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Mind-Body Nutrition: Conquer Cravings

It’s easy to get caught up in healthy eating and making the right choices when it comes to daily meals but sometimes you just need to put down those fitness apps and clean eating cook books and just listen to your body.

When we get that urge to change our lifestyle, start eating healthy and planning our meals we tend to have a list of ‘bad foods’ we want to steer clear of. That’s generally processed foods, white carbs, dairy, fats, sugars and fizzy drinks. Try it, Google ‘Healthy Eating Rules’ and you’ll be overwhelmed with the ridiculous amount of rules and regulations promising to aid you in the process of adapting to a healthy lifestyle. The, don’t eat this eat that, swap this for that, never consume this, stay clear of that, watch out for those… who can even keep up?

But amongst all the fad diet shakes, quick fixes, healthy lifestyle books, fitness apps, new food trends and low calorie diets we forget about the one tool that knows exactly what we need…our bodies.

I’ll be the first to admit that if I was to listen to my body then I’d probably consume seriously large amounts of avocado, sweet potatoe fries, granola, pate and hummus on a daily basis because that’s what I love and crave. However you need to remember that when your body craves certain foods it generally means it needs a certain substance contained in that food. Whether that’s salt in crisps, sugar in chocolate, fat in bread, dairy in cheese or oils in chips.  

Your body craves certain chemicals, nutrients and minerals contained in food but in order to have a healthy lifestyle you need to give your body the pure ingredient. So to get an idea of what I’m talking about I’ve compiled a small handful of foods you may crave on a daily basis and what your body is really requesting:

Chocolate – your body is craving Magnesium – eat dark chocolate, nuts, seeds, avocado or bananas

Bread – your body is craving Amino Acids – eat nuts, fish, eggs or quinoa

Sweets/ Candy – your body is craving Glucose – eat fruit

Fried Food – your body is craving fat- eat nuts, coconut, avocado or olives

Crisps – your body is craving Sodium – eat salted popcorn, dark chocolate or black olives

Another great way to gain a healthy lifestyle and learn to listen to your body and take the challenge to be more mindful about what you’re eating.