Junk Food Cravings – What Do They Mean?

Do you deal with junk food cravings at the strangest times? You’re not alone. Most people end up dealing with cravings that seem to pop up at the strangest times.

Maybe you have a delicious dinner, and an hour later you end up craving a sweet dessert.

You don’t need to feel guilty about your junk food cravings. Those cravings happen because your body is trying to give you a message.

Learn to decode those cravings so you figure out what your body lacks and how to satisfy those cravings in a healthy way:

① Craving for chocolates

Many people deal with chocolate cravings from time to time and these cravings often mean that your body doesn’t have enough magnesium.

Magnesium is essential for hundreds of chemical reactions within the body, so the body doesn’t work well if you don’t have enough magnesium. If you’re constantly dealing with chocolate cravings, try eating foods high in magnesium, such as seeds, leafy greens, fish, and nuts.

② Cravings for Sweets

Whenever you start craving sweets, dehydration may be the real problem. Try drinking water when you begin craving sweets and see if the craving goes away after you hydrate.

If you’re still craving sweets, skip the cake, chocolate, and cookies and grab natural sugar instead, such as a piece of fruit. Sometimes, cravings for sweets could mean that you lack sulfur, tryptophan, carbon or chromium.

To eliminate these problems, try eating more nuts, cheese, broccoli, and chicken. Sometimes missing out on sleep can also result in cravings for sweets, so try sleeping more to avoid these cravings.

③ Cravings for caffeine

Cravings for caffeine may also be a sign that your body needs more iron. Start eating eggs, turkey, spinach and chicken, which are high in iron.

Sometimes a craving for caffeine could also occur because you’re dealing with dehydration. If you’re constantly craving caffeine, try drinking more water to see if it eliminates the craving.

④ Cravings for Salt

Many people have cravings for salty foods, which often occurs because the table salt you buy is processed, stripping it of the trace minerals your body needs.

Try using sea salt in your diet, and you should notice a difference. Eating more flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds will help increase your intake of minerals as well, helping to stop those cravings for salty foods.

⑤ Cravings for Red Meat

People with low levels of iron often crave red meat. Kale and spinach both have a lot of iron. As you try to eat foods high in iron, make sure you’re getting enough vitamin C too, since this helps to improve the absorption of iron.

If you’re craving protein, the body wants protein, so focus on adding healthy forms of protein to your diet. Nuts, seeds, fish and chicken all help boost your protein intake.

⑥ Cravings for Carbonated Drinks

Surprisingly, your body may be low on calcium if you’re dealing with cravings for carbonated beverages. If you’re craving Coke all the time, reach for some dairy instead.

Try adding more dairy products, such as low-fat cheeses, yogurt and milk to your diet to increase your intake of calcium. You can also get more calcium from dark leafy greens, such as kale and spinach.

⑦ Cravings for Fatty Foods

When craving fatty foods your body may be telling you that it needs more calories. Instead of turning to unhealthy fatty foods, make sure you eat foods that are high in healthy fats, such as coconut oil, almonds, walnuts or avocados.

Image : Africanbites

When you deal with cravings, your body is often trying to tell you something. List to your body and keep this information in mind to nix cravings the healthy way.