Cravings Uncovered: How They Impact Your Body and Mind

 

Introduction:

Imagine when you experience a strong yearning or an unstoppable urgent desire for a packet of chips with flavour or packet of chocolate bar during midnight despite having heavy dinner. Such uncontrollable desires are termed as cravings. Occasional cravings are quite natural but frequent and intense cravings can have significant impact on our health.

A craving is usually for a specific type of food, often rich in sugar, fat, or salt. In cravings, we don’t feel hungry—but want food items such as ice cream, pizza, or french fries. Cravings are usually linked to emotion, or even habitual.

Key difference to understand Hunger and Craving

Hunger	Craving
Physical need for food to require nutrients to function properly	A psychological desire for a specific food, usually driven by emotions
Originates in the hypothalamus	Influenced by dopamine (the “pleasure” neurotransmitter).
Increases gradually with time	Fades away with time
Require variety of food	Need specific food only
Satisfied with balanced diet	No satisfaction, need more substitute
Trigger after several hours	Can happen anytime

 

• Body’s natural signal for energy and nutrients are termed as Hunger.
• Desires / urge for specific items usually driven by the brain, not nutritional needs are termed as Craving.

 

Usual triggers for Cravings:

Triggers for cravings vary from person to person. Some of the most common triggers include:

1. Emotional Triggers

To cope up with regular stress, anxiety, sadness, many people turn towards eating without thinking about the hunger. Such emotional eating leads to cravings, especially for foods rich in sugar, fats or carbs.

2. Hormonal Changes

Hormones play a significant role in men / women but seen more frequently in women. It can be during menstruation or pregnancy. Hormonal fluctuations also increase cravings for sweets or salty snacks. One of the scientific reason behind this craving is as below:

Hormones are chemical messengers regulating all signals from hunger and satiety to mood and metabolism. During hormonal imbalance, body’s natural signals get distorted leading to unusual or excessive cravings.

Details of hormonal imbalance which contribute to cravings:

🔁 A. Insulin Imbalance – Sugar Cravings

• Role: Blood sugar levels fluctuation (Frequent spikes / trashes)
• Imbalance: During high-sugar or high-carb diet, our body releases excess insulin. With time and frequent release of insulin after high sugar diet, insulin resistance is caused, and cells stop responding effectively.
• Effect: Immediate spikes or crashes in blood sugar lead to intense sugar cravings, fatigue, and irritability.
• Common : It can be seen during PCOS, prediabetes, Type 2 diabetes.

 🧠 B. The Hunger Hormones - Leptin and Ghrelin

• Leptin: Gives signals for fullness to the brain.
• Ghrelin: Gives signals to the brain when hungry.
• Imbalance:
• Low leptin = Never feel full → Results in overeating.
• High ghrelin = Hunger signals are frequent → Constant cravings.
• Effect: Desire for high calorie foods immediate after meals or late-night eating,
• Triggers: Sleep deprivation, stress, yo-yo dieting.

😫 C. Cortisol – The Stress Hormone

• Role: Helps the body respond / manage stress by releasing Cortisol.
• Imbalance: High Cortisol levels lead to chronic stress.
• Effect: Frequent cravings for salty, fatty, and sugary foods for survival. Linked to emotional eating.

 

🌸 D. Estrogen and Progesterone – Female Hormones

• Fluctuations: Hormonal imbalance is naturally during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause.
• Effect:
• Before periods (PMS): Mood swings, irritability, and cravings are usually due to low estrogen and shifting progesterone levels. Cravings are usually for chocolate and carbs.
• During menopause: With drop in Estrogen levels, it may increase insulin resistance and cravings.

 

😞 E. Serotonin and Dopamine – Mood-Related Neurotransmitters

• Serotonin: Elevates mood and calmness.
• Dopamine: Role in the reward system.
• Imbalance: Cravings are result of low serotonin or dopamine levels. Usually cravings are especially for sugar and refined carbs, providing a temporary mood lift.
• Common causes: Lack of sunlight, depression, poor gut health and stress ( 90% of serotonin is made in the gut).

F. Hypothalamus Activation

·       Hunger and satiety is controlled by the hypothalamus, a part of the brain. Hypothalamus also processes emotions. During emotional stress or hormonal signals, it can create intense food cravings.

G. Gut-Brain Axis

·       Imbalance in gut microbiome also influence cravings. During imbalance certain bacteria may encourage the body to crave sugar to ensure their own survival.

 3. Nutritional Deficiencies

When our body senses nutritional deficiencies or gaps in daily diet routine, it gives signals in form of cravings. For example:

• Craving for chocolate may indicate magnesium deficiency.
• Craving for red meat may signal low iron content.
• Craving for salty food indicates low sodium content or dehydration.

4. Poor Sleep

Disrupted or poor sleep cause imbalance of ghrelin (hunger hormone) and leptin (satiety hormone). This results in an increase in cravings, especially for high-calorie foods.

5. Dehydration

Often, thirst is confused with hunger or cravings. Craving can be stopped by just drinking water only.

6. Addictive Nature of Processed Foods

Many processed foods are made hyper-palatable after making experiments in which  sugar, fat, and salt are mixed in particular ratios which can light up reward centres in our brain. They act like addictive substances which lead to cravings for processed foods.

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Diet Plan to Curb Cravings:

To manage cravings effectively, diet should be balanced and nutrient rich which helps in keeping us full and stabilizes blood sugar levels.

1. Balanced Meals

Each meal should contain:

• Protein (like eggs, legumes, tofu)
• Healthy fats (like nuts, seeds, avocado)
• Fiber-rich carbs (like vegetables, whole grains, sprouts)

This combination slows digestion and keeps you fuller longer.

2. Don’t Skip Meals

Blood sugar levels fluctuate during skipping of meals which trigger cravings. Eat regular meals and healthy snacks every 3-4 hours or as suggested by nutritionists.

3. Hydrate Well

Hydration during cravings is best way to differentiate between hunger and craving. If cravings fade away after glass of water first—it may be thirst in disguise.

4. Include Natural Sweeteners

To manage the cravings for sweet foods, refined sugar can be replaced with healthier options like:

• Dates
• Honey
• Jaggery (in moderation)

5. Magnesium-Rich Foods

Magnesium rich foods help in controlling cravings. Nuts, seeds, spinach, and dark chocolate (70%+ cocoa) can be included during snacks to reduce chocolate cravings.

6. Fermented Foods

Fermented foods like Yogurt, kefir, kimchi, or sauerkraut promote gut health resulting in reduction of sugar cravings via the gut-brain axis.

7. Mindful Eating

Slow eating, thorough chewing and mindful eating enhances satisfaction and reduces the urge for unnecessary snacks / cravings.

8. Replace cravings with healthy Snacks

• Sugar Craving - fresh fruits, yogurt, berries, sprout etc
• Chips Craving - roasted chickpeas or air-popped popcorn,
• Chocolate Craving - dark chocolate but in moderation.

Cravings Good or Bad:

A.   Cravings Can Be Good When:

• When body sends signal of genuine nutritional deficiencies.
• Help in understanding emotional patterns.
• Teach us manage cravings mindfully and moderately.

Cravings Become Bad When:

• Uncontrollable and frequent.
• They lead to poor food choices along with overeating.
• Snacks replace balanced meals.
• Affecting physical and mental well being.

Note: Balance is key to maintain good health. Occasional indulgence on snacks is natural or even healthy. Over-dependence can lead to long-term damage.

 Effects of Cravings on Our Health

Cravings can be occasionally good but if left unchecked, frequent and intense cravings can have serious consequences on our health.

1. Weight Gain and Obesity

Overeating is often due to cravings, especially of high-calorie foods, high sugar and salt content which contribute to fat accumulation and obesity.

2. Blood Sugar level Spikes

During frequent spikes or crashes of blood sugar levels, craving is for foods rich in simple carbs and sugar. This affects insulin balance which can lead to type 2 diabetes over time.

3. Addictive Behaviour

During cravings, the high sugar, fat or salty foods reward feedback loop in brain which makes it difficult to control intake, similar to drug or alcohol addiction.

4. Digestive Issues

Regular consumption of processed / ultra processed foods with high sugar, fat or salt content satisfies cravings. Such foods weakens gut health, leading to indigestion, and nutrient malabsorption.

5. Mood Swings and Fatigue

Cravings followed by high sugar and immediate crashes affect mood, energy levels, and mental clarity.

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Tips to control / Beat Unhealthy Cravings Naturally

1. Enough Sleep – Sleep of approx. 7-9 hours balance hunger hormones.
2. Exercise – Helps regulate appetite and improves mood.
3. Manage Stress – Try yoga, deep breathing, or journaling. Do what makes you happy.
4. Understand the pattern of Cravings – Identify patterns to satisfy craving with healthy snacks.
5. Boundaries – Try to accumulate tempting junk food at home to avoid snacking on unhealthy snacks.
6. Keep Yourself Busy – Go for a walk, call a friend, or pursue a hobby because cravings are mostly result of boredom.

 Conclusion:

Cravings are natural and are a part of life. They’re not inherently bad, but our mindset and response to deal cravings effectively determines their impact on our health. Managing our lifestyle strategies after understanding the root causes and embracing a balanced / nutrient-rich diet, cravings can be managed effectively and improve our overall well-being.

By tuning into your body’s signals, practicing mindfulness, and identifying triggers, you can make more conscious choices and maintain better physical and emotional health.

Remember, food is not just fuel—it’s also emotional and cultural.