Food cravings: don't fight it, maybe you just need to eat it!

THE other day, I had a massive craving for ikan bilis. As much as I tried to shake it off, the ikan bilis craving stayed on my mind. All I could think about was ikan bilis sambal! 

I do like ikan bilis, but admittedly it’s one of those foods I have very  infrequently because I’m careful with my salt intake. So for me, ikan bilis would only sometimes be a teaspoon as a condiment in a nasi lemak or just a bit of it stir fried with some spinach. But since I was having such a strong craving for it that day, I realize it’s a feeling I needed to pay attention to. 

Maybe my body was needing the nutrients that ikan bilis contain such as salt, calcium or protein? Maybe it was because I just desiring the taste of a food I like, but rarely allow myself to eat?  Whatever the reason might be, having a strong food craving piques my attention and is something I feel we should not ignore. 

A food craving is described as having a strong desire to eat a specific food. If you have food cravings, you’re definitely not alone. A lot of my clients reveal to me that they crave all kinds of foods such as chocolate, deep fried foods, desserts, noodles, cheese and French fries, just to name a few. 

There’s no one exact reason as to why we have food cravings. Seems like it’s a combination of many factors ranging from excessive dieting, eating too little calories, intentionally depriving yourself from eating a certain food you like, being overly tired, fluctuating hormone levels, an underlying nutrient deficiency and malnutrition. 

I personally notice that I crave salty foods when my blood pressure is low. At times when my stress level is at its all time high due to juggling a heavy workload, then I crave high carbohydrate, comfort foods like a char kueh teow. 

Should we simply ignore the cravings or allow ourselves to indulge in them?

Whatever the reason for the food cravings, many of us grapple about what to do when we get them. For some of my clients, indulging in their food cravings often enough causes them to derail all together from their healthier eating efforts. 

A friend of mine got a rude awakening when he gained a significant amount of weight after overindulging all too often on his food craving for ice cream. Another person I know would always never allow herself to indulge when she had a food craving. 

This went for quite awhile until one day the severity of the craving got the better of her. Her will power crumbled. She succumbed to eating the foods she deprived herself for so long from having, only to have it spiral into binge-eating sessions – where she would eat and then force herself to throw it up.

You don’t have to reach either extremes of it. With what you know about food cravings now, here’s what you can do to eat more mindfully. Try these tips:

Being on strict diet plans of eating only specific types of foods or cutting out food groups can trigger food cravings. See a dietitian who can help you assess if you're missing out on key food groups that can potentially lead you to being deficient in nutrients and to plan out a sustainable way of eating that allows for foods you enjoy in sensible portions.  

If you crave certain foods every now and again, do trust yourself and have it. This is what we call honouring your food craving and it’s part of being mindful of your food choices. 

Whenever you deprive yourself from eating what you want and like, it would end up feeling like a reward. It’s what keeps eyes on the prize and wanting it more than ever. But when you have a little bit of it as part of your diet, it wouldn’t seem so special anymore and your brain won’t think of it as a reward.

Don’t stock up your house or your office pantry with foods you have a weakness for. A client of mine used to buy tubs of ice cream to stock up. He “claimed” it was for his children! (do you catch yourself saying that too?) It was all too easy for him to overindulge on them daily every time he felt the urge. Portioning the ice cream was challenging for him too. So inevitably, he overate. 

Now, he has stopped stocking up his freezer with ice cream. So whenever he gets a craving, he would go out to the ice cream store for a small cone. He not only satisfied his craving, but felt better about himself for not letting the food craving throw him off his goal to eat healthier. 

I did eventually have my ikan bilis sambal that day. I enjoyed it with my brown rice and lots of vegetables for my meal. If I hadn’t had it, I would have ended up seeking that elusive satisfaction by eating more of some other crunchy, salty food that would not have hit the spot. The meal would have not been satisfying enough, which I know would then make me want to have a snack.  

So, the bottom line is next time you have a food craving, just eat it. – The Vibes, April 26, 2021

Indra Balaratnam is a consultant dietitian