason for female food cravings is that in the U.S., about 50 percent of women who crave chocolate say their cravings raise around the arrival of their monthly.
Nutritional Experts say that cravings are acceptable on occasion—for example, a piece of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. But accepting defeat to food cravings too often can send your cravings spiraling out of control. Brain researchers have found that when people continually attack their reward triggers with high-fat and/or high-sugar foods, many of the dopamine receptors in the system shut down to prevent overload. What does that mean?
“Pretty soon, one cupcake doesn’t do it anymore,” says Pam Peeke, a physician. “You have to overstuff yourself and you still don’t get that reward.” Peeke also notes that food addiction can override impulsivity and addictive urges.
So, what is the best way to fight food cravings? There are many studies that show that the more you try to restrict a food, the more you may crave it. Thus, there are some experts that suggest comprising and controlling the urge instead.
One way to control an urge for chocolate is to eat a bite of it immediately after finishing a meal. A study showed that this was more successful at controlling cravings than eating it on an empty stomach. Exercise may also cut food cravings. A study was done where women walked fast on a treadmill for 45 minutes and ended up having far less brain response to food images. Other forms of distraction include chewing gum or drinking some tea or coffee. If you have a very strong food craving, chances are you are hungry. Fill up on a salad or some protein. Many studies show that the longer people hold off on their food cravings, the weaker their food urges will become.