How to control your cravings
Have you ever been away but start to crave the foods from home? Or do you ever wonder why you crave certain foods particularly those containing salt, sugar, and/or fat? That is your microbiome speaking to you.
You might think your cravings are just all in your mind but there is evidence to suggest that gut microbes control our cravings.
Some of your microbes want you to eat sugar and fat. The more you feed these (inflammatory) microbes with those foods, the more they grow and thrive which is not good news for you.
The issue is when our cravings become part of our identity. We are chocolate or crisp lovers, pizza or burger lovers and as long as it's a part of our personality it can prevent us from making any changes.
However, when you start thinking that it's your microbes demanding these foods and not you, it can help you to take back the control over what goes into your body.
So is there anything I do in my day-to-day life that actually enhances cravings for these energy dense foods?
The following can all be causes of enhanced cravings:
Not enough sleep - lack of sleep can lead to an increase in the hunger hormone (ghrelin) and reduce your fullness hormone (leptin).
Consuming a lot of processed foods - if we repeatedly consume highly processed foods, the microbes that thrive on these will grow and demand even more.
Not eating enough - if you are restricting your calories you are putting your body in prime craving mode
Variety of feelings and situations including emotional eating, using food to cope with uncomfortable emotions, feeling stressed or filling time when feeling bored.
How to control cravings for these foods:
Your gut microbiome thrives with diversity. The more nutritious plant-based foods you feed your gut microbiome (30 - 40 whole plant foods per week), the more of them it will crave. And as your microbiome changes, so do your taste buds.
Eat enough food on a day to day basis and keep your blood sugar levels stable by eating meals with a good balance of protein, wholegrains and healthy fats (and plenty of vegetables)
Getting 7 - 8 hours of quality sleep every night is so important for your body and has a big impact on the foods you choose to eat.
Have a stress management technique in place - instead of using food to cope with stress, look at other ways that you can care for your body and reduce feelings of stress like through yoga, meditation, or going for a walk. Even a few slow, deep breaths can help defuse stress in a very short space of time.