Ever since I started eating a healthier diet, I’ve been able to pay more attention to my cravings. Most of us just go through life thinking nothing of when the urge to eat a certain food strikes us – but it’s also a way of your body telling you something.

I’ve written a lot about how sugar is addictive – and as you know eating a lot of starchy/sugary foods can often cause those cravings to intensify. This is because eating sugar and starchy foods (ie: white bread) can cause your blood glucose levels to change, and is often responsible for sways in how we feel during the day, going from being tired to wired. Your body craves sugar because it wants it for your blood glucose levels to get back on the right track – though we often eat too much sugar which causes it to go back out of synch.

Sugar’s just one example though. Some people crave things like bread not for the sugar, but possibly because wheat is a decent source of magnesium, which can help with everything from absorption of calcium to how your body deals with the toxins we’re exposed to day in and day out. I have some new feelings about wheat (it may not actually be good for you at all!) but some research may suggest that a craving could also signal an intolerance.

There are other things as well – take pica, for example, a condition which causes people to want to eat non-food items such as dirt, pencils or paint chips. This is usually attributed to an iron deficiency, most common amongst pregnant women as well as children.

So many diets are all about controlling and overcoming cravings – but the solution is not to suppress these cravings – it’s to research and see what, if any, possible dietary issues could be causing them.

Here’s some tips on trying to pinpoint the cause of your craving:

Identify Your Craving: If you’re craving a single food, then it’s easy to say “Oh, I’m craving an apple”. But if you’re craving something that includes multiple ingredients, such as a cheeseburger, then you’ll want to think about what it is of that you are wanting the most. Is it the bun and the meat? The ketchup flavor? The cheese? Maybe it is a little bit of everything – or maybe there’s something specific about it.

List the Ingredients and Nutrients in the Foods You Crave: If you’re asking the question of why we crave certain things, the best place to start is to know what the nutritional properties of the food you are craving are. Every food we eat has different nutritional value or a potential clue into what your body needs. This doesn’t always mean you should eat the thing you want – for example, some believe that those who constantly crave milk may actually have an intolerance to it to some degree. But when you make a list of these things, you can help identify which things are found in the foods your body wants, which can then make you decide what is going to help you.

Research the Food & It’s Nutrients: Thankfully the internet has tons of information on any food you can think of. Type in any food and its health benefits or its nutritional value and you should be able to find some information on it. Obviously, you are going to want to make sure that your research is accurate – so don’t just stop at the first few pages you find in your search results. Dig a little deeper. You may even want to add the word “deficiency” to the food you are searching and see if anything comes up.

Discuss Your Findings With Your Doctor: The occasional craving for a food shouldn’t be too much cause of concern. However, if you’re constantly craving sweets or starches or anything else for that matter, there’s likely a good reason why. Maybe your blood sugar needs to be more regulated, maybe you are deficient in another mineral or vitamin. While it’d be nice if we knew what all this meant in a big picture, most of us haven’t spent years researching food and how it affects our health. Doctors can’t help you determine what is wrong unless they see proof, pattern, and understand the role of diet in health (and what they know about that may even be outdated) – but at the very least they can help you identify any major potential problems such as thyroid disorders, diabetes, food intolerance, and more which could be causing some problems for you and do need professional medical treatment.

Consider Emotional Factors: For some, foods can also mean an emotional attachment – perhaps ice cream is your “comfort food”. But have you ever considered why? If you as a kid and all the way through adulthood were given ice cream anytime something went wrong, then it could possibly be due to habit and environment. But, again, some foods may be a result in a deficiency (or in some cases too much) of a certain nutrient.

Obviously, this is something that a lot more research needs to be conducted on – I’m not a doctor nor a professional nutrition expert by any means. But the next time you have a craving for something – be it sugar or a cheeseburger, rather than fight that craving, take it as a cue from your body that your diet might be missing something. You shouldn’t try to stop food cravings – instead take a look at why they’re there in the first place.

What is Compulsive Overeating?

Many people who have experienced compulsive overeating may not even be aware that they do it. By definition, it means to eat an excessive amount of food without being able to stop or control the impulse to do so.

What Causes Binge Eating?

There are a number of factors that may play a role in why some people develop this disorder. One of the biggest reasons that many can attribute to their eating habits is the inability to cope with stress, anxiety, or other problems. Food becomes an escape, a way to release stress, or deal with problems. Eating habits developed early in life or childhood can often also play a role in this. Other emotional factors such as depression, low self esteem, or prior history of abuse can often trigger it. It can happen in both males and females.

What are the Signs and Symptoms?

• Excessive binge eating on a habitual basis
• Eating when not hungry
• Feeling ashamed about eating too much
• Eating in alone or in secret
• Afraid of not being able to stop
• Starving oneself intentionally to compensate for binging
• Constant thoughts about food and eating
• Storing/Hiding food in places other than the kitchen/pantry
• Missing activities or avoiding social interactions because of either the fear of overeating or to eat compulsively instead
• Constant cycle of Yo-Yo dieting

How Can I Stop Overeating?

Learning how to stop binge eating and learning to control cravings or impulsive behavior is not easy to do without guidance or making lifestyle changes. Treatment for compulsive overeating can involve many different methods and styles.

There are several books available to help with food addiction that can help improve the situation and teach you different methods to cope and deal effectively with overcoming the disorder. Below are a few that we recommend checking out:

Other options that may be of more benefit would be to speak to a reputable and licensed therapist and nutritionist who can help you overcome food addiction and end binge eating for good. Emotional healing can take many months to see positive results, and having occasional slips and set backs is common. Many people have found a lot of relief and support through group therapy and organizations such as Overeaters Anonymous, which adopts a 12 step plan and holds meetings for those to talk to each other. Knowing that you’re not alone, that your situation is not hopeless, and finding new ways to cope with life can all of be great benefit. There is no shame in getting professional help after you’ve tried to do something on your own and still do not feel like it is working.

You may also be interested in these:

• End Binge Eating
• Emotional Eating

Have any thoughts or additional resources one can turn to if they suffer from compulsive overeating and binge eating? Share them in the comments below.