+373 It would be extremely convenient to be only hungry for the foods you need; for example, if you were low in vitamin C, you'd want an orange or something, or if you needed calcium, you'd want to drink milk. It would decrease obesity and everyone would have a healthy diet without even trying. Amirite?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I've thought so much about this before. Like what if cravings were just signs you needed the nutrients from those foods. It would make a lot of sense with pregnant women.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I've heard that even though you crave chocolate during your period you shouldn't eat it because it makes cramps worse, and so does alcohol just in case anyone is on their period and has cramps and wants to get drunk right now. But anyway, the reason girls crave chocolate is because "higher levels of hormones that are triggered as insulin increases. This causes low blood sugar. When blood sugar is low, the brain sends signals to the body that it needs more fuel, which is often a misguided message to eat chocolate and other types of sweets. Instead of chocolate, increasing the intake of complex carbohydrates such as whole grains will help counter fluctuating blood sugar levels, which in turn helps lessen cramps." Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/artic...#ixzz20k6M4SYM

by Anonymous 12 years ago

@colebowl Really? I've heard that dark chocolate can actually help with cramps. Maybe it's milk that makes them worse.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

@Anonymous I meant milk chocolate... not drinking milk ever isn't good for you at all. And milk doesn't have any negative effects unless you're lactose intolerant.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Ah, that makes sense. Yeah, milk probably isn't a good idea for you then.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Yeah really, but eating dark chocolate would be better than eating milk chocolate. If you want to get rid of cramps, eat some bananas, the potassium will help.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

@colebowl Yeah, that's what I thought. And I usually do that, helps a ton.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

too bad it's pretty much the exact opposite. curses :(

by Anonymous 12 years ago

The reason it's not like that is because vitamins and minerals are easy to find in nature (just eat enough non-poisonous leaves and you pretty much have your bases covered) but rich sources of energy (meat, fruit, etc) are harder to come by. The modern industry has taken this one step further and packed ingredients like fat and sugar into food products so that they're much more calorie dense and easy to acquire than anything in nature. Unfortunately our genes are not yet aware that there is a McDonalds every quarter mile, hence the obesity epidemic Some exceptions to this include salt, which is a mineral, but rare enough in nature that humans crave it, and calcium, which the taste buds can actually specifically detect.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

thinking like this is proof of why obesity rates are so high

by Anonymous 12 years ago

What?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

its lazy

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I wished this was true; I'm always craving bread. Just plain bread. I don't even know anymore....

by Anonymous 12 years ago

In sixth grade my science teacher told me that this happens on some level. It isn't all the time, just when you really need it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago