Crazy Cravings Killing Your Health Goals?

Our bodies are amazing!  It is the perfect machine and even when treated with the least amount of care still serves us day after day.  Our bodies are the only thing we have for our whole lives from birth to death yet we treat our cars, homes, jewelry, clothes, and other materialistic things much nicer. No other man made machine could take the daily abuse of environmental toxins, chemicals, bad diets, drugs,  and alcohol and still keep going year after year.  The body is more intricate than the best computer, more resilient and durable than rubber, and runs smoother than the finest engine.  The body has its own special mechanics to keep itself in balance. There are many ways the body signals that there is an imbalance or need.  What are one of the signals?

CRAVINGS

Many people view cravings as weaknesses, but they are actually the bodies WARNING sign that something is out of balance.  I used to see this phenomenon constantly when I used to compete.  To step on the stage many women and men would spend months on a calorie deficient diet lacking the essential nutrients their bodies so desperately need to function and survive.  The body would be sending signals that were ignored until eventually after the competition they would then binge on sugary crap and other unhealthy food.  So what do you do when you experience a craving? Deconstruct it!  Ask yourself what does my body want and why?  Look at the foods, deficits, and behaviors that are the underlying cause of your cravings.  There are EIGHT primary causes of cravings.  

1. LACK OF PRIMARY FOOD 
2. WATER
3. YIN/YANG IMBALANCE
4. INSIDE COMING OUT
5. SEASONS 
6. LACK OF NUTRIENTS
7. HORMONES
8. DE-EVOLUTION

Want to know what Primary Food is? What about the other seven primary causes of cravings?  As a health coach it is my passion to teach healthy healing habits and help you find the root causes of your cravings.  I can empower your future and help you take care of the most important machine in your life: YOUR BODY. You can contact me for a Health History Consultation to discuss your dreams and goals for your future.  Email me at FitChicMelissa@gmail.com or Melissa@PlantBasedAthletes.com or call 561-578-9492 to set up your consultation.

In the table below I have include a list of common cravings and the possible missing nutrient that could be causing:

If you crave this...	What you really need is...	And here are healthy foods that have it:
Chocolate	Magnesium	Raw nuts and seeds, legumes, fruits
Sweets	Chromium	Broccoli, grapes, cheese, dried beans, calves liver, chicken
	Carbon	Fresh fruits
	Phosphorus	Chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes, grains
	Sulfur	Cranberries, horseradish, cruciferous vegetables, kale, cabbage
	Tryptophan	Cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach
Bread, toast	Nitrogen	High protein foods: fish, meat, nuts, beans
Oily snacks, fatty foods	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
Coffee or tea	Phosphorous	Chicken, beef, liver, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes
	Sulfur	Egg yolks, red peppers, muscle protein, garlic, onion, cruciferous vegetables
	NaCl (salt)	Sea salt, apple cider vinegar (on salad)
	Iron	Meat, fish and poultry, seaweed, greens, black cherries
Alcohol, recreational drugs	Protein	Meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, nuts
	Avenin	Granola, oatmeal
	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
	Glutamine	Supplement glutamine powder for withdrawal, raw cabbage juice
	Potassium	Sun-dried black olives, potato peel broth, seaweed, bitter greens
Chewing ice	Iron	Meat, fish, poultry, seaweed, greens, black cherries
Burned food	Carbon	Fresh fruits
Soda and other carbonated drinks	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
Salty foods	Chloride	Raw goat milk, fish, unrefined sea salt
Acid foods	Magnesium	Raw nuts and seeds, legumes, fruits
Preference for liquids rather than solids	Water	Flavor water with lemon or lime. You need 8 to 10 glasses per day.
Preference for solids rather than liquids	Water	You have been so dehydrated for so long that you have lost your thirst. Flavor water with lemon or lime. You need 8 to 10 glasses per day.
Cool drinks	Manganese	Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pineapple, blueberries
Pre-menstrual cravings	Zinc	Red meats (especially organ meats), seafood, leafy vegetables, root vegetables
General overeating	Silicon	Nuts, seeds; avoid refined starches
	Tryptophan	Cheese, liver, lamb, raisins, sweet potato, spinach
	Tyrosine	Vitamin C supplements or orange, green, red fruits and vegetables
Lack of appetite	Vitamin B1	Nuts, seeds, beans, liver and other organ meats
	Vitamin B3	Tuna, halibut, beef, chicken, turkey, pork, seeds and legumes
	Manganese	Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pineapple, blueberries
	Chloride	Raw goat milk, unrefined sea salt
Tobacco	Silicon	Nuts, seeds; avoid refined starches
	Tyrosine	Vitamin C supplements or orange, green and red fruits and vegetables