The seven causes of cravings, part 3 whole real foods
Cravings can be a sign that your body is out of balance. When you are struggling with cravings for sugar, carbs, salty, crunchy foods you may want to think about inadequate nutrient dense food.
Inadequate nutrient dense food
First off, this is where food choices matter! The more nutrient density a food provides, lowers its ability to hijack your reward center.
Understanding processed foods
Secondly, so many foods in a standard diet are processed. The key is to understand what type of food provides the most nutrition.
There are three categories of processed foods:
- Minimally or unprocessed
- Processed
- Ultra-processed
Current studies on processed food & cravings
A 2019 study in Cell Metabolism found that ultra-processed diets lead to increased food intake.
A 2020 study in the Journal of Appetite found that cravings and poor diet patterns with a low quality diet.
Tune in to learn more about the differences between unprocessed, processed and ultra-processed foods.
If you’re struggling with cravings…
Are you struggling with cravings? Consider working with a functional nutrition professional to get to the root cause and leave no stone unturned.
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Play-by-Play:
1:00 What are minimally or unprocessed foods
2:00 What are processed and ultra-processed foods
3:00 Learn more about current studies
Listen, Learn, Enjoy…
References & Links:
- Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain
- Food cravings: associations with dietary intake and metabolic health
- Ratios of soluble and insoluble fiber on satiety and energy intake in overweight pre-and postmenopausal women
- Dietary lipids with potential of affect satiety: mechanisms and evidence
- Butyrate reduces appetite and activates brown adipose tissue via the gut-brain neural circuit
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