CRAVINGS

I obtained this article from the Daily Mail and it does make a lot of sense, especially as children do not inherent such a thing as fatness from their parents but rather, they DO inherit their parents' eating patterns. We are not only responsible for our own dietary health but also future generations

How to curb your cravings: 

A new book reveals what those impossible-to-resist moments are telling you and the best way to satisfy them

There’s nothing more frustrating if you are trying to lose weight than finding yourself unwittingly lured to the biscuit tin, the fridge or the larder at the mercy of an impossible-to-resist food craving.
In just a few moments, all those carefully counted calories and hours in the gym can be instantly neutralised by an unfathomable compulsion for something sweet, creamy, salty, delicious, but definitely bad for you.
For years scientists have struggled to explain how cravings can defy logic and nutrition, yet cause perfectly sane and healthy people to gorge themselves on junk food.

Sugar addict: According to research cravings can be particularly strong if sweet treats were used as a reward in childhood

Only last week, researchers at Yale University came closer to an answer with a study that identified a weakness in the brains of obese people that makes them less able than slim people to stop themselves eating high-calorie foods, particularly when hungry. But that doesn’t explain where the cravings come from in the first place, or why we’re all prone to them.
Now, however, one psychotherapist believes she may have the answer. After years of working as a counsellor to drink and drug addicts, Dr Dorothy Virtue noticed strong similarities between their cravings for a ‘fix’ and her own out-of-control cravings for ice cream and bread.

ART OF FOOD
When we crave food, we visualise it, making it difficult to think of anything else, says a study

She realised that both could very often be a way of covering-up or  trying (unsuccessfully) to deal with deep-seated emotional issues. She made some changes to her life and the cravings stopped: ‘When I finally listened to my gut, instead of smothering it with food, my life radically shifted,’ she says.
‘I transformed myself from a fat, unhappy woman with little money or romance in her life, into a trim-figured psychotherapist rich in friendship, love, and financial success.’
Dr Virtue switched her specialism to the study of eating disorders and food cravings and, through on-going investigations, found strong correlations between certain food types and specific emotional issues.
She believes food cravings are as natural and predictable as a startled reaction to a sudden loud noise, and her work centres on the belief that psychological issues such as stress, anger, anxiety and shame drive us to crave either sweet, crunchy, chewy or creamy foods.

YOUR CRAVINGS AND WHAT THEY MEAN

CRUNCHY

HOW TO BEAT CRAVINGS

• Impose a 15-minute cooling off period during which you try the steps below. If you still feel like eating after 15 minutes you are free to do so. The enforced break is enough to stop a pattern of automatic eating.
• Brush your teeth — this can get rid of the imagined taste of what you are craving — and drink a large glass of water (you may just be confusing thirst with hunger).
• Analyse your craving — do you feel fear, anger, tension or shame?  Recognising the trigger can relieve the craving.
• Do something about the feeling or trigger. Instead  of procrastinating and carrying the burden of this problem around with you, think  of some way to move toward relief.
• Exercise — this can help to boost serotonin levels, improves your mood and suppresses appetite.

If you’re feeling stressed, resentful, bitter or frustrated, you’re likely to turn to foods that you crunch.
Crunching on crisps, popcorn, or crackers — even celery — can help ease tension in the body; they provide a cathartic outlet for all the tension held in the jaw and act like a delicious punching bag as we take out stress and anger in every crispy bite. 

CREAMY

We crave creamy, soft foods such as ice cream or cheeses when we feel anxious, insecure, embarrassed and guilty, because they can be relaxing and comforting.
Choline, found in milk, has a soothing effect on the body. Milk also contains L-tryptophan, which when combined with carbohydrates (such as sugar) triggers the production of the brain chemical  serotonin, which creates a pleasant feel-good sensation. In addition, the sugar in milk products boosts energy and mood, while the creamy smooth texture is comforting.

CHEWY

You are probably harbouring long-suppressed feelings of either jealousy, confusion, dread that something awful is going to happen, or self loathing.
Your urge to chew is linked to the innate belief that chewing will release the tension and help you work through your confusion. For example, are you craving toffees? You may be struggling with indecision.

SPICY

Hot cravings means you crave excitement and intensity in your life, and may not be getting enough thrills. You have strong desires for novelty and change. Several researchers have correlated ‘sensation seeking’ with cravings for spicy, crunchy or sour foods, gourmet foods and unusual, exotic foods.

NUTS

The chemicals inherent in nuts, as well as the textures associated with them, tend to soothe fun-deprived individuals, so cravings could indicate an expression of unmet needs for fun and pleasure. Cashews and peanuts contain large amounts of tyrosine, which raises blood pressure. Nuts also contain pyrazine, which triggers the pleasure centre of the brain.
They are high in fat which, in food, can mask feelings of emptiness, loneliness, worry and discontent, and can either be crunchy (which makes them perfect for the stress-eater) or creamy smooth (perfect for the comfort-seeker).

CARBS

The smell, texture, taste and inherent mood-altering properties of bread, rice and pasta make them some of the foods that are most craved by people who are stressed, tense or frightened.
When we get tense, our body assumes we are in danger and may need pain medication. The brain produces the hormone cortisol to anaesthetise any pain. Cortisol, in turn, stimulates production of another brain chemical called Neuropeptide Y, which triggers cravings for carbohydrates.
If we eat in response to these cravings, we’re more likely to gain weight, because Neuropeptide Y and cortisol, still believing the body may be in danger, order the body to hang on to any excess body fat.

CAKES AND BISCUITS

Sweet carbohydrate cravings are similar to those from bread, rice and pasta. Both are high in carbohydrates, which produce quite  soothing emotions.
A craving for biscuits, cakes and pies reflects a desire for comfort and reassurance, but it can also signal a resistance to doing something (you may take solace in the sweet deliciousness to avoid something you don’t want to do). Cravings can be particularly strong if sweet treats were used as a reward in childhood. In effect, when you reach for a biscuit or a slice of cake, what you’re really saying is ‘I need a hug’.

CHOCOLATE

Chocolate is one of the most common cravings, particularly amongst women. This is because chocolate contains the same chemical — phenylethylamine — that your brain creates when we’re feeling romantic love.This is why many of us turn to chocolate when we are in need  of love or feeling disappointed in  a relationship.
What’s more, the high fat content also soothes feelings of emptiness, insecurity or loneliness, while the texture can be creamy if you need comfort, or crunchy if you’re angry.
Chocolate also contains a serotonin-like substance called diphenylamine, which appears to promote feelings of calm — so if serotonin and energy levels are drained by stress-filled days, too-tight schedules, unhealthy eating, and lack of exercise, we turn to chocolate to feel better.
The stimulants in chocolate also act as an instant pick-me-up.
Finally, Pyrazine, a chemical found in chocolate odour, triggers the pleasure centre in the brain. So how do you beat your chocolate cravings? Ginger ale and soya milk have a high tyramine content which can relieve chocolate cravings.
The sweeteners in diet drinks stimulate brain production of phenylethylamine, the same ‘love drug’ found in chocolate, while the smell of coffee can alleviate chocolate cravings because it contains the same chemical (Pyrazine) as chocolate.
Non-fat chocolate (frozen yogurt or fat-free brownies) may help, but be warned: fat-free doesn’t necessarily mean low-calorie.
Finally, aerobic exercise will boost serotonin levels, improve your mood and suppress appetite.

THE QUIZ YOU SHOULDN'T RESIST

Answer true or false to the questions to see how badly your good dietary intentions are blighted by cravings . . .

1. I tend to over-eat one or two certain types of food.
2. If I have just one bite of a certain food, my eating habits and appetite go out of control.
3. I sometimes worry — often without justification — that I won’t get enough to eat.
4. I crave certain flavours or types of foods; sometimes the only way to make the cravings go away is to eat what I desire.
5. I have gone to extreme lengths to get the food I’m craving.
6. I only over-eat when I feel a strong emotion, such as anger.
7. As soon as I finish work, I head straight for food.
8. Sometimes, out of the blue, I’ll find I’m incredibly hungry.
9. I feel uncomfortable openly talking about my feelings.
10. I wish I were a more confident and strong person.
11. When I lose enough weight to start receiving compliments, I start to put it back on again.
12. I want to lose weight to please my spouse, parent, lover, or some other person.
13. I’m almost to the point where I’ve given up hope that I’ll ever lose my excess weight; maybe I’m meant to be overweight.
14. My weight makes me feel bad about myself, and when I gain weight, I feel like a failure.
15. I never seem to have enough time to eat right or exercise.
16. I’m so busy, some days I wonder if I’ll drop from exhaustion.
17. I seem to be working harder these days and achieving less.
18. Often, the only way I can unwind is by eating.Food is a great pick-me-up when I’m feeling drained but feel that I need to keep going.
19. My weight changes between the seasons.
20. Eating is one of the few pleasures in my life. 
21. Sometimes when I’m lonely, I’ll nibble on whatever’s handy.
22. Usually when I diet, I’ll stop caring whether I lose weight. That’s when I start over-eating.
23. I often go back for second or third helpings of diet, low-fat, or low-calorie foods.

Now add up the true answers for each group of five questions.

Q 1-5. If you answered ‘true’ to three or more, your cravings are triggered by foods containing refined white flour or sugar (biscuits and cakes).
Q 6-10. If you answered ‘true’ to three or more, you could be the sort to over-eat in response to very strong emotions. You may be sensitive, but you may get so absorbed by other people that your own feelings get ignored, and you end up eating in order to manage your emotions.
Q 11-15. If you answered ‘true’ to three or more, you could be the sort of person who uses food as a friend, a companion, or for entertainment value.
Q 16-20. If you answered ‘true’ to three or more, you are likely to be a stress eater, whereby unhappiness at work or dissatisfaction with your love life triggers over-eating to ease the tension. You might get alcohol cravings to manage taut nerves, need a regular caffeine fix to pump up enthusiasm and energy, crave chocolate to ease love-life disappointments, desire bread and dairy to calm yourself down, or go for crunchy snack foods to control feelings of anger.
Q 21-23. If you answered ‘true’ to three or more, you could have rather inconsistent motivation because you’re trying to lose weight for someone or something else — not yourself.

Extracted from Constant Craving by Dr Doreen Virtue  (Hay House, £9.99). To order  a copy for £8.99 (incl p&p),  call 0843 382 0000.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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