Do Nutrient Deficiencies Cause Cravings?

Are cravings caused by nutritional deficiencies or are cravings all in your head? Many people people believe that a craving, or the intense urge to eat a particular food, is the body’s subconscious way of making up for nutritional deficiencies. For example, you might crave salty potato chips when your body is low on sodium, or red meat if you’re iron-deficient. However, this may not be the case. Some research indicates that cravings may be informed in part by gender. Women are twice as likely to experience food cravings as men. If people only craved foods that contained nutrients their bodies’ were missing, then pregnant women, for example, would crave nutrient-rich foods. However, most pregnant women report craving high-fat, high calorie foods that don’t add much nutritional value. Evidence shows that many other factors may be to blame for specific food cravings, rather than just nutritional deficiencies.