The dictionary defines the word "craving" as such: "an abnormal desire".
Really? Abnormal? Well, maybe sometimes but often, especially when it comes to women, a craving could be giving you valuable information about what you body needs right then.
Maybe someday Webster will add an entry that says "Female Food Craving; a normal, biological need for a specific food that will balance a woman's body and mind and revitalize her well being".
We are all familiar with cravings.
Especially when we are pregnant, women often get cravings for unusual food combinations or can't seem to get enough of a certain thing.
When the body is supporting an extra life it needs more vital nutrients than usual, and at certain stages the baby is using those nutrients faster than mom can consume them.
So you may crave a certain food over and over not realizing that it is especially high in magnesium or calcium or iron.
I recall eating tuna salad, a food that that normally I didn't particularly care for and was the one food always gave me heartburn.
But during my pregnancy I ate tons of the stuff and it was the one food that didn't give me heartburn.
At the time I didn't realize my body was probably stocking up on protein and omega fatty acids, both very important in the development of the child.
So what about when we aren't pregnant? Have you ever been sitting at your desk working on something and had a sudden, undeniable and specific craving hit you? It could be for anything from peanut butter to chicken.
The longer you try to ignore it the farther your focus goes from your project.
And what if the craving is for something we consider naughty? Ice cream? Chocolate? The left over fried chicken in the fridge? Ooh even worse especially if you're dieting.
At this point we begin to bargain with ourselves, don't we girls? You really want that fried chicken leg but you reason with yourself that the apple in the basket will be better for you.
It has lots of fiber and good stuff that will fill you up.
So you eat the apple and sit down to get back to work.
You place your hands on the keyboard and a vision of chicken legs dances through your head.
Another 20 minutes goes by and you remember the low fat string cheese in the refrigerator drawer and think, well that would be ok.
As you pluck it from the fridge and pop a string in your mouth you look longingly at the chicken.
Then an hour and two or three more "healthy" snacks later, bloated and miserable, you can still taste that chicken and finally give in.
It's a sigh of relief, a breath of fresh air, a soothing balm...
You go back to the computer, and although now over full and hundreds of calories over your budget you finish your project and several more.
Lets imagine another scenario where you listen to your craving in the first place.
You've just made a wise decision.
You've saved time and calories.
Your craving called for just what your body needed to regain your focus and finish your task.
When we listen to our cravings they have the ability to do several things: -They can lift our spirits when we're down -Boost our energy when we're fatigued -Fuel our bodies when we need nutrition -Calm our nerves when we're stressed -Stabilize our moods when we're premenstrual -Empower our minds when we're menopausal However, we must be careful to define a true craving.
The late night trip to Dairy Queen after you've seen a Blizzard commercial is not satisfying a craving.
It's a response to marketing.
The urge for a peanut butter and banana sandwich in the afternoon is probably your body asking for protein and potassium.
It may be just what you need to get the old neurons firing again and finish your workday.
Of course I must get around to discussing the number one most craved food in the world, Chocolate.
Why chocolate? Come to find out chocolate is one of, if not the most complex food in the world.
It has up to 1200 different components in its make up which is why it's so difficult to replicate its taste artificially.
Ninety-seven percent of women say they have food cravings, 68% of which are for chocolate.
Fifty percent of women say they would choose chocolate over sex and they are twenty-two times more likely than men to choose chocolate as a mood enhancer.
There are millions spent annually on chocolate, most of it by women.
Studies show there are biological reasons for this.
Chocolate contains many compounds that trigger biological reactions.
Phenylethylamine (PEA) is the same chemical that is released when we fall in love.
Theobromine is a mild stimulant that gives energy and opens air passages for easier breathing.
Magnesium, which is often low during the menstrual cycle, is involved in the manufacturing of serotonin and stabilizing mood.
And that is just to name a few.
Some of our craving satisfaction is emotional as well.
Sometimes it is just about rewarding ourselves for a job well done or a much-needed pick me up before tackling a daunting task.
It's important to distinguish emotional eating from cravings for specific foods.
Bingeing on everything in your fridge and cabinets because the boyfriend dumped you has nothing to do with a craving, except your craving to do him bodily harm.
Discussion on whether or not that is "abnormal" is for another article.
So don't be afraid of your cravings.
When we start dieting we begin to develop negative attitudes about food and practice resisting our cravings.
If we're craving it, it must be bad for us right? But food is not the enemy.
Food is the basic fuel we all must have to survive and prosper.
However, practicing some self-control is a good thing and as many things do, eating right involves some common sense.
You don't need some health guru to tell you eating the whole bag of fun size candy bars is too many.
And thanks to the studies on dark chocolate that appear in every type of media, we know that the darker and less processed the chocolate is, the better.
So ladies, listen to your body and use your unique faculties to be better than ever.
(Facts included from "Why Do Women Need Chocolate" by Debra Waterhouse, mph.
rd.
)
Really? Abnormal? Well, maybe sometimes but often, especially when it comes to women, a craving could be giving you valuable information about what you body needs right then.
Maybe someday Webster will add an entry that says "Female Food Craving; a normal, biological need for a specific food that will balance a woman's body and mind and revitalize her well being".
We are all familiar with cravings.
Especially when we are pregnant, women often get cravings for unusual food combinations or can't seem to get enough of a certain thing.
When the body is supporting an extra life it needs more vital nutrients than usual, and at certain stages the baby is using those nutrients faster than mom can consume them.
So you may crave a certain food over and over not realizing that it is especially high in magnesium or calcium or iron.
I recall eating tuna salad, a food that that normally I didn't particularly care for and was the one food always gave me heartburn.
But during my pregnancy I ate tons of the stuff and it was the one food that didn't give me heartburn.
At the time I didn't realize my body was probably stocking up on protein and omega fatty acids, both very important in the development of the child.
So what about when we aren't pregnant? Have you ever been sitting at your desk working on something and had a sudden, undeniable and specific craving hit you? It could be for anything from peanut butter to chicken.
The longer you try to ignore it the farther your focus goes from your project.
And what if the craving is for something we consider naughty? Ice cream? Chocolate? The left over fried chicken in the fridge? Ooh even worse especially if you're dieting.
At this point we begin to bargain with ourselves, don't we girls? You really want that fried chicken leg but you reason with yourself that the apple in the basket will be better for you.
It has lots of fiber and good stuff that will fill you up.
So you eat the apple and sit down to get back to work.
You place your hands on the keyboard and a vision of chicken legs dances through your head.
Another 20 minutes goes by and you remember the low fat string cheese in the refrigerator drawer and think, well that would be ok.
As you pluck it from the fridge and pop a string in your mouth you look longingly at the chicken.
Then an hour and two or three more "healthy" snacks later, bloated and miserable, you can still taste that chicken and finally give in.
It's a sigh of relief, a breath of fresh air, a soothing balm...
You go back to the computer, and although now over full and hundreds of calories over your budget you finish your project and several more.
Lets imagine another scenario where you listen to your craving in the first place.
You've just made a wise decision.
You've saved time and calories.
Your craving called for just what your body needed to regain your focus and finish your task.
When we listen to our cravings they have the ability to do several things: -They can lift our spirits when we're down -Boost our energy when we're fatigued -Fuel our bodies when we need nutrition -Calm our nerves when we're stressed -Stabilize our moods when we're premenstrual -Empower our minds when we're menopausal However, we must be careful to define a true craving.
The late night trip to Dairy Queen after you've seen a Blizzard commercial is not satisfying a craving.
It's a response to marketing.
The urge for a peanut butter and banana sandwich in the afternoon is probably your body asking for protein and potassium.
It may be just what you need to get the old neurons firing again and finish your workday.
Of course I must get around to discussing the number one most craved food in the world, Chocolate.
Why chocolate? Come to find out chocolate is one of, if not the most complex food in the world.
It has up to 1200 different components in its make up which is why it's so difficult to replicate its taste artificially.
Ninety-seven percent of women say they have food cravings, 68% of which are for chocolate.
Fifty percent of women say they would choose chocolate over sex and they are twenty-two times more likely than men to choose chocolate as a mood enhancer.
There are millions spent annually on chocolate, most of it by women.
Studies show there are biological reasons for this.
Chocolate contains many compounds that trigger biological reactions.
Phenylethylamine (PEA) is the same chemical that is released when we fall in love.
Theobromine is a mild stimulant that gives energy and opens air passages for easier breathing.
Magnesium, which is often low during the menstrual cycle, is involved in the manufacturing of serotonin and stabilizing mood.
And that is just to name a few.
Some of our craving satisfaction is emotional as well.
Sometimes it is just about rewarding ourselves for a job well done or a much-needed pick me up before tackling a daunting task.
It's important to distinguish emotional eating from cravings for specific foods.
Bingeing on everything in your fridge and cabinets because the boyfriend dumped you has nothing to do with a craving, except your craving to do him bodily harm.
Discussion on whether or not that is "abnormal" is for another article.
So don't be afraid of your cravings.
When we start dieting we begin to develop negative attitudes about food and practice resisting our cravings.
If we're craving it, it must be bad for us right? But food is not the enemy.
Food is the basic fuel we all must have to survive and prosper.
However, practicing some self-control is a good thing and as many things do, eating right involves some common sense.
You don't need some health guru to tell you eating the whole bag of fun size candy bars is too many.
And thanks to the studies on dark chocolate that appear in every type of media, we know that the darker and less processed the chocolate is, the better.
So ladies, listen to your body and use your unique faculties to be better than ever.
(Facts included from "Why Do Women Need Chocolate" by Debra Waterhouse, mph.
rd.
)
Source...