Do Women Really Crave Chocolate?
Cravings (Hedonic hunger) are felt by everyone.
Some people are able to put these urges aside and continue with their clean eating regime. Other people find these cravings almost impossible to fight.
WHAT DO WE CRAVE?
Before we delve into why we have cravings, let’s explore some common foods that people crave.
Chocolate
Bread
Fried Food
Sugar
Pizza
These are just a few foods that people often long for without actually having a feeling of hunger.
Hunger is the bodies’ response to a lack of food. Cravings, on the other hand, are more cognitive. They can occur whether you are hungry or not.
Cravings were once thought to be the body's way of telling us that we had some deficiencies in our diet. Therefore, people often believed they needed chocolate or something sugary when they had low energy. Although not completely incorrect, this is not the primary reason for why we have the urge to gorge on certain foods.
DO WOMEN REALLY CRAVE CHOCOLATE?
Before we delve into the science behind why we crave, it is time to debunk a myth.
It is often believed men and women crave different things and so this must be biological….right? WRONG!
The Diabetes Association found that only 15% of men crave chocolate, while 40% of women long after it. Perhaps, to no surprise almost half of the women that claimed to crave chocolate, experience greater cravings during menstruation.
However, in a study at the University of Albany it was found that there was no direct correlation between menstruation and cravings for chocolates. It seems the real reason why women crave chocolate is due to cultural influence and is psychological in nature. In the US in particular, chocolate is advertised as a woman’s guilty treat and this message sticks in the minds of women all over the states. The message is strong enough that it actually makes men associate chocolate cravings with womanly behavior and so they do not lust for it.
Another stereotyped gender bias is that it is only women that binge when they are emotional (yet, men have feelings too!). When we are upset or angry, much like when we are stressed, cortisol levels increase, again increasing our hunger and subsequently we feel like we need to binge.
Why We Crave
Our cravings are in part down to our ancestors. Millions of years ago, apes survived off sugar-rich fruit. The animals grew to like ripe fruit (with a higher sugar content) than unripe fruit as it supplied greater energy levels. Sugar also helps us store fat as it is broken down into glucose and fructose. When broken down, fructose activates processes that make the body want to increase fat stores.
In the past, when food sources were scarce and hunting was less reliable, hanging onto fat stores to prevent starvation was key. A mutation occurred that caused apes and other similar mammals to store more fat after consuming sugars. This was a survival mechanism.
Those primates that gorged on high sugar fruits were more likely to survive and pass on their genes, therefore, we are biologically hard-wired to crave sugar.
The Brain is a huge player in cravings.
The reward system of our brain induces the craving feeling by identifying a target. When the center is activated, dopamine is released. Dopamine creates a pleasurable feeling within an individual and so we believe we will receive pleasure from the craving. This desire blocks the pre-frontal cortex (which is responsible for impulse control and long term goal planning) and makes you want to give in to the craving and forget about the healthy lifestyle you have been living.
Your body then releases stress hormones that make you feel uncomfortable and you are tricked into believing the only way to feel better is by giving in to the craving. We are likely to repeat these behaviors as dopamine has rewarded us with a pleasurable feeling.
From an evolutionary and survival viewpoint, this is extremely important. If food is scarce and you grow hungry, you are rewarded with a pleasurable feeling when you find food. The good feeling becomes associated with the behavior that led you to the food. You will then want to repeat that behavior. Still with me? You can read more into the reward system here.
Additional Reasons Why We Crave
STRESS
When we are stressed or in a state of high anxiety, our body produces a hormone known as cortisol. Cortisol increases the sugar in the blood that is used up as energy by the body’s cells and it aids in fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism. It also blocks the release of leptin and insulin, increasing hunger.
THE MEMORY TEMPLATE
Memory structures have a lot to do with why we crave certain foods. When you experience a craving, we have a sensory memory for the food that will satisfy your feeling. The food has to match this memory to satisfy the craving. Our brain is almost telling us, nothing will satisfy you except pizza or chocolate pudding.
Cravings can become habits, we almost subconsciously reach for these junk foods without realizing it.
WHY DO WE NOT CRAVE HEALTHY FOODS?
Hopefully, from what you have read thus far, you will now know that you generally do not crave unhealthy food as you are lacking energy or are deficient in a macro/micronutrient but because you associate that unhealthy food with euphoria. Your memory of eating that food is pure happiness.
Yes, our ancestry roots have some part to play but it is really, food is in abundance and so we eat it regularly and our body is trained to associate indulging with a good feeling making it a habit and almost tricking our bodies into believing this is imperative for our survival like in the past.
This is psychological and so the next question to raise is….can we train ourselves to crave healthy foods?
TIPS TO BEAT YOUR CRAVINGS
DISTRACT YOURSELF
Taking your mind off the craving distracts the brain. The craving feeling escalates when you begin to imagine what eating the food will be like and picturing its texture and taste. So, try and think about something else. This will stop the release of dopamine and opioid chemicals so that you no longer crave.
Go for a walk, continue with some work you started, do a household chore, meet up with a friend, the list is endless.
START CHEWING
Research has shown chewing gum can help fight the feeling that you need sugar. In fact, you could eat 68 fewer calories at lunchtime and not overcompensate later on in the day. Many people blow their diets after a workout as they feel they should reward themselves for working out. Chewing gum, after a workout, can help deter those post-workout binges.
SAVE YOURSELF WITH FRUIT
Ripe fruit, as discussed earlier, can still provide you with the sugar rush that you think you need from junk food but it also provides you with necessary vitamins and fiber. So stick to what our ancestors used to crave and choose ripe fruit over sugary snacks.
EAT REGULARLY
If you do not eat for prolonged periods of time, you may be tempted to start snacking. Eating more regularly can keep blood sugar levels stable. If you are on a low-calorie diet and are restricting caloric intake, within 3 days you may have reduced your appetite-reducing hormone leptin by 22%. So if you want to curb cravings, don’t do crash diets.
During the holiday season, if you are like me, you often don’t eat when you normally would but when it comes to mealtime, you begin your food frenzy. Cravings can be heightened during the holiday season as your house will more than likely have tantalizing treats inside, so make sure to eat regularly and intentionally.
QUALITY FOOD
Dark chocolate has been extensively researched and has some great health benefits. Reach for chocolates with a higher cocoa content. As previously mentioned, reaching for unhealthy treats can become a habit. Bad habits can be broken by substituting the unhealthy food that you are craving, with something that provides us with the same bodily response but is nutritious (dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate).
As you will see lower down, you may not even be craving chocolate, but magnesium instead. So grab some nuts to get you going.
MANAGE IT WITH A FRIEND
Try and give up your unhealthy treats with a friend, chances are when they are craving, you won’t be. So help take each other’s minds off the craving.
THROW AWAY TEMPTATION
If you don’t have sugary treats in your house, you can’t eat them. Try and cleanse your house of all the evil foods. This will be a struggle but it may feel rewarding afterward, you have effectively tossed out cravings and subsequently the emotional battle you will have when trying to deter yourself from snacking on that chocolate bar.
Little steps like not looking at a dessert menu at a restaurant will all help you avoid temptation. If you do not see the unhealthy item on a food menu, your brain will not start conjuring up images of the food and dopamine levels will not spike.
MANAGE YOUR MAGNESIUM
Those that crave chocolate may be magnesium deficient. Although it is rare that people crave foods that are actually higher in magnesium than chocolate, like nuts, you may still be experiencing magnesium deficiency when craving chocolate. Try and increase your intake of legumes and leafy greens to get your magnesium in.
SUGAR DETOX
Completely getting rid of unhealthy sugar sources from your diet and going cold turkey instantly often works for some people. Although, the first 1-2 weeks can be tough, when you break this threshold the cravings will have diminished. This may be a more difficult approach than a slower, sugar detox but it may be more efficient if your plan is to completely cut out excess sugar and fast.
A sugar detox slightly differs from the cold turkey method as it is a gradual process. Slowly eradicate added sugar from your diet. If you are used to sugary breakfast cereals, try oatmeal with fruit or whole grain cereal. Replace your afternoon snacks of crisps or chocolate with nuts and veggies to dip in hummus.
PROTEIN!
Protein is the most filling macronutrient, therefore, it is recommended to fill yourself up by increasing your protein intake, if you are less hungry, you are less likely to crave. Although very high protein intake does have its caveats, increased protein intake is associated with weight-loss.
Increased protein leads to increased secretion of satiety hormones (hormones that tell your body you are full) and an increased thermic effect of food.
BITE-SIZED TREATS
If you do not want to completely clear your house of treats in case you go out and binge eat, try portion control. Instead of having a huge, family sized bar of chocolate, only keep individual bars in the house.
SLEEP IS KEY
It has long been known that inadequate sleep leads to hunger of the homeostatic kind (this is when you are genuinely hungry and your body requires energy). Recently, lack of sleep has been linked to hedonic hunger (increased cravings). So make sure you sleep!
CHILL OUT
Stress eating is all too common. Try and take a moment to relax.
CONCLUSION
Cravings do exist, however, not for the reasons most people believe. We are biologically hard-wired to feel happy after indulging in unhealthy foods, thanks to “survival of the fittest” and our surviving ancestors ( those that lived through periods of scarce food) passing on their genes.
The way our body and reward system reacts when eating these foods (with the release of dopamine etc) is really the reason why we crave.
I hope you find this informative and have developed quite a deep knowledge of the biology and neurology behind cravings and that going forward we may help you beat your craving.
Please leave a comment below if you found value in this blog.
Jessica Kishpaugh is a Holistic Nutritionist, Nutrition Psychology Counselor & Emotional Eating Coach, Owner of LoYo Wellness in Wyckoff in Bergen County, NJ and Founder of The LoYo Method Coaching Program for busy women to heal their relationship with food through the power of food psychology and mindset and behavior habit changes. Jessica specializes in nutrition psychology, emotional eating, binge eating, overeating and mindfulness stress reduction.
Book your FREE Breakthrough Call HERE to get clarity on your relationship with food, to understand what’s holding you back from achieving your health and wellness goals, and to discover a solution so you can nourish your mind and body and live into your full potential.