|
By Jane Thurnell-Read
Craving particular foods can be a sign of a need for a
nutrient
that is in the food that is craved. The body is demanding food
that contains a particular nutrient. This can be very
straight-forward. For example, I spent three months in Sri
Lanka, and my diet was very short of zinc. The moment I walked
back into my house I reached for the jar of sunflower seeds
(an
excellent source of zinc) and started stuffing them down
myself.
Over the next few days I ate a huge amount of sunflower seeds.
Initially I really craved them, but after a few days the
obsession disappeared. It was only with hindsight that I
realised why I had done that.
When gas/petrol contained lead, I had several clients who ate
a
lot of apples, but testing using kinesiology showed they were
not allergic to them. It took me a while to realise why. Most
of them were allergic to gas/petrol, which probably meant they
were less able to deal with the lead in it than someone who
was
not allergic to petrol. Apples contain pectin, which is an
excellent chelator of lead, (i.e. it can remove lead from the
body), so it seemed that these people were instinctively
reaching for the pectin to counteract the lead in the
gas/petrol.
However, cravings are more likely to indicate an allergy
problem. Allergy often seems to equal addiction and the reason
for this is not totally clear. It has been suggested that this
may be because some protein fragments formed when food is
broken down are similar to endorphins, which the body produces
naturally to counteract pain and produce euphoria. Then the
allergy sufferer’s body becomes adapted to that level of
endorphin activity and so craves the allergen in order to
maintain the endorphin levels.
One indication of a possible allergy problem is waking with a
‘hangover’ when alcohol has not been consumed the night
before.
This very often points to one or more food allergies. The
person
eats the food during the day and satisfies the craving, but
during the night withdrawal symptoms begin, and classically
the
person wakes with a ‘hangover’. Eating the allergen switches
off
the withdrawal symptoms and allows the person to feel better.
In
fact some people will not make it through the night without
having a snack of their allergen in the early hours to keep
their withdrawal symptoms at bay. They are often totally
surprised when told that they are reacting to the very food
they like and experience as making them feel better.
Because of the addictive nature of allergies some people may
have difficulty losing weight. There are two possible
scenarios.
Firstly they could be allergic to some high calorie food and
find it extremely difficult to moderate their consumption
because they are addicted to it. The second possibility is
that
the person experiences withdrawal symptoms, but for some
reason
does not seem to connect the withdrawal symptoms with a
particular food. In this case they keep on eating different
foods without feeling satisfied. They only stop when they
consume the allergen, but the turning off of the craving only
usually lasts for a short time. Overall calorie consumption
can
be very high in these people even if the allergen is
lettuce.In
any event allergy-induced addictions can lead to bingeing and
an inability to control food intake.
Because of this allergy-driven addiction problem, some people
will like smells that most people do not, e.g. creosote and
petrol/gas. Almost invariably the person is allergic to this,
and is getting their ‘fix’. Teenagers who sniff glue may be
allergic to it, and while counselling may be necessary,
correcting this allergy will almost certainly help enormously.
A child with a lot of food sensitivities will often be a fussy
eater. The parent will frequently say: ‘My child would be
happy
if he/she could live on X.’ The child is probably allergic to
X,
whatever that is. Frequently they become irritable and
bad-tempered if they have to go without their favourite food
for even a short period of time. Breast fed babies with
allergies are usually either difficult feeders or need to be
constantly fed both day and night and may be difficult to
wean.
Some years ago I had a funny example of the allergic addiction
phenomenon. I went to visit a friend, who had a cat. When I
went into the kitchen I saw cat food scattered over quite an
area around the cat’s food bowl. My friend explained that her
cat was a very untidy eater, and she had not had time to clear
it up before my visit. I knew that in general cats were tidy
eaters, so I wondered if the cat was desperately searching
through its dinner for the particular food it craved. I did
some testing and found several allergies. I corrected the
problems, and after that the cat became a tidy eater like all
the other cats I know.
About The Author: Jane Thurnell-Read is an author and
researcher on health, allergies and stress. She has written
two
books for the general public: "Allergy A to Z" and "Health
Kinesiology". She also maintains a web site
www.healthandgoodness.com with tips, inspiration and
information for everyone who wants to live a happier,
healthier
life. Jane Thurnell-Read's book "Allergy A to Z" is available
from her web site www.healthandgoodness.com, and also
from www.amazon.com and www.amazon.co.uk
|