Listen to your body signals

By Azernews

By Sara Israfilbayova

On any given day, our body sends hundreds of thousands of messages to various cells, organs, systems, and metabolic processes in order to keep things functioning in a good shape or at least as close to it as possible. 

Every person knows a feeling when really wants something sweet, sour, salty or even unknown. It does not always mean that you want exactly this. The body gives you signals that it lacks certain vitamins or trace elements.

You just need to be able to listen to your body.

If you want to eat chocolate, then the body does not have enough magnesium. You can replace chocolate with raw sunflower seeds and nuts, avocado oil or avocado fruit itself, bananas, yogurts and buckwheat porridge.

If you like fermented-milk products, and especially cottage cheese, most likely you need calcium. For an adult, the minimum daily requirement for calcium is 1.5 g. Most of all, calcium is rich in cheeses and prunes. Calcium is also found in mineral water and absorbed by the human body better than calcium of plant origin.

Usually, body craves bakery products, when there is not enough nitrogen in it. Try in this case to consume more food rich in proteins: different types of meat, fish, legumes, potatoes and various nuts. The lack of nitrogen in the body can lead to a discoloration of the skin, the appearance of edema, a decrease in muscle mass and the development of severe infections.

If you want lemons it means your body lacks vitamin C and potassium salt. It is also possible that your immunity is already weakened, and you become ill with a cold, and this is also the craving for lemon.

If you want everything and any time you have a shortage of silicon, tryptophan and tyrosine. Such a substance as silicon is contained in sunflower seeds and nuts. Alpha-amino acid tryptophan is in liver, cheese, spinach, sweet potato, lime and lamb. Aromatic alpha-amino acid tyrosine is found in green, yellow and red fruits and vegetables that contain a large amount of vitamin C.

How can we curb cravings?

To reduce food cravings, the body needs real support. Eating healthy foods, eating breakfast every day (skipping breakfast can make cravings worse), taking nutritional supplements, moderate exercise and lots of emotional support can almost curb cravings. Your metabolism will heal itself when provided with the necessary nutritional support. If it has been damaged, the process can take some time, but it will happen.

Eat every 3 hours. One of the biggest problems is falling blood sugar levels. If you keep your levels steady, you simply won’t crave the same things.

Drink water. Dehydration confuses the body and often makes it feel hungry. A small glass of water each hour will keep your stomach full and keep you hydrated.

The organism does not know the difference between hunger and thirst. The hypothalamus, the part of the brain that is responsible for regulating hunger and thirst, is often confused, causing hunger in response to thirst. If you feel hungry, drink a glass of water before going to the snack and wait 10-15 minutes. If you still want to eat, then this is a real famine and it's time to have a bite.

Exercise. If you start to exercise and your cravings aren’t physiological, you’ll feel better almost instantly. If they are physical, you’ll never be able to really get into your workout, which is a sign that you need to eat.

Get enough sleep. Your appetite is largely affected by hormones that fluctuate throughout the day. Sleep deprivation disrupts the fluctuations, and may lead to poor appetite regulation and strong cravings. For this reason, getting good sleep may be one of the most powerful ways to prevent cravings from showing up.

Shift your focus. Distracting your brain really does work. When a food craving hits, divert your attention to something visual not related to food, like typing an email.

Being aware of your cravings and their triggers makes them much easier to avoid. It also makes it a lot easier to eat and stay healthy and lose weight.

And how told Ancient Greek Philosopher Socrates - “If a person cares for his health, it is difficult to find a doctor who would know what’s better for him.”