Is Your Brain Wired to
Create Food Cravings?
Food cravings have a lot less to do with biology and
more to do with psychology.
We all have cravings – in a study published in the
journal Appetite, 97% of women and 68% of men
reported experiencing them. Cravings are motiva-
tional states that push us to seek out and eat a par-
ticular food. Overall, the most commonly craved foods are those that are very high in salt, sugar and fat, such as French fries, chips, and
chocolate. Across the board, the most craved foods have one thing in common: they are high in calories.
At times, these intense desires to consume a particular food can indicate a nutritional deficiency. For example, if you regularly find yourself
craving ice, you may be iron deficient. Or if your diet lacks adequate amounts of sodium, you may feel drawn to seek out salty foods. If our
normal cravings were actually indicative of nutritional deficiencies, however, a lot more people would be experiencing an insatiable desire
for kale and broccoli. It turns out that cravings have a lot less to do with biology and more to do with psychology.
The science behind this phenomenon has revealed there are a lot of psychological factors that come into play when you’re dealing with
a craving. The hippocampus is involved in memory, which impacts how your brain responds to the food you eat. Specific areas of the brain
help create emotional connections with food and help form habits. Certain hormones are also released when you eat a food you really enjoy.
Hormones, memories and other various mechanisms combine to create a Pavlovian response, or a sensory cue that causes craving. Cravings
seem to peak when we are hungry or dieting. In her article, The Craving Brain, Katie Fesler writes, “understanding that memory and hunger
have such large roles in eliciting cravings make creating a toolbox to manage them much easier.”*
Our Advice
Now that you’re aware of how your brain influences cravings, you can create ways to outsmart the system.
6 Ways to Get a Grip on Your Food Cravings
Engaging in any sort of physical activity may curb cravings, so go for a walk!
Try smelling something else that has a pleasant but nonfood odor to help monopolize your brain’s working memory.
Thanksgiving turkey and your grandma’s homemade apple pie bring back a flood of good feelings. Learn how to give the less healthy
foods you love a makeover.
Enjoy comfort foods! It’s ok to eat your favorite foods. How To Fit Your Favorite Foods Into A Healthy Diet: https://
fruitsandveggies.org/stories/what-should-you-do-about-your-favorite-foods/
Cravings are triggered by images, and when you’re out and about you’re bombarded with unhealthy options. Learn how to keep healthy
snacks on hand to beat cravings.
Craving something sweet? Check out our Fruit & Veggie Recipe Database (https://fruitsandveggies.org/topics/course/desserts/?
view=recipes) to find new ways to satisfy that sweet tooth with fruit-inspired desserts!
*Fesler, K. 2014. The craving brain. Tufts Nutrition, 15(1), 14-17.
Source:
Have a Plant. (2019). Is Your Brain Wired to Create Food Cravings. Retrieved from https://fruitsandveggies.org/stories/buzz-brain-wired-create-food-cravings/
Under Pressure Challenge: February 3rd—March 1st
High blood pressure is a serious disease that has no warning signs. With high blood pressure, your heart has to work harder
than it should to move blood to all parts of your body. If left untreated, high blood pressure increases your risk of stroke, heart
attack, kidney problems, eye problems and even death.
The Under Pressure Challenge will help you learn about heart health and how to prevent and/or control high blood pressure
with lifestyle changes. This is a 4 week challenge which will require blood pressure screenings 3x a week and the completion of
weekly lifestyle goals. Upon successful completion of this challenge, it will count towards your Benchmark To Good Health.
Weekly lifestyle goals include: eating the right amount of fruits and vegetables, portion control, reading of nutrition labels and
exercise. Simple steps to a healthy you! To make this challenge even easier for you, participants with be sent a blood pressure
cuff to keep on-site for this challenge. Additionally, you will be provided a booklet which will include a tracking sheet for each
week and submission instructions.
Please be aware that you will be submitting results to our Health Promotion Specialist at Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Cooper
Rohan, to ensure utmost privacy. No one within the Benchmark offices will be made aware of any medical information, only as
to the successful completion of the challenge.
Please sign up with Sarah Johnson at sjohnson@benchmarkgrp.com no later than January 27, 2020 to participate. There
cannot be any late entries as blood pressure cuffs must be sent out in advance of the start date.
Wellness Newsletter Issue 36/ January/February 2020
Page 6