“Actually, I want to eat a chocolate praline tart from the bakery next door.” Do you often hear these types of phrases from your friends, colleagues, (let’s not look further), yourself? If you play the game, you’ll answer yes, because these kinds of sudden urges aren’t the only thing that worries pregnant women. Dietitian and nutritionist Véronique Beck-Yvers, author of the book Healthy eating on a budgetListed the various causes of these very specific and very general desires.
emotions
Our sudden cravings sometimes reflect mood swings. Véronique Beck-Yvers explains that emotion, whether positive or negative, can disrupt our behavior which can be calmed by eating foods we enjoy, usually fatty, sweet or salty. After good news, for example, you want to “reward” yourself with the famous chocolate tart sold at your favorite bakery, because the hormone of happiness is stimulated. In case of stress, with nothing left to lose, you buy yourself a burger dripping with cheddar to find some sort of refuge.
Be careful, these feelings “disconnect” us from the actual feeling of hunger and satiety, which nutritionists also call “physical hunger.” To find out if your hunger is actually hiding a temporary “emotional desire,” the author suggests “breathing with full awareness.” This principle involves “reconnecting with the body’s senses” to identify the root of your hunger and “listen” to your gut better.
Hypoglycemia
“Sugar attracts sugar,” says the dietician before continuing: “This creates an addiction to the sweet taste, which follows us all day.” This often happens when we eat a very sweet breakfast with a spread or cereal, for example. A spike in blood glucose that occurred a few hours earlier will make us more likely to have a sudden craving (a sweet snack). or hyperglycemia followed by hypoglycemia leading to withdrawal.
To avoid this scenario, nutritionists suggest choosing a protein and tasty breakfast: hard-boiled eggs with bread and cheese or fruit. Or a healthy snack, for example oilseeds.
Imbalance of the nervous system
The balance of the nervous system can also influence these famous spontaneous urges. Disruption in the production of neurotransmitters causes mood swings, for example, “the body feels deprived” which it may try to compensate with food. And mostly through sugar cravings, the nutritionist explains. As a reminder, the dopamine produced around 8 am is converted to adrenaline after noradrenaline. Serotonin synthesized around 5 pm is converted to melatonin (sleep hormone) around 8-10 pm.
For example, if we lack salt, we crave chips, or if we lack magnesium, we crave chocolate.
Obviously, at this time, you should try to “structure your meals better” in order to get all the nutrients necessary for the proper functioning of the body, with the right food portions.
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