Craving Chocolate, Cheese or Nuts? What does it mean?

Like many of us for the most part I eat very well, exercise daily and supplement with high quality products. My ND and I monitor my hormonal balances and in general I’m really healthy given all of my challenges, so why do I suddenly crave things like cheese, chocolate and/or nuts? When I say crave I’m not talking a mild hankering, I’m talking full-blown MUST HAVE or someone’s going to die and I mean right now! If this happens to you too you’re probably wondering what this means? Why does this happen? How do I stop it from happening before my jeans get any tighter?

Cravings for specific foods is usually our body’s way of telling us we are deficient in one or more micro or macro nutrients. Here’s where most of us will say “but I take a multi-vitamin” and that’s great but sometimes we need more as each body is different just as each day is on our individual bodies. Our needs can be constantly changing and that’s usually due to what kind of stress we’re under, how we’re eating, sleeping, what we demand of ourselves, it’s all intertwined.

Have you noticed that when these cravings start your muscles might feel tighter, almost cramping up or maybe you’re even suffering from those super fun calf killing charlie horses during the night? Maybe you’re experiencing heart palpitations, muscle twitches, constipation or you’re tired, anxious and irritable? How’s the headaches, blood sugar levels and brain fog lately? Any neuropathic pain? These are all usually great indications that we need more magnesium in our diet and guess what? Chocolate, cheese and nuts have that and all three are good for you in moderation providing the chocolate is at least 72% dark cocoa, the nuts are unsalted or using sea salt (raw is best), and I always suggest grass-fed cheese where possible. There are other foods as well that are high in magnesium, but these are my favorites!

So what causes us to become deficient in the first place? A few things actually. If you are in a rigorous job or you’re the athletic type where you chew up a lot of energy and/or sweat a lot then you most likely need to add a couple of extra magnesium tablets or more. Other reasons to consider supplementing might be due to drinking too much alcohol and/or caffeine, using nicotine products, eating too much processed foods, perhaps there’s kidney problems or certain medications that prevent absorption, long lasting digestive problems like IBS or even Celiac disease also impair the uptake of magnesium.  Short term deficiency usually isn’t a problem but chronically low levels can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis and I’ll repeat that shortly in case this sounds like someone you know.

Are you wondering why I chose to put up a picture of marijuana in the middle of a post about magnesium deficiencies while saying WHAT?!? out loud? Yup, crazy I know but did you know that smoking pot can also decrease the way your uptaking your nutrients? Research is showing that it actually depletes our magnesium levels, something that most people who enjoy smoking a joint are not aware of. Am I saying stop smoking pot? Nope, I’m saying increase your supplementation program, mainly magnesium and you won’t feel so jittery coming down.

So what’s the big deal about magnesium anyways, why is so important? It’s a macronutrient that assists in hundreds of processes that go on in our bodies from cellular replication to liver metabolism. It’s also very important for your bones where a deficiency can lead to osteoporosis and even bone fractures and your teeth will appreciate the help in building hard enamel which means less cavities for you! If you’re one that really feels heat/cold then that right there could be another indicator that you are deficient and need more magnesium. It also helps with heart burn and constipation, mood management and brain function, even depression. Speaking of your heart, magnesium also helps prevent coronary heart disease as those with lower magnesium levels had approximately a 50% increase in sudden death from cardiac events. If diabetes runs in your family then adding magnesium is definitely something to consider.

If any of this sounds like you, chances are you’ll want to change a few habits so that you can intake and absorb more magnesium. I’m not going to go into the nagfest of telling you to “knock that off and start doing this instead” but I will say this: If you’re tired of feeling sick and tired, maybe your body is asking you for more magnesium too. What brand should you use and how much should you take? Choose a brand you know, like and trust, but if you don’t have one yet this is the one I use that works beautifully for me . If you’re just starting a magnesium supplement, start with the dosage of what it says on the label but if after one week you didn’t see results then increase the amount you take slowly until you either get results or reach bowel intolerance. If neither of those things happen then you need a better quality brand of magnesium and/or to reduce some of the habits that are depleteing you to begin with. I myself need at least 400 – 800mg a day to avoid many of the symptoms I’ve listed as yes I do suffer from a lot of the symptoms I’ve listed if I make the mistake of forgetting to take mine as much as I should be. Are you getting enough of yours yet?