What’s your biggest food craving?

Cheese on toast or a spicy tikka masala – we all have cravings for particular foods. But while these are often to do with our mood at that moment, a long-term craving could be a person’s body telling them something is not quite right.

British newspaper The Mail recently reported how a 59-year-old woman’s breast cancer was detected after she developed an unusual appetite for salad. The woman was allegedly eating four lettuces a day, promoting her research scientist husband to investigate.

He discovered lettuce contains a natural chemical called sulforaphane, which can attack cancer cells and which breast cancer sufferers often lack. So, what could your craving be trying to tell you? Read on to find out.

Craving: Marmite

If you are craving marmite you may have heart arrhythmia or atrial fibrillation, which is a condition which involves an irregular heartbeat.

Marmite, which is rich in B-vitamins, can maintain nerves, the skin and brain. There are eight different types of B-vitamins and a deficiency of any one of them can result in a range of conditions, including heart palpitations, arrhythmia or fibrillation, chronic fatigue, irritability or poor concentration.

So, researchers say if you are craving Marmite, it could be your body’s way of trying to make up for a deficiency.

Craving: Chips and salty foods

If you crave salty foods or chips, you may be suffering from thyroid or adrenal gland problems.

Shona Wilkinson, head nutritionist at The Nutri Centre in London, says severe stress affects the adrenal glands.

“If someone is very stressed, they stop producing the correct amounts of hormones such as adrenalin, cortisol and aldosterone. This can disrupt the salt balance in the body and this may explain why some people have cravings for salt,” she says.

Craving salty foods may also mean you could have an iodine deficiency, which is also linked to thyroid problems.

An underactive thyroid can cause lethargy, constipation, weight gain and depression, while an overactive thyroid can cause weight loss, anxiety and irregular menstrual cycles.

Craving: Ice

A craving for ice-cubes may be linked to anaemia, which is a condition where the body lacks red blood cells because it does not have enough iron to produce the cells.

According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic in America, people crave ice as a way of numbing the tongue’s pain and inflammation that can be caused by anaemia.

Craving: Fizzy drinks

You may have a calcium deficiency if you find yourself craving fizzy drinks.

Many researchers say fizzy drinks “leach” calcium from the bones, so if the body needs calcium quickly, a fizzy drink is a “quick fix” to release it into the body.

However, researchers say this can be detrimental for bone health, and it is better to get your daily calcium in-take from dark, green leafy vegetables or low-fat dairy products.

Craving: Curry

A good curry is not only spicy and tickles our taste buds, but it also puts zinc into our systems. So, if you crave curry, researchers say it may have a possible link to zinc deficiency or even to more sinister conditions like Parkinson’s disease.

Zinc is important for your skin; it promotes healing and has also been linked to our sense of taste. In a recent study, zinc was given to rats deficient in the mineral and the findings revealed an increase in the number of taste buds on the tongue.

But low zinc has also been linked to conditions like Parkinson’s. According to scientists at the National Institute of Health and Science on Ageing in Italy, this is due to oxidative stress linked to Parkinson’s disease, which involves damage to the body’s cells from toxins found in everyday life.

Zinc is thought to protect against this damage, and so a lack of it may hamper the cells’ ability to deal with these poisons. Smoking has also been shown to deplete zinc, which may be the reason why some smokers crave intensely flavoured foods such as curries.

Craving: Bread and pasta

Studies reveal people who cut back on carbohydrates are susceptible to mood swings, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston claim.

So, if you crave bread and pasta, it could be that you are feeling depressed. High-protein diets can lower levels of the ‘feel-good’ hormone serotonin, but carbs raise them, helping you feel happy and prepared to combat your low moods.

Craving: Soil

It is perhaps the most unusual craving, but it seems if you have a desire for some of Mother Nature’s soil it may mean you have Coeliac disease or suffering from low minerals while pregnant.

A craving for soil or clay is part of a syndrome called pica. If a pregnant woman has pica, it suggests she may need more of the minerals found in her particular craving. Iron tends to be the most craved mineral during pregnancy; and iron, copper, magnesium and zinc are all found in soil.

Other research, published in the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition has linked pica to undiagnosed coeliac disease (a malfunctioning gut) and has also been linked to poor diet and heavy menstrual cycles.

Craving: Chocolate

For many people, this craving is probably the best. If you crave chocolate, you may be depressed, stressed or suffering from premenstrual tension. So, why do we crave the sweet stuff when we are working on a deadline or feeling down in the dumps?

Researchers say compounds found in chocolate called alkaloids may help to raise the levels of serotonin, which is known as the mood-boosting hormone.

Chocolate is also a source of magnesium and B-vitamins, which are used by the body in energy production, meaning it can help give us energy when we are under pressure.

A small Swiss study, published in the Journal of Proteome Research, found eating 40 grams of dark chocolate every day for two weeks reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol in people who had been battling certain pressure in their lives.

Craving chocolate may also be a sign of premenstrual tension, as during this time some women may find themselves lacking magnesium which is found in chocolate, and is vital for your nerves, bones and immune system.

What do you crave the most? Share some of the foods you can’t get enough of in the comment box below.