Tips On Dealing With Cravings

"Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor."– Truman Capote

Did the previous information about food craving get your attention? Do you believe it’s possible to like a food without craving it or craving a food without liking it? Think about that question for a moment. According to Dr. Pelichant per functional MRI scans, he reported that sensory memory food cravings activate the same parts of the brain that drug and alcohol cravings do. This includes the hippo campus which helps store memory and the insula which is involved in perception and emotion as well as the caudate which is important for learning and memory .The circuit is driven by dopamine which is the neurotransmitter responsible for reward -driven learning.

This means that cravings can be fine on occasion but indulging too often send cravings spiraling out of control. So when people continually bombard their reward circuits with drugs, alcohol or high-fat, high sugar foods, many of the dopamine receptors in the system shut down to prevent overload. And with fewer dopamine receptors at work, the system craves more and more insatiably. Even if you over stuff yourself you still don’t get the reward.

Okay, the following are food craving tips to consider as they  might provide assistance to deal better with cravings: 1. Cognitive behavior therapy with  focus on cognitive diffusion(accepting and observing your thoughts without acting on them)  .2.Exercise ( in one study women who walked briskly for 45 minutes had far less brain responses to food  images) . 3. Chewing gum and smelling a nonfood item (taking a deep whiff of jasmine helps occupy the same aroma receptors that are a key part of food cravings). 4. Setting a timer for 30 minutes whenever experiencing a craving( keep busy with something else until the timer goes off and hopefully the craving may have passed since a delay can help in weakening the habitual response).

No one is suggesting that it is easy to deal with food cravings especially since food activates reward circuits in our brain. Further it is unlikely that food cravings are the body’s subconscious effort to correct nutritional deficiencies. This means that you’re on your own and that only you can deal with your food cravings. Hopefully, the cravings you have are the good ones and can benefit your health and well-being.

Secretariat returns this week .I wonder if he had enough ice cream and pie while on vacation? Did he satisfy his craving or like for sugar and fat? He will likely say that his cravings are "good ones."

 In any event, good luck and remember to keep moving.