By Kelli Grant
Published: December 31, 2009, 6:00 PM
If your New Year's Resolution includes managing your weight, or getting back in shape, you may have also decided to stop eating certain types of foods. But craving some foods may be subconsciously telling you something - and you may not want to be so quick to give them up.
Whether it's salty or sweet...maybe even spicy, that craving can sometimes be overpowering.
And believe it or not, it may be speaking for your body.
“There actually may be something to that theory that there is something - a mineral or whether you need fluid in your body that your body is missing and subconsciously telling you to eat,” said Sanford Dietitian Leanne Kramer.
Like when you crave something salty like potato chips or French fries.
“Researchers have shown that a lack of potassium, calcium, and iron can cause people to crave table salt,” Kramer said.
But when you walk into a candy store...and see an array of sweets... your craving may have a physical component.
“When we're sad or bored or lonely or we're just not feeling happy - a lot of people go and choose to eat the chocolate foods which actually will raise your endorphins and make you feel better,” Kramer said.
And chocolate has been called an antidepressant in dessert form.
“It may be there are certain parts of our brain that remember how we physically feel," said Kramer.
But when it comes to cravings and trying to cut them out of your day...it may be time for a quick self analysis.
“We should eat when we're hungry. However when we're emotionally hungry or psychologically hungry, we should really look at why we're hungry or whether we're physically hungry or do we really need something else,” said Kramer.
And if we find that those hunger pains are real...
“If we're truly hungry, then we should have something to eat. But also then be choosy about what you did eat,” said Kramer.
And some suggest that cravings say something about your personality. For example salt lovers are said to always go with the flow, if you like dark chocolate you're the life of the party, milk chocolate - you're quiet. And if you like spicy food - you don't like wasting time.
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