How You Get Those Cravings
Innocently sitting at your desk working, you’re suddenly overcome by a huge craving for croquettes or Haribo in every color of the rainbow. Hungry? Not at all—you’re dealing with a genuine craving. FavorFlav’s Renée explains.
There is a fundamental difference between hunger and appetite. Put simply, you eat when you’re hungry to survive—you’re providing your body with new fuel—while rapidly devouring that entire bar of Tony’s or huge bowl of chicken soup when you’re sick, weak and nauseous has everything to do with instant satisfaction. Has your body finished digesting food? Then the hunger hormone ghrelin sends a signal to your brain that you need to eat something. Your brain, in turn, releases a chemical that actually triggers hunger et voilà: you make something to eat for yourself.
Uncontrollable cravings
It’s different when, like a bolt from the blue, you’re overcome by an uncontrollable desire for chocolate bars, croquettes with mayonnaise or the most chemical-tasting sweets in every shape and size. Then you’re dealing with a genuine craving. In other words: a cry for attention from the brain’s reward center.
That is also why, when experiencing serious cravings, you often target food with a high fat or sugar content. This releases chemicals in the brain that give us a satisfied and euphoric feeling. It’s also useful when you’re sick and crave nothing but Mom’s chicken soup; the ultimate medicine. This mechanism is activated by every imaginable craving, incidentally: from alcohol and drugs to designer heels —and Haribo, of course.
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