Nutrition folks - got a question for ya. I've always been told that if you are craving a certain food, it is because your body is in need of some vital nutrient in that food, and your system generates the desire for it as a way to satisfy a nutritional deficiency. It would kinda make sense, I think, if we as a species still ate food only for necessity, but I'm pretty sure if any biological wiring to that effect once existed, it's been short circuited by modern dietary habits. So what's the deal - true or bullshit?

I'm trying to understand why the hell I have been craving nuts night and day for the last few weeks (yes, those kind of nuts too, but not in the nutritional sense). Specifically peanuts and almonds. I've been having almonds on my cereal, Sweet and Salty bars for snacks, peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, and on several occasions, bedtime snack has consisted of me, Skippy and a spoon. I think if I eat any more nuts, I'm going to give someone an allergic reaction just for being near me. Any idea what could be causing this?

Preggers?

Dammit AeroChica, I knew I shouldn't have had that third wine cooler.




On topic, I'd love to know the answer. I haven't had a root beer in years and lately I can't get the thought of drinking them out of my head. I must've had a case and a half in the last month.


Maybe I'm preggers?

I get this way with apple juice. I generally don't drink apple juice but will go through periods where cannot get enough apple juice.

Preggers?

the foods that you mentioned are high in protien, almonds are the highest in proteins of the nut family. it might be that your normal food intake does not have enough protien in it that your body needs. on the other hand you might be pregnant.

Maybe you need some more monounsaturated fats etc...

Or preggers?

No, I'm not pregnant!

And if I am, I get to sue a urologist.

I think, if we as a species still ate food only for necessity, but I'm pretty sure if any biological wiring to that effect once existed, it's been short circuited by modern dietary habits.

I can think of no reason why "modern dietary habits" would have any such effect. Are you saying that there's a selection pressure against craving what our bodies need? (Vegetarians make or at least wander too near that argument all the time) or are you saying that in a few dozen generations of modern agricultural practices, any genetic propensity towards craving that which our bodies require has been lost entirely?

In other words, to imagine that we wouldn't have cravings for things that contain nutrients our bodies require is practically inconceivable from a biological standpoint.

You, on the other hand, appear to me to be addicted to salty foods. I'd try and get away from the high sodium for a while (at least 2-3 weeks) and see if your tastes change.

Does addiction play a role in craving sweet and salty food? Fatty foods? This wouldn't be an evolutionary change, but brain chemistry maybe? In modern times we have great access to refined nutrients like sugar, salt, and fats. Is there addiction to these? What role does flavor have if any? Can you have food cravings without hormone or insulin problems? What about emotional influences?

It seems to make sense to me that craving a food means that your body is in need of nutrients from those foods. This doesn't seem like a huge leap of logic to me. It is an over simplified idea though and other factors need to be considered. The idea of being addicted to certain flavors in foods is pretty fuzzy to me.

I have also read that it is possible to crave foods you are allergic to...

... or are you saying that in a few dozen generations of modern agricultural practices, any genetic propensity towards craving that which our bodies require has been lost entirely?

In other words, to imagine that we wouldn't have cravings for things that contain nutrients our bodies require is practically inconceivable from a biological standpoint.


I think our physiology gets confused. We might naturally enjoy sweet tastes because eons ago, our ancestors were better off eating sweet ripe fruit rather than less ripe choices, but when that instinct gets bombarded with refined sugar, corn syrup, chocolate, artificial sweeteners and the like, the tendancy looses validity.

I'll agree that in our modern environment, our (correct) built-in drives to eat certain things can lead us to eat in a counterproductive manner, if that's what you're saying. I still think that salt is addictive, affects the taste buds when they become accustomed to it, and is potentially the source of your cravings. I know it has been that way for me in the past.

http://www.qwantz.com/comics/comic2-1475.png (http://www.qwantz.com/archive/001448.html)

There are feedback loops between our sense of taste and smell, the contents of our digestive tract and bloodstream, and our hunger. Some of the ones we know about are mediated by hormones like insulin and leptin. But I haven't seen much evidence to suggest that the loops are particularly well-suited to modern-day living. Examples: Feeling "hungry" when you're actually short on water, carbohydrate -> blood glucose -> insulin spikes and troughs, etc.

Wow, everything makes so much more sense when said through cartoon dinosaurs! Why can't academic textbooks have more cartoons?