I have a poll going at Cullinary Arts about food cravings and what they indicate. All are welcome to participate.
I tend to think of my cravings as my body telling me what nutrients I'm needing at the moment. I don't crave junk food, candy bars, fast foods, etc. Last night when I went to bed, I had a craving for celery sticks. Yesterday, I was craving hummus. I very rarely eat at restaurants or fast food chains or buy ready made foods from the stores; I prefer to cook and bake my own food from scratch so I know what goes into them. I don't restrict myself in terms of what I allow myself to eat except for foods I'm deathly allergic to (I'm vegan/plant-based but I don't consider that a dietary restriction since I eat what I want and get all my nutritional needs). I'm not low-carb, low-fat, sugar-free, gluten-free, raw vegan, etc. I love to cook and bake and just enjoy eating what I make (I work everyday, at least 12-14 hours a day, but I still cook from scratch mostly).
My weight has remained stable and within expected range, bloodwork perfect (a teensy bit low in iron last checkup due to my being too busy to eat just before opening my business), no health issues (except stress-related ones!!!), normal blood pressure. I've developed lean muscles in place of excess fat. For me, it has been easy but everyone's situation is different. However, my SO has followed my dietary lifestyle and has lost a lot of weight (he is quite overweight), is feeling healthier, and has reduced his reliance on medications. He is still having a hard time giving up cheese though, and as we know cheese is very addictive.
That sounds like a wise perspective about what nutrients are needed. I've changed a lot, too. Instead of sugar my occasional sweet tooth is dates. I try to get fresh ones.
There is a bunch of medical related cravings and of course addictive substances. But I like the thousands of years survival because those who craved after sweets like berries and salty stuff were healthier. But now every street corner has sweets, chocolates(magnesium need) and salty delights. In our next thousand years these good cravings may be changed by selection of the fittest craving people. A proactive approach is probably not good restauranteering. Burgers, pizza, and mashed potatoes are the most popular cause of food coma. And surely medical employees got to survive.
True. The staff at the Hippocrates Institute, Tree of Life, Uuchi Pines and other places seem to be finding that it can be more profitable to actually heal the patients. Previously, some orthodox doctors wanted to ignore the findings and successes of other medical doctors and authories. I saw if the top ones are looking so healthy though older why should I want one who's average death is 57? I'll be 57 in 2 years and had no ambition to die from 40-50 when a wave of folks adamant about ignoring advice die. There are no regrets, just found a different doctor and authorities. She's very happy about my progress.
Sugar is addictive. A sugar jones indicates I recently ate something sweet.
I think waiting to find fresher dates is sometimes a challenge for me as they taste like candy corn an old occasional comfort food in October. This year I'll try to do better.
I follow 300 restaurants and 100 chefs on Instagram what do you want to know? ?
If you're interested in what food cravings mean, and if you're having trouble gaining or loosing weight.
@WarmFluffy I’m kinda interested in where you’re going with this but 30 of the hundred chefs I follow are all about keto recipes so I’m actually losing weight with it.
Still not totally convinced as to why I can’t have a banana but I can have bacon and alcohol ?
@48thRonin That does sound pretty strange. I'm sure Keto is not the answer for me.
@WarmFluffy Nah it’s not for a lot of people because it’s a life style change but I’ve lost nearly 70 pounds in 6 months and I have to go have my urine checked every two months because of all of the protein but that’s why water water water.
I have a disorder called gastroparesis: my stomach gets paralyzed. I rarely lose weight even during a bad flare. I’m diabetic, and when ill especially, I crave any kind of potatoes. Other times, I crave lemon Italian ice.
I USED to crave bbq...I miss those days!
@CarolinaGirl60 I’m sorry to hear that
@CarolinaGirl60 looks like it may not be a good time to try intermittent fasting and due to what must heal for at least partial reversal, this will not be the easiest thing with this condition. Reading up on the bad hand, plenty of doctors claim it can't be reversed. I have another bad hand in a bit, but 2 good hands. First good hand, some individuals indicate they did stop having symptoms. The second bad hand, I can't find vegan examples. The second good hand is the things they reversed sound a lot like diabetic symptoms like trouble with iron and I and others have reversed those symptoms. Nevertheless one authority says fiber can be a problem. Fiber usually helps folks reversing diabetes. I'll try to do some more studies on this and perhaps both of us can share somw good things with time.
I think I have an addiction to food -- I eat it every day.