Beat the 4 Most Common Cravings

The Craving: Sweets
If visions of cookies and ice cream dance in your head, what you may be craving more than the sugar in these foods is the fat that provides their texture, taste and aroma, according to Somer. Several studies have shown that fat and sugar may release endorphins into the brain (neurotransmitters that can produce a feeling of pleasure or euphoria). This hypothesis may explain why people crave that sweet, creamy taste — it produces a pleasurable feeling.

The Solution: Guess what? Good old-fashioned exercise also appears to boost levels of endorphins (they’re the same substances credited with the so-called “runner’s high”). So next time you feel like biting into a chocolate-covered ice cream bar, lace up those walking shoes or hop on your bike instead. You’ll get the same pleasing feeling and the benefits of doing something good for your body. If you’re on the job or unable to get immediate fitness gratification, you can still get the creamy taste and texture you yearn for from low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit.

The Craving: Salt
According to Somer, many women experience salt cravings related to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) since fluctuating levels of estrogen can interfere with the normal salt concentration in the body. Unfortunately, cravings for salt often result in the consumption of foods that are not only high in sodium — dangerous for anyone with hypertension — but also heavy in fat (think chips, French fries, pizza). Some studies have shown that people who are deficient in calcium crave salt more frequently than those who are not. And Somer suggests the desire for salty foods, such as chips or pretzels, may have more to do with the wish to crunch than the actual salt.

The Solution: Try upping your calcium intake (which will also benefit your bones) with low-fat dairy foods or leafy greens. And reach for crisp, fresh, munch-able foods, like baby carrots or bell pepper wedges — they make great stand-ins for that pretzel or chip crunch. If you can’t forgo the salt, eat just one serving of low-fat, whole-grain pretzels.

The Craving: Carbs
Cravings for simple carbohydrates are most frequently associated with times of stress. The explanation behind this relationship? Carbohydrates found in such foods as crackers, breads, unsalted pretzels, and animal crackers have been shown to help boost levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, shown to produce a feeling of calm and well-being.

The Solution: Anything that relieves stress can help to inhibit these cravings. Try deep breathing techniques, yoga or simple exercise instead of resorting to the refrigerator. When you feel the need to feed, go for snacks of complex carbohydrates, such as yogurt or vegetables, which can help fend off cravings for simple carbs.

The Craving: Chocolate
They don’t call them chocoholics for nothing. While it could fit into the “sweet and creamy” category by most definitions, chocolate’s complexity and the fact that it is the most commonly craved food among Americans, according to Somer, earns it a class unto itself. Chocolate is the most difficult of foods to explain. According to researchers at the University of Arizona who last year conducted a review of the current research on chocolate cravings, the sensational combination of the fat, sugar, texture, aroma and several ingredients with addictive properties similar to those in psychoactive drugs, are most likely responsible for chocolate cravings. The researchers also suggest that these cravings can be a result of a magnesium deficiency.

The Solution: Uncompromising chocolate addicts may balk, but keeping other magnesium-rich foods, such as raw soybeans (a.k.a. edamame), on hand can be a quick fix. In cases where the longing is not due to magnesium deficiency, there’s not much else that will fulfill cravings for chocolate, Somer says. She suggests sipping a cup of warm, low-fat cocoa, or plunging fresh fruit, like whole strawberries, banana slices and melon wedges, into fat-free chocolate syrup — both of these approaches will add up to a lot less fat and calories than your average chocolate bar.

Conquer Your Nastiest Cravings

Do you eat healthful, balanced meals all day long until 4 p.m. or so, when a sudden and irrepressible craving for rich, dark chocolate or salty, crunchy chips strikes? Does your mind consistently wander to that pint of coffee-chip ice cream, tucked away behind the frozen broccoli, an hour or so before bed?

Lately, a popular theory attests that craving a particular food means you must be deficient in one of its ingredients. For example, you might believe that hamburger hankering is due to your need for the iron in red meat. But what’s really behind those seemingly uncontrollable cravings, and how can you get a handle on them before they wreck your diet plan?

While some cravings may indeed relate to a need for certain nutrients (as you’ll see below), employing this reasoning as a blanket justification for nibbling on foods that are packed with fat and calories will only result in one thing — weight gain. Many doctors and nutritionists dispute the claim, citing a lack of good evidence, and raise a solid point: If you’re truly deficient in iron, say, why not crave other iron-rich foods, such as spinach or black beans?

When it comes to food cravings, researchers believe there are other biochemical and psychological processes at work. And they agree that understanding the cause behind a certain yen is the key to prevention. So follow these basic strategies for staving off any kind of craving, then identify your specific food lust and learn how to stop it in its tracks!

Dodge the Desire
Be a grazer. Nutritionists suggest that eating several small meals throughout the day (or three meals and a few light, low-fat snacks) can help to prevent cravings later in the day. Choose high-fiber, low-fat foods to keep hunger at bay longer.

Go cold turkey. Some research has shown that completely giving up a particular food can result in losing a taste for it. According to Elizabeth Somer, M.S., R.D., author of Food and Mood (Owl Books), the longer you go without eating a particular food, the less you’ll crave it.

Get distracted. When you feel a craving coming on, do something that will get your mind off of it. Go for a walk or make a phone call. After 10 minutes, you may notice that the craving has passed.

Although we all have our favorite must-have foods — ranging from pickles to pastries — there are some common threads when it comes to the provisions we pine for. Here, identify the type of food you desire, then read on to conquer that craving.

By Bridget Kelly, eDiets Contributor