I’m more referring to when a random person experiences a random craving for something they’ve had before.
Does that generally point to something you’ve had before that unknowingly satisfied a deficiency and which your body tacitly took note of?
I notice it sometimes, like
Beef = i “need” a burger (I’m a skinny dude, beef is not a common staple for me)
Fruit: i need juice or actual berries in yogurt for a smoothie or parfait
There’s a connection between the bacteria living in your digestive tract and your brain. The specifics of this are not fully understood yet. Your gut bacteria do a substantial amount of digestion for you, breaking down the food you eat into molecules that your intestines can absorb. The bacteria live in your intestine because they also consume some of the food that you eat. The research suggests that the bacteria can send signals to your brain that influence what you choose to eat - so that you eat things that they also eat.
Your cravings might not actually be ‘yours’, in a sense.
This is rather interesting to me, as I have gut issues where I should be limiting my consumption of red meat. Red meat, specifically beef, in excess gives me rather uncomfortable toilet visits, however completely refraining from any at all causes flare ups in my mental conditions (namely, my depression and CPTSD symptoms are somewhat more exaggerated). It’s at this point where I would crave something like a burger, almost like an addiction that somehow lay dormant until that moment, and my mood is lifted for some time afterwards.
I’m not within the field of science, however I have been noting how my diet affects my gut and mind for many years now, and that’s just what I’ve noticed. It makes sense to me for a study to prove some correlation as well between the gut and brain.
Taking a probiotic supplement that has a lot of different types of bacteria can help some people.
Maybe worth looking into alpha-gal syndrome?
That is very, very different to my situation. Thank you for trying to help, however.
I would love to think my body truly needs the six pack I bought today.
“You are what you eat/drink.” Can’t reach six-pack abs without drinking actual six-packs.
There’s a theory that says this is the case (I can’t remember the name) but if it was accurate it’s probably been thoroughly destroyed by the modern diet which is laden with foods that push reward cravings (like excessive carbohydrates)
Something something African children sometimes eat dirt for iron as crazy as it sounds. Thats definitely related to what I’m talking about
That’s called “pica” and is NOT related to any deficiencies.
It’s not pica, they sell soil or clay in markets for consumption, usually for pregnancies:
Thaťs different from child searching for the dirt and eating it by itself - those cravings serve no dietary purpose.
You’re both wrong for speaking in absolutes. It could be pica but it’s impossible to fully assess such a situation based on a literal sentence description, you would need to know the context, frequency of behavior, occurrence with other items (eg is it solely soil). It could be soil eaten out of desperation to alleviate symptoms related to iron deficiency but again, impossible to know from a single sentence but a child eating soil would be grounds to evaluate for pica unless the child was specifically instructed or something (eg folk medicine)
brought to you by someone who spent 5 years doing neurodevelopmental evals of autism and intellectual disability in children, where pica came up a decent amount of the time (especially for the kids with ID)
Rarely. Common food cravings follow a druglike addiction pathway more than a nutrient deficiency one. Beyond the known drugs in your food like the sugar, caffeine, and alcohol, you’ll crave weird features like the texture, blandness, or familiarity. Pay no mind to the unrecognizable chemical ingredient cocktail known only to increase profits.
It’s indictive of a basic reward system in your brain.
But when you havent had or wanted something from a long way back…why does that craving arise?
Memories are weird. Combinations of random circumstances might cause you to remember the last time when you are the item, and how it made you feel afterwards
Here is my personal take: if it’s for sugar or fat, no. Otherwise, could be.
Sometimes. Like if you are really low in iron, you can get pica. Happened to me when I was pregnant. So weird.
Makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint; “I’m thirsty. I don’t crave water. I get dehydrated and die” vs “I’m thirsty. I get water. I don’t die and have babies with Bob” - the person who had a craving passes on their genes
An indirect form of this should work
- When you need more X, you might feel certain symptoms. Eating more of X will make you feel better
- Over time you associate the two things together, even if you don’t understand the science of why
Type 1 diabetic here.
Hypoglycemia will trigger cravings for any food, no specific craving, just a feeling of “I need to eat or drink as much as I can and don’t stop.” It actually took me so long to limit myself to only eaying the necessary carbs to get blood sugar above 80 again instead of constantly bullwhipping my blood sugar from 50 to 300 and then correcting it below 180.
Hyperglycemia will trigger the most insane dehydration and craving to drink everything I can get my hands on and never stop.
Yeah, I reckon that’s definitely a thing. Have you heard of how some pregnant women want to eat dirt? Because creating a child reqires many trace minerals that are commonly found in dirt.
I do recon this sense can be corrupted by modern over proceeded shit.
I’ve noticed a distinct difference in how good/strong salt tastes at times. I suspect it’s electrolyte embalance and/or dehydration usually. But I’m just making guesses.
If you’re fat? No.
If you’re skinny? Yes.
