Ever opened the fridge and gazed longingly into it,
wishing for that one extra exciting bit of yummy. . . . . ?
chocolate,
or leftover pizza that you know you shouldn't have,
or the cold sausage from yesterdays tea, lurking on its own, crying out to be made into a sarnie,
the last dregs of orange juice in the carton almost ready to be recycled,
the yogurt you started yesterday then covered with cling film for later,
the end of a piece of cheese, in need of some pickle,
a leg of roast chicken, awaiting a dribble of salad cream,
oh, and did I mention chocolate?
Just because some of us cant always eat certain foods, this most certainly does not mean that we do not crave them, or wish longingly that we could just risk a teeny tiny bit of that scared food!
For poor Sammy that food is nuts! The one thing that all the other squirrels happily eat much of, but this is not possible for Sammy. For Sammy, one simple tempting nut, is a very risky thing!
For myself that food is sugar, and you would be surprised how many areas that covers.
NO chocolate, (or certainly not the kind most of you will be familiar with Im sure,)
and no sugar means, no refined foods, all those white foods that we take for granted, the white bread, the white pasta, the cereals, the pizza bases, the humble potato and therefore the chip! The puddings and desserts, the cakes and the biscuits, the fruit and the fruit juices, and worst of all . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . THE MALTESER!!!!!
Are you ever tempted by foods that you know your shouldn't eat?
We've been discussing cravings on one of the M.E. groups recently. I was surprised when someone posted the simple question 'Does anyone else get cravings?'. I was more surprised to find that everyone who frequents the group answered affirmatively. I've had cravings for years, but recently have found they went away.
ReplyDeleteI had never associated them with M.E.. Originally I was lead to believe that they were due to anti depressants; indeed they are listed as a side effect. So when I came off anti depressants nearly two years ago I was quite looking forward to losing the cravings. It didn't happen.
What did happen was that when I started the gluten free trial the cravings stopped. It was explained to me that when you are gluten intolerant, yet eating gluten, your gut is unable to absorb nutrients efficiently; as such you are likely to be deficient in some things, causing cravings. So when the cravings came back I was a bit miffed. I started taking multi vitamins and minerals, and they went away again.
M.E. is a weird illness though. It causes people to become sensitive to foods, and then it changes it's mind after a while so you can start eating them again. And following that thread on the forum recently, I now suspect that it is a key symptom of the illness. Though it could be, and is fairly likely, that most people with M.E. have absorption problems, which again would cause deficiencies and cravings.
My point anyway, is that a lot of the time when we crave something, it is because our body needs a nutrient within that food item. If you're craving chocolate, it's probably because your body wants sugar ... even though you can't eat it.
Thank you so much for that comment. I also have been told that cravings are when we lack something, but also that we often crave the things that do not agree with our body. Eg when we do eat those items, we then feel ill, and it becomes a viscous circle. I have reactive hypoglycaemia, and thats why for me I am unable to tolerate any fluctuations in blood sugar changes, and this can be aggravated by the smallest amounts of tiredness, stress, and by hormones changes, but obviously the one way I can manage it the best is by diet.
ReplyDeleteIn fact after posting this blog, maybe I worded it wrongly, because when I am well, I do not actually crave particular foods at all, I just miss them greatly. But when I am off balance then thats when I crave them.
After a very tough few years of Adrenal Fatigue, I was I scarily near to developing M.E, so I am sorry to hear that you are suffering, I know that it is a tough disease to live with.
Once again, its comments like yours that I really appreciate.
Thank you Sammy :)
ReplyDeleteYes, sorry, I did not intend to infer that deficiencies are the only reason for cravings. It was simply an interesting coincidence that I've been having a similar conversation over the last few days.
I have often wondered why it is that we always crave what is worst for us. When people get the nibbles the first foods most of us turn to are snacks containing sugar or fat, hence the growing obesity problem. If anyone ever wishes to make money they simply need to create a new sugary snack (or re-market Dairy Milk in another guise).
I've been toying with the possibility of trying the stone age diet. Would reactive hypoglycaemia allow that?