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The food cravings: when and when resist succumbing

(free translation, be indulgent!)

What are food cravings?
Why do we eat chocolate, immediately and nothing else will do? Or french fries, hamburger, peanut butter? Is All these urgings in our head? Is it that these are signs that our body needs certain nutrients? When should we give? When should we resist? Please help.

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The food cravings were certainly present in the stone age and developed as a means of survival, guiding our ancestors to the flavors and foods that deliver the nutrients vital but scarce in their diet like sugar, salt and fat. However, in our modern diet, these nutrients are abundant. So today, even if the desires Food occasional run to the body of nutrients it needs, most of them do not have this goal. Our primitive instincts are overwhelmed and can not be trusted.

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Instead of trying to resist or succumb to those cravings, be sure to satisfy a controlled manner. This is to acclimate your taste buds. For example, sugar is one of the most common foods in the world. But as the sugar is present all around us, many of us have developed a greater tolerance for sugar, while like a big drinker who does not feel the effects of alcohol with a bumper that can stun the common man. So you must learn to be satisfied with smaller doses of sugar to satisfy your sweet tooth. Instead of eating chocolate chip cookies, try the biscuits in the shape of animals (containing less sugar but is still sweet) that will satisfy your craving --- perhaps as fresh berries will be the case. Give a week or two to acclimate your taste buds change. The less you eat sugar, you will become more sensitive to sugar, like people who eat very spicy foods do not feel the burn of spices, while others do not even support a dash of hot sauce. Although it is difficult to prevent cravings occur, you can definitely decrease.

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Chocolate is a special case . Apart from its sweet taste, rich aroma and mesmerizing, her particular appeal is probably the high levels of magnesium in it, especially before and after menstruation. Studies have shown that magnesium supplements help to decrease pre-menstrual symptoms, including PMS, and chocolate would do the same work. In addition, chocolate contains amino acids that tend to increase levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain, hormones that enhance the mood. When you crave chocolate takes, my advice is: eat one to three squares of dark chocolate, the less heat than milk chocolate, and most importantly, containing more magnesium and fiber. In addition, the type of fat in dark chocolate, stearic acid, although it is saturated and does not increase blood cholesterol. Finally, the taste of dark chocolate is more intense you settle for a smaller dose.

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With a little planning, you and your food cravings can coexist in harmony. And if you happen to abdicate and to succumb completely, from time to time, do not feel guilty. This survival mechanism existed for millennia, and sometimes even the good will and the control does not win.

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Source "Cravings: When to Give In, When to Resist" by David L. Karz, MD The Oprah Magazine, August 2003