Does craving oily food indicate that the body wants leafy greens? What is the science behind this? What about other cravings?
ETA: This chart isn’t mine; some healthy food prep thing on insta had it up. The chart did make me curious as to whether it was remotely accurate. The chart also got me wondering if it was based on anything based in science.
Cravings can be a specific thing but this chart is nonsense.
When your body wants energy your brain will translate that in to what it remembers giving you lots of energy quickly. Your body won’t crave micros because they don’t create a hunger response.
Sometimes you’re brain just wants something and it’s unrelated to hunger. I think a ribeye sounds delicious almost all the time, I’m not deficient in anything I just like ribeyes. A good tomahawk rare sous vide for 4h and then seared on a super hot grill with loaded mash & asparagus as sides with a couple of sunny side up eggs on top. Most of this is the dopamine hit specific food gives you, works the same way as any addiction.
If you have scurvy you won’t be craving oranges.
I reach for some salt and next thing I know, I’m chewing on some computer chips. Jokes aside, I doubt craving (except thirst and general sensation of hunger) means anything apart from you just remembering how good that thing tasted and wanting it again
Sometimes yes, but I think that’s generally a recurring craving. So, not just craving something today but for weeks or months. I’m skeptical about any of the examples in this chart though.
If you’re worried about a craving talk to a doctor and get some blood work done.
Cravings aren’t just about nutrients though because we don’t just eat for nutrients. We have emotional and cultural associations with food that affect cravings. We have memories tied to food. Stress can really affect hunger and craving signals. So, I wouldn’t read to much into the occasional cravings, but repeated or long term cravings might be worth looking into.
I’ve been working with a nutritionist on my gut health for some time.
For a long time, I couldn’t refrain from eating obscene amounts of sweets, and she explained that a lot of times, my body didn’t get enough protein intake so when energy reserves are low, the body craves sweets as a way to get a quick energy boost, but it clearly doesn’t have the same nutritional value.
Also, emotional eating (most of the times, I didn’t actually need the quantity I was eating, but just needed to self-soothe).
The chart is pretty rubbish.Check out the Protein leverage hypothesis
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28121382/
TLDR: the body will have a base protein requirement and unless met will crave any macronutrient (carbs, fat etc) until protein is met. It may be why the rise of ultra-processed refined carbs and food has also seen an uptick in worldwide obesity, particularly in low socioeconomic societies.