Cravings

Do you crave sugar, pop, breads, pasta, and potatoes?

Generally, people who crave sugar have poor fuel-burning capacity in their bodies. You really need minerals. You can have huge fluctuations in your days, real highs and then very low lows. You are often moody and irritable, and feel fatigued with low stamina, often blaming “getting older” as the reason for your reduced energy. You have a nutritional deficiency and a hormonal imbalance than could lead to hypoglycemia or pre-diabetes.

Do you love to eat Pizza and bread?

You most likely have a yeast problem. Emotionally, you can have mood swings up and down, with chronic allergies and digestive distress. You have a sugar/hormonal imbalance, and nutritional deficiencies. You also have digestive issues with poor metabolism, weight gain, and increasing fatigue.

Do you have a pickle and olive with your sandwiches?

People who crave salt generally have weak adrenal gland function. You can get irritable if you miss a meal. Bright light bothers your eyes. You are often tired and your back can hurt. You avoid salt even though you crave it. You have a hormonal imbalance and a mineral deficiency.

Do you crave milk?

People who crave dairy generally are really trying to fill their calcium, protein and fat need. Alternative sources are sesame seeds for calcium; organic chicken or turkey for protein, and/or almonds, walnuts or sunflower seeds. You have a protein and mineral deficiency.

Do you crave chocolate?

You have a calcium/magnesium imbalance. Women crave chocolate before their menses due to hormone changes. The magnesium in chocolate helps create a sense of relaxation by making long-chain fatty acids. However, chocolate has chemicals in it that are psychoneurotic chemicals. These chemicals can create highs and lows. An alternative is to have mixed greens everyday. Mixed greens are a great source of magnesium and help with the craving for chocolate. You have a nutritional deficiency, and a hormonal imbalance.

Do you crave ice?

This is a sign of poor iron utilization. You are usually tired. Your body needs iron for oxygen carrying capacity. Iron is found in meat. (see vitamin list) You can become anemic.

Do you crave any type of sweets?

You have a poor sugar metabolism when you crave sweets. You can also be low in zinc and chromium. These minerals are needed for carbohydrate metabolism. High stress can also cause high cortisol levels and sugar cravings. You have a sugar/hormonal imbalance and a nutritional deficiency of specific vitamins needed by the body for sugar metabolism.

Do you crave fatty foods?

This can be a sign for a need for fat in the body. You need fat, but avoid it because of calories and use low fat foods instead. Fat is needed to make hormones in the body and is vital for proper brain function. Without fat you can have depression, pain syndromes and emotional issues. You have a hormone issue and a deficiency of essential fatty acids.

Do you desire coffee in the mid afternoon?

You are stressed out with poor adrenal gland function. The coffee stimulates the adrenals for you to keep going. You can also crave salty and or sugary foods. You may have problems with bright light bothering your eyes, chronic pain syndromes and even sneeze when sunshine hits your eyes on a bright day. You wear sunglasses. You have a hormonal imbalance when you need to have a caffeine boost to keep your energy levels up.

Do you chew your nails?

You have a mineral deficiency and may be lacking specific vital nutrients. You might have a hard time falling asleep at night. You can lay in bed at night physically exhausted with your brain going one hundred miles an hour. If you have red hair, you may have a deficiency in zinc with too much copper. Avoid bread and soy – these deplete the body of zinc. Eat pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Celtic Sea Salt is also an excellent source of minerals, containing 84 different essential minerals. You have a mineral deficiency and a hormonal imbalance.

Do you crave onions, garlic, cabbage or broccoli?

You may have a sluggish or overloaded liver. These foods contain high levels of sulfur, which help improve liver function. A sluggish liver cannot work properly to help break down toxins or keep hormones in balance. Toxins can accumulate from either external sources or from poor digestion that results in internal toxicity. You have nutritional deficiencies and too much toxic exposure.

If you have any of the above food cravings, there is help. A review of your diet and lifestyle can easily locate simple changes that could improve your health and reduce your cravings.

Dr. Carol Ann Fischer, D.C., N.D.