As I learned while studying at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition a few years back, cravings are our body’s way of telling us something is out of balance and needs attention.
I’m glad I listened.
Nearly two years ago, after more than a decade as a vegan, I publically admitted something I’d been keeping to myself — along with an unquenchable guilt — for far too long: I had started to eat meat again.
For over a year, I’d been experiencing major hormonal imbalances, and I couldn’t figure out a way to heal my body in the vegan framework. At the same time, the impulse to order salmon instead of salad with tofu at my favorite restaurant became overwhelming. And I salivated — rather than blanched — as a friend ordered a burger at dinner.
The cravings — and guilt — wouldn’t stop. So I listened to my body, followed my cravings — and felt better. It took a year for that guilt to go away and realize that my body was telling me what it really needed. And that’s OK.
When we understand and respect our cravings for what they are — deep messages from our soul — real transformation is possible. As my mentor Joshua Rosenthal discusses in his book, ” Integrative Nutrition: Feed Your Hunger for Health and Happiness,” our bodies talk to us all the time, so we can and must develop dialogue and relatedness.
“In any relationship, if one partner is loving, faithful and supportive, it’s easy for the other to take that person for granted,” writes Rosenthal, the Institute of Integrative Nutrition’s founder and primary teacher. “That’s what most of us do with our bodies. It is time for you to shift this, and working to understand your cravings is one of the best places to begin. Then you can build a mutually loving relationship with your own body.”
How is your relationship with your body going?
As Rosenthal says time and time again, “The lesson here is to look for the foods, deficits and behaviors in your life that are the underlying causes of your cravings.” Then you can better decide how to satisfy those cravings with the right foods to help your body reach a proper balance.
Let’s define these four causes of your cravings and how to listen to your bodies for a healthier, fuller life.
1. Bacteria
Recent research shows we are made up of ten times more bacterial cells than human cells. And the bacteria in our bodies need to eat. They need sugar to live. They communicate with us through neurotransmitters and our nervous system. The bacteria are the puppet master, the beast within, and we are the puppet. When trying to go off sugar, they communicate with us via the vagus nerve. They drive us to the refrigerator for ice cream when we’ve been trying to quit sugar. If you are experiencing bloating, stomach problems, leaking gut or other digestive issues, sugar-fed bacteria could very well be to blame.
You need to start eating less of the foods that feed the bacteria and more that balance the bacteria. For most people, this means going off refined and added natural sugars, and eating more probiotic-rich foods like raw sauerkraut, and prebiotic-rich foods like onions and green leafy vegetables. Only when you balance your gut bacteria can you start to address the other root causes of cravings.
Our bodies hate to go off sugar completely, though, so we need to bring in more naturally sweet foods such as pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes and red bell peppers. We can even introduce things into our lives that bring us sweetness, such as fun, play, creativity and sex.
2. Nutrition
If you are lacking mineral-rich foods, then you will likely have nutritional cravings like salt. We are overfed and undernourished; we eat a lot of calories, but not a lot of nutrient-dense foods. Your body could start to crave energy supplying nutrients from any source if your mineral stores are low. Your cells need vitamins and minerals to do their jobs, not just sugar for fuel.
Many women are magnesium deficient, which causes chocolate cravings. If you’re a serious chocoholic, try adding other magnesium rich foods like hemp seeds, chia seeds, kale and Brazil nuts to your diet. Rather than depriving yourself of food and going the calorie restriction route, eat more of the healthy, nutrition-rich foods and crowd out the empty calories.
3. Emotional
My clients tells me, sheepishly, that they are “emotional eaters.” I tell them we are all emotional eaters, because we are humans, and emotional creatures. There is nothing wrong with bringing emotion to the table. In fact, food is one of the ways we bond with our family and friends, as eating with another human is the most intimate thing we do (in public) with other people.
Emotional eating can become a problem when we don’t tune into our emotional world and deal with the roots of our discomfort. Frustration, anger, sadness, loneliness and isolation are often too heavy to deal with, and we stuff these emotions down with food.
Food is a coping mechanism that can’t be denied — it is something that brings us pleasure, and keeps us alive. But food isn’t the only way to deal with discomfort, nor should it be your only tool. If you truly desire more joy, freedom, intimacy and creativity in your life, it’s time to take action and build them into your schedule, rather than placing all the pressure on food.
4. Physical
Jonesing for coffee or sugar? Fat or salt? Maybe your body is really asking for sleep and rest, or movement or sex. We are human animals that need to move to feel alive and vital. Yet we don’t get enough physical touch, play or rest, so the body again looks to food and stimulants to try and feel something.
And no matter your cravings and whether you shun them or eat to satisfy them, as I’ve recommended here, let go of your shame. As I discuss further in my new book, sex and food are shameless, natural desires. Talk with your girlfriends about it. Have an energetic flow of ideas. Get support to eat the foods that are going to heal you. We are human — food and sex are awesome. Enjoy it. If we could heal both of the relationships we have with these two, what a different world it would be.
In any case, make sure to stand back and really ask yourself what your body is saying each time you have a craving. If you hate your cravings and hate your body, you are cutting off your biggest ally to getting the life and vitality you want.
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How to Give Into Your Cravings Without Shame originally appeared on usnews.com
