Cravings for certain food are always associated with sweets, burgers or other ultrahigh processed food. Something with the right amount of sugar, fat and salt. And a popular question of nutritionists is: „Do you never wonder why you don’t crave vegetables and fruits?“ And then the explanation of why sugar is bad for you starts.
In my experience we are able to crave fruits and vegetables.
Let me tell you. In 2018 I moved to Japan and started eating my balanced diet. I didn’t know all the different food in Japan and I was unable to read the labels. So of course, I had to stick to simple ingredients I knew. I also couldn’t eat the food I was used to eat back in my home country Germany anymore because it was hard to get good bread and toppings.
My diet changed dramatically. More vegetables, less carbs, more legumes, less meat.
Since I am a nutritionist, it was my goal to develop a balanced diet. I was aware of what I was doing. It just took me some time to understand the diet and to break it down into easy learnable steps. I then created my Limar Diet based on that knowledge and experience.
When we visited Germany after a year of eating a balanced diet for the first time, I was shocked about how little vegetables I was offered in Germany. Especially the convenient food at train stations or malls was extremely unbalanced. It was the first time I missed vegetables and fruits.
In 2020 after two years of eating a balanced diet, I went on a holiday trip in Japan and we only ate at restaurants. Even though we were in Japan, it was impossible for me to eat enough vegetables and fruits. And I got cravings for vegetables in my meals. Meals in restaurants are full of rice, pasta and meat and fancy sauces but the vegetable side dishes are usually limited to salads sometimes only small salads.
The first days back home after the trip, it felt like I was inhaling the vegetables. I couldn’t prepare the meals for dinner and lunch fast enough. I truly craved fruits and vegetables.
Our body is aware of its nutritional needs and cravings are the inner force to get us into action to fulfill those needs. One could say if you listen to your gut feeling, you would eat balanced. The body knows what it needs and this intelligence is called somatic intelligence.
True. But your body craves nothing it doesn’t know. If you never eat carrots your body doesn’t know what kind of nutrients it would get out of it. And if your body never reached a certain level of balance regarding nutrients it never craves for the food that create such a balance.
So the only way to start craving for vegetables and fruits is to learn how to eat balanced and to eat this way for a long time. Your body will learn a lot of different food. After a while, it recognizes the state of balance caused by the food and then starts demanding for it.
You can always start your balanced diet here. Click for more information.