Are we prone to craving certain things?

[AFriendlyFace]

I'm actually talking about food here. I bought a bunch of fresh fruit the other day when I went to the supermarket. Like a really big variety of only fruit I like. However, I ate all the oranges first. Like whenever I'm thinking "fruit would be nice", I almost always crazy oranges. I love mangos, plums, apples, bananas, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, and the list just goes on and on. But I seldom crave them.

 

I just can't figure out why, because I really don't think I like oranges better. I also don't think it's like a level of difficulty thing. Like pomegranates are good, but they're just a pain to try to eat. A lot of other fruits are actually much easier and more convenient than the orange. Yet the orange is the fruit I want.

 

I also don't think it's a matter of habit or routine because as much as I regret it it's actually much more rare that I have fresh fruit on hand than that I don't, and when I do (like now) I never really buy more oranges than other types of fruits.

 

So if it's not taste or practicality or habit...what is it?

 

Anyone else experience something similar?

 

-Kevin

 

P.S. I realize the irony that I'm comparing apples and oranges, and please also refrain from the obvious remarks about "fruits" that one might think of in this forum.

Edited March 19, 2008 by AFriendlyFace

[Tracy]

Hi, Kevin.

 

I almost always have a craving for chocolate cake and anything else that's chocolatey.

 

I'm not entirely sure what these "cravings" are, though. One could say that these things are all in our head, but that issue is still completely debatable. Some believe that we crave food we physically need. Hormonal changes are also connected to cravings, most commonly found in pregnant women. But since you're not pregnant, then that leaves the former.

 

Just a theory though, I'm not a nutritionist or whatever

[AFriendlyFace]

Hi, Kevin.

 

I almost always have a craving for chocolate cake and anything else that's chocolatey.

I have that one too!!

 

I'm not entirely sure what these "cravings" are, though. One could say that these things are all in our head, but that issue is still completely debatable. Some believe that we crave food we physically need. Hormonal changes are also connected to cravings, most commonly found in pregnant women. But since you're not pregnant, then that leaves the former.

 

Just a theory though, I'm not a nutritionist or whatever

LOL, well I certainly am not pregnant...I may very well be hormonal though! :wacko:

[BeaStKid]

Okay...my cravings depend on the mood.. Most of the times I crave for chocolate cake(don't we all? ), the devil's variety... chocolate truffle...

 

Other times I crave for the usual chocolate. I have a craving for cherries (the fruit!! ) and I simply crave for Pizzas sometimes. I crave for my mom's potato cutlets, when it has been a long time since she made them and I also sometimes crave for the tandoori stuff.

 

So yeah, I am prone to craving for a lot of things. Punjabis are known to like their food, and I am a good example of that..

 

BeaStKid

Who's getting hungry after writing alla this....

[Benji]

..........Well Kevin this might sound strange...but once in awhile I crave milk, maybe twice a year I'll get the urge for a bowl of cereal like Frosty Flakes. I get "kinda" a rush out of it. Otherwise I avoid milk ( afterall milk is for calves)

[scoopny]

Often I crave candy, especially jelly beans and the like.

[Umbathri]

Cravings are fun. I want my steak period

[Tiger]

I sometimes crave icecream and/or chocolate. Also, I have been known to crave a burger or some pizza.

[Square]

Deleted

Edited November 21, 2011 by Square

[GaryK]

I'm a big believer that we crave things that we are missing in our diet.

Bingo! That's exactly what I was going to say. Once you learn to appreciate your body it will often let you know what it needs.

 

That not only includes oranges, but also steak, ice cream, milk, chocolate, steaks, et cetera.

Edited March 20, 2008 by GaryInMiami

[Tiger]

Bingo! That's exactly what I was going to say. Once you learn to appreciate your body it will often let you know what it needs.

 

That not only includes oranges, but also steak, ice cream, milk, chocolate, steaks, et cetera.

I hope that is the case with chocolate and ice cream.

[corvus]

Bingo! That's exactly what I was going to say. Once you learn to appreciate your body it will often let you know what it needs.

 

That not only includes oranges, but also steak, ice cream, milk, chocolate, steaks, et cetera.

 

Apparently, my body just needs chocolate mousse and instant noodles. I wonder if this level of neediness is affected by dietary habit, as opposed to metabolic need. Of course, once you've made a habit of what you eat, your body might adapt towards making it what you need. It's almost like an addiction. Yes, addicted to food. Lovely.

 

I'd probably not have said the above if I ever craved healthy food. Sadly that's never happened.

[GaryK]

Apparently, my body just needs chocolate mousse and instant noodles. I wonder if this level of neediness is affected by dietary habit, as opposed to metabolic need. Of course, once you've made a habit of what you eat, your body might adapt towards making it what you need. It's almost like an addiction. Yes, addicted to food. Lovely.

 

I'd probably not have said the above if I ever craved healthy food. Sadly that's never happened.

Yes, of course it's affected by dietary habit. That's why I emphasized you need to appreciate your body in order to know what it needs as opposed to what you want.

Edited March 20, 2008 by GaryInMiami

[Krista]

I have a strong craving for Orange juice. If I don't have any for awhile, I can down a whole gallon in a span of four days.. lol. It's a healthy juice to drink, but I do crave that more than anything. I also have a craving for cucumbers as well. I did learn that people crave sweet and salty foods, the whole reason we add enough salt to things to taste the change is because our body is making us crave it. So we are definitely prone to having strong cravings.

 

We don't crave sour and bitter tasting foods because our bodies apply those to potentially dangerous substances.

[S.L. Lewis]

..........Well Kevin this might sound strange...but once in awhile I crave milk, maybe twice a year I'll get the urge for a bowl of cereal like Frosty Flakes. I get "kinda" a rush out of it. Otherwise I avoid milk ( afterall milk is for calves)

 

 

You're not the only one who craves milk. Though, for me, it's at the oddest times. I usually get one in the middle of the night. I'll wake up, grab a big cup of milk, grab a book and drink the milk. Wait half an hour, go back to bed.

Though, on occasion I'll have the oddest craving for strawberry cake or lemon cake with homemade peanut butter frosting. And I'm not fond of either cake flavor.

[JamesSavik]

There are different sorts of cravings but the most basic kind tells our mind what our bodies really need to eat.

 

Granted, you don't need carrot cake, but there is a pleasure payoff when you satisfy a craving which is positive reinforcement for getting what your body needs.

 

Other sorts of cravings, like for carrot cake and choclate, may be based in a need and a want- the need: low blood sugar and want: choclate.

 

Odd cravings during pregnancy are definitly hormonal and be careful with them. Giving into odd cravings during pregnancy can make you real sick (as if preganacy wasn't quite enough to handle).

[Tiger]

I've actually been craving some Chinese food, but the Chinese restaurant was closed. I ended up having Mexican food instead. I still want some shrimp fried rice and crab rangoons.

[Procyon]

Odd cravings during pregnancy are definitly hormonal and be careful with them. Giving into odd cravings during pregnancy can make you real sick (as if preganacy wasn't quite enough to handle).

 

Odd cravings during pregnancy can be based on dietary needs as well, though the body can get confused sometimes -- for example, if you need calcium, you may crave chalk, which isn't a great thing to eat. (This happened to a friend of mine.) Lucky for me I only craved chicken and doughnuts (no, not at the same time )

 

It was interesting, too, how so many foods and smells made me sick during pregnancy. Like, close-to-vomiting sick. Almost everything, in fact, apart from chicken and doughnuts. That might be some kind of mechanism designed to protect pregnant women from unknown foods... I think?

[Tiger]

Odd cravings during pregnancy can be based on dietary needs as well, though the body can get confused sometimes -- for example, if you need calcium, you may crave chalk, which isn't a great thing to eat. (This happened to a friend of mine.) Lucky for me I only craved chicken and doughnuts (no, not at the same time )

 

It was interesting, too, how so many foods and smells made me sick during pregnancy. Like, close-to-vomiting sick. Almost everything, in fact, apart from chicken and doughnuts. That might be some kind of mechanism designed to protect pregnant women from unknown foods... I think?

I like chicken and doughnuts too. I'm not sure why some food makes pregnant women sick. That is something good to research though.

[GaryK]

Odd cravings during pregnancy can be based on dietary needs as well, though the body can get confused sometimes -- for example, if you need calcium, you may crave chalk, which isn't a great thing to eat. (This happened to a friend of mine.) Lucky for me I only craved chicken and doughnuts (no, not at the same time )

 

It was interesting, too, how so many foods and smells made me sick during pregnancy. Like, close-to-vomiting sick. Almost everything, in fact, apart from chicken and doughnuts. That might be some kind of mechanism designed to protect pregnant women from unknown foods... I think?

All my sister wanted during both pregnancies were salt & vinegar potato chips. I'm not sure she ate anything else for each nine month gestation period.

 

Tim, are you trying to let us know you're pregnant?

[Procyon]

Right now I'm craving coffee and it's *late*!! And my banana cake isn't done yet... I might end up staying up all night!

 

All my sister wanted during both pregnancies were salt & vinegar potato chips. I'm not sure she ate anything else for each nine month gestation period.

 

Tim, are you trying to let us know you're pregnant?

 

I love that knife-and-fork smiley... looks quite European, too, makes me feel at home. And yes, if one loves chicken and doughnuts one just has to be pregnant, there's no other explanation.

[BeaStKid]

I love that knife-and-fork smiley... looks quite European, too, makes me feel at home. And yes, if one loves chicken and doughnuts one just has to be pregnant, there's no other explanation.

It's actually a twig...

[GaryK]

It's actually a twig...

What's a twig?

[BeaStKid]

What's a twig?

The thing that poking smiley has in its hand...

[GaryK]

The thing that poking smiley has in its hand...

I'm insulted and I'm craving doing this to you: .

 

I dare you to call that a twig!