Posts Tagged ‘weight loss’

Food Cravings – How to Beat Them

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

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Occasionally, many suffer from so called food craving. What is it? Well, craving is always for a certain food, not just anything to satisfy hunger. In general, this is felt for things like candy, chocolate or something that will give sugar or carbohydrates. Potato chips or an extra glass of wine can also be an example.

Are bad habits that are responsible for this craving? Or is it about poor will power? Well, not really. Food cravings have biological reasons and to beat the food craving we must understand these underlying processes.

Reasons for food craving

  • When we feel exhausted or a bit depressed we usually have low blood sugar condition. The body signals the brain that it needs something to get it going again. This results in a craving for sugar or carbohydrates. One of the causes for this behavior is Serotonin, our basic feel-good hormone. The conditions of low level of Serotonin and low level of blood-sugar go hand-in-hand. That is why whenever there is less of Serotonin; we feel a craving for sweet food such as chocolates to make up for the shortage of sugar. Unfortunately, sugar or carbohydrates release only a short burst of serotonin; when that burst dies down, the craving returns. This leads us into a spiral. A bad one.
  • Another reason is Adrenal Fatigue. When you feel stressed out or feel run own, when you have not had a restful sleep or you are feeling very tired for no specific reason, you are suffering from adrenal fatigue. In very severe cases the condition is called adrenal exhaustion. In the modern world this health disorder is quite common, but unfortunately it is very rarely appreciated as such.In case of Adrenal Fatigue also the body sends a signal to the brain for a pick-me-up and that is your craving for sugar or carbohydrate snacks, or may be, coffee during the day; at night you may look for alcohol or carbohydrates. All of this only makes the problem worse.
  • It is also seen that persons, who keep themselves on a low fat, low carbohydrate diet on a long time or have been taking appetite suppressants, do have food craving; it is because they have become at least partially insulin resistant without realizing this condition. In the normal course blood sugar level of the body is maintained stable by the action of insulin; insulin signals the cells of the body to absorb glucose from the bloodstream when necessary. Because of their insulin resistant condition, the cells do not respond to the signal and cannot mop up glucose they need. This results in a distress signal to the brain asking for more carbohydrates or sugar. The body thus receives excess calories which are deposited as fat and the person starts gaining weight in spite of eating less.

Beating the craving

Understand the reasons for the craving, then you can beat it! It can take a some time but it can absolutely be done. To beat food cravings, the body needs real healthy food, additional nutritional supplements (of pharmaceutical–grade) at times. Also, moderate exercise can help . It will take a while, but you will succeed!

Many health pros also recommend a good fat binder as assistance in getting rid of those excess pounds. A safe and effective product will help you when you need it the most, but only in combination with other things you must do – some exercise, eating right and so on.