Recently, I was watching a show from the 60’s, and the main character wanted to know why someone was taking vitamins? Taking vitamins and supplements is common place now, but back than it was very unusual to take any type of vitamin or supplement. It turns out he was feeling run down and was wanting to take the vitamins for that purpose. Which is the same reason many people should take vitamins now 60 years later – vitamin and mineral deficiences, because our foods are not as vitamin and mineral rich as they were 100 or more years ago. This vitamin and mineral deficiency causes problems in our bodies that many of us go to doctors for, or eat things that are not the healthiest choices to take care of these cravings. Much of the time unhealthy food cravings that we have are caused by a vitamin and mineral deficiency. This article is about cravings and what vitamin or mineral we are missing, and what food we can take to help with that craving.
- Chocolate – Many of us crave chocolate, and some may think that this craving is actually related to a sugar addiction, but in reality a craving for chocolate is really a mineral deficiency. Not just any mineral, but the 4th most abundant mineral in the world, and one that more than 80% of Americans are deficient in. Magnesium is responsible for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body – many relating to relaxation. Symptoms such as anxiety or depression, irritability, insomnia, muscle cramps, high blood pressure, heart irregularity, lack of energy, muscle problems, skin issues, and many others. There are many things you can eat that are much better for you than chocolate – unless you are eating dark chocolate that is at least 80% cocoa. Dark leafy greens, seeds and nuts, fish, beans and blackstrap molasses are all excellent sources of magnesium and will help end chocolate cravings. I personally take a magnesium supplement nightly to help myself relax and to sleep well. If you take a supplement make sure it of high quality and if in pill form it should be “chelated” or be in isotonic format.
- Sugar – This is a common one that many Americans experience because of the SAD (standard American diet) which is traditionally high in sugar. Many foods have added sugar that is not needed just to keep us addicted and craving sugar. In reality we are deficient in 5 different minerals which are – Chromium, Carbon, Phosphorus, Sulphur, and Trytophan. The best thing to do is eliminate sugar and change your diet – eat veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, cheese, fish and lean meats – remove all processed foods from your diet. Now, there are many supplements you can purchase to help with your sugar addiction – contact me and I can help you with them. The best thing to do is to start with a detox, which generally includes the supplements to help your addiction and cravings.
- Refined carbohydrates – You know these as baked goods, breads, pastas, pancakes, waffles, etc. If you are craving these you are deficient in Nitrogen, which is related to a protein deficiency. Again, the best thing to do is remove the processed foods from your diet, add in high protein foods – beef, chicken, fish, nuts, beans, and chia seeds. I would start with a detox which would help with the cravings and your deficiencies.
- Oily or Fatty Foods – If you are craving these you are deficient in Calcium – this is really bad for your body. Being deficient in Calcium is very bad for your bones as well as heart problem and relaxation. Calcium is very much like magnesium – it handles almost the same things in our bodies. Calcium is readily available in many foods – milk, cheese, broccoli, turnip greens and others. Problem is that our body will only take in and absorb about 20% of what is in food, so we need to get our calcium from supplements. Another problem with this is that many supplements on the market really do not have calcium that can be readily absorbed by the body. The calcium I use is isotonic in nature which means that within 5 minutes it has been completely absorbed by the body.
- Ice – Now this craving may seem a little strange, but it actually signals a deficiency in iron. Eat more iron-rich foods like leafy greens, meat, blackstrap molasses and sea vegetables. Beef liver is especially high in iron, and liver pills can be purchased from health food stores. Many milti-vitamins have iron in them, if you go this route make sure your multi-vitamin is of high quality – many mulit-vitamins on the market have a lot of additives in them and are not pure and may not help you. I would go with one that is isotonic in nature because it is absorbed almost immediately into the blood stream.
- Salty Foods – This would include chips, pretzels, etc. If you craving salty foods you are deficient in chloride and/or silicon. Try adding more fish, nuts and seeds to your diet. Both of these can be found in most multi-vitamins.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or need recommendations for any vitamins or supplements.