My mouth craves food but I'm not hungry!

The screen fills with little pink bubbles chanting "Snickers," then pans out for the audience to discover the pink bubbles are actually the taste buds of a tongue.  The commercial is for Snicker's Ice Cream and ends with some statement about satisfying what your mouth wants.  Well, I don't know about everyone, but I know that I struggle with cravings all the time - even if it isn't what your body really needs. 

The body has different kinds of cravings in order to satisfy different functions in your body.  Generally if you crave salad, it's because you need those vegetables. If a steak sounds like the ticket, you probably need protein. Bananas taste particularly delightful? you're probably needing some potassium. Food was meant to be the fuel for our bodies so we can have drive and energy.  Different foods provide different building blocks for the human body to function.  Cravings were meant to be a good thing - to be able to recognize what was needed in order to grow.

Unfortunately, cravings can also be fueled by sugar.  Most foods have sugar in them and depending on the type of sugar, the body will break down the food in the body differently.  Sugar can be addicting and the more bad sugars introduced into the body, the worse the cravings get.  That's what I call mouth cravings, because even though I can feel full, my mouth will still want to eat in order to get the taste.

Carbohydrates, or carbs, affect the body in the same way because of the amount of sugar in bread.
That's why so many diets that cut out carbs like breads and pastas were so popular before more science was done. It was discovered by many who tried this diet that once carbs were reintroduced into the body those uncontrollable cravings came back, or the body didn't know how to handle the yeast in the bread. Many gained more weight after starting and stopping the diet because of binge eating. Cutting carbs out completely is bad as the body still needs these building blocks.  When the body is denied something it needs or wants the drive to get that denied object will grow until it prevails.

Somewhere along the lines the difference between real hunger cravings and mouth cravings became blurred.  It could have something to do with learned behavior, as once you practice a new behavior it's added your repertoire. (1)  So it makes sense that while growing up we learn to treat ourselves with dessert and then turn to it for comfort. Or growing up on fast food, it becomes a normal meal instead of a treat. With mixed messages about food how can we really know if we crave something for substantial purposes or for mere gratification.  Dieting doesn't work because self denial can only last so long and that will power would be better utilized in trying to stay on track to a healthy life style rather than denying yourself all together.

In an effort to keep on track to a healthy life style, I have attempted to be able to tell the difference in what kind of craving I have.  Much of it has to do with the location of the craving. Sure, I can tell if my stomach is full or not when I'm standing in front of the freezer, staring at the ice cream.  But generally that mouth craving for sweets is really just my taste buds. A glass of milk can satisfy a fake hunger.  So in the search of trying to figure out your own cravings make sure to listen to your body.  Think about different foods and what would be healthy and satisfying as opposed to the quick fix.  The point is to take care of yourself and don't fall for every craving your taste buds want. You can have your snickers ice cream, but you have to have nutritious food, and exercise too.





1) "Once you practice a new behavior it's added to your repertoire." quote p. 210.  Elayne Savage, PH.D. Don't Take it Personally! The Art of Dealing With Rejection. New Harbinger Publications, 1997.  An Authors guild backinprint.com edition, 2002.