Why We Crave Unhealthy Foods

Many find themselves at the mercy of their unhealthy cravings, despite their desire to eat healthy. Understanding why this is, is key to overcoming it.

So why is this?

It’s because modern junk foods satisfy our natural cravings for high Calorie fatty foods; sugar is highly addictive; and these foods are emotionally comforting.

High Calorie and Fatty Food Cravings:

High Calorie foods give us more energy and high Calories foods are typically high in fat due to the higher density of fat (1g of fat equals 9 Calories, where as 1g of protein or carbs equals only 4 calories). Therefore our stomachs can fit more fat than carbs or protein. Thus we can consume more Calories at once. This was useful for the survival of our hunter gather ancestors who had to eat as much as they could when food was available.

Despite being high in Calories and fat, modern junk foods (like fast food burgers, fries, and potato chips) are vastly different than the fatty foods our ancestors ate. These junk foods lack essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients; and they contain toxic vegetable oils which can lead to atherosclerosis (clogged arteries), heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. (1, 2) (more on vegetable oils in this article)

Remember fast food and processed food companies don’t care about your health! They care about making money. And cheap low quality ingredients like vegetable oils, monocropped grains, pesticide covered crops, and factory farm meats decrease expenses and increase profit. All at the expense of your health!

The foods we are meant to eat to satisfy these cravings provide us with healthy fats, bioavailable complete proteins, and lots of vitamins and minerals. Foods like grass fed red meats, organs, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, and avocados. These foods truly nourish our bodies and health. And they are the foods our ancestors have been eating for tens of thousands of years.

Since these foods completely satisfy our craving by providing nutrients, we feel satiated from eating them and rarely overeat them. On the contrary, modern junk food doesn’t satisfy our nutritional needs which leads to over eating in attempt to acquire those nutrients.

Junk food tricks our bodies into thinking we found the jack pot of all food, when in reality it’s just a cheap and harmful imitation. 

Sweet Cravings:

Sweet cravings are primarily due to the addictive nature of sugar. “Research shows that sugar can be even more addicting than cocaine.”(3) When we eat sugar it stimulates the pleasure center in our brain (the nucleus accumbens) and releases neurotransmitters such as dopamine and that feels really good. Then part of your brain called the hippocampus creates a memory of how good that felt which leads you to have sugar cravings in the future. This is your brains reward system, your brain rewards you for eating sugar. (4)

Like drugs, the more sugar you eat, the higher your tolerance becomes, and more sugar is required to get the same feeling of pleasure. When the brain is constantly flooded with dopamine (like when you eat a lot of sugar), the brain pulls receptors inside of the cell to prevent dopamine overload. So the more sugar you eat, the more sugar you crave. This is a disordered craving, an addiction.

A small amount of sugar, like in fruit, milk, and vegetables, is perfectly fine. These sources are nutrient rich and have a low glycemic index. However the insane amount of purified white sugar in the standard American diet is leading to serious sugar addiction and debilitating health problems.

Sugar is “… added to about 80 percent of food products sold in the U.S” (5) and “…the average American consumes 17 teaspoons (71.14 grams) every day. That translates into about 57 pounds of added sugar consumed each year, per person.” (6)

The increase in sugar consumption has lead to a spike in obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cavities, and even depression. (1, 2, 7, 8, 9)

Emotional Food Cravings:

When stressed out, sad, or emotional, we often crave sweets to comfort us and improve our mood. Remember sugar increases dopamine production which makes you happy.

We also associate sugary sweets like cake and candy with celebration and happiness. Parties and Holidays are often times we indulge in sweets. This leads to an association with sugar and happiness. Thus when we want to feel happy we turn to sugar. 

Chronic stress can also lead to unhealthy food cravings. Historically, stress is a reaction to danger. It initially puts you in a state of fight or flight. And with chronic stress puts your body in a survival mindset focused on getting Calories/energy. Junk foods are calorically dense and sweets provide quick energy from glucose. Both of these are conducive to survival leading your body to mistakenly crave these unhealthy foods.

Concluding Thoughts:

Overall, our bodies never expected the insane increase in manufactured food processing and food accessibility. Modern junk foods satisfy natural cravings for high fat Calorie dense foods. And sugar filled foods manipulate our cravings due to sugar’s highly addictive nature. Additionally, our emotions can lead us to crave sugar for a mood boost.

As we increasingly eat these processed junk foods and sugary sweets our cravings become more and more out of balance, which often leads to further unhealthy food choices.

However, on a positive note, when your body is cleansed of these foods and you regularly eat healthy, you will find that your cravings can be very helpful. Your body will naturally crave foods that are healthy for you and foods that will satisfy nutrient deficiencies you have. It’s by no means a life long uphill battle to fight these cravings, on the contrary it’s something that gets easier with time and eventually you hardly even have to think about it.

Works Cited

1. Shanahan, Catherine. Deep Nutrition. New York: Flat Iron Books. 2016. Print.

2. Shanahan, Catherine. The Fatburn Fix. New York: Flat Iron Books, March 2020. Print.

3. Pletcher, Peggy. “Experts Agree: Sugar Might Be as Addictive as Cocaine.” Healthline. 10 October 2016. https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/experts-is-sugar-addictive-drug#1

4. “Why We Crave Sugar.” YouTube, uploaded by Untamed Science, 3 November 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64PxduSvSYU.

5. McMahon, Alex. “Why We Crave Sugar.” Academy. 12 February 2016. https://www.onnit.com/academy/why-we-crave-sugar/

6. “How Much Is Too Much? The growing concern over too much added sugar in our diets.” Sugar Science. Accessed 23 May, 2019. http://sugarscience.ucsf.edu/the-growing-concern-of-overconsumption.html#.XOdKRlNKj-Y

7. “Pathophysiology – Type II diabetes.” Khan Academy. Accessed 23 May 2019. https://www.khanacademy.org/science/health-and-medicine/endocrine-system-diseases/diabetes/v/pathophysiology-type-ii-diabetes 

8. Legg, Timothy J. “The Connection Between Sugar and Depression.” Healthline. 9 May 2018. https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/sugar-and-depression

9. Price, Weston. “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.” California: Price-Pottenger Nutritional Foundation. 2014. Print.