Our cravings are a beautiful moment to get curious about what our body is experiencing. Having a food craving is the body communicating a need that it has … that right now, it automatically knows it can seek in food.

Below you will find a list of food habits that are up-regulating, down-regulating and balancing and you’ll find some information about the moments where we typically might crave these.

FOOD HABITS THAT ARE ‘UP-REGULATING’ : CREATE ACTIVATION & STIMULATION:

Purpose or function of these:

• Stimulate us

• The increase our blood sugars

• Awaken the body and keep us awake & alert

• Short term increase our focus

Food habits & types:

• Skip meals- especially breakfast.

• Skipping meals: trigger dramatic blood sugar and cortisol spikes.

• Especially when you’re hungry. Blood sugar drops and crashes. Adrenaline turns on, to bring the glucose back up.

• Caffeine.

• They increase adrenaline and cortisol …

• Foods high in sugar - blood spike

• Sugar - sweets, candy, ice cream, cookies.

When we might crave these?

Typically, we may crave these when we are feeling exhausted, low energy, immobilised, shutdown and collapsed. We look for something to up regulate the body to ‘awaken’ us.

OR

Bodies that are very stuck in being switched ‘on’ and do not have the safety to slow down and rest, will continue to keep in the familiar pattern of activation and the food choices and patterns can mimic that too.

HABITS THAT DOWN-REGULATE & DEPRESSES THE BODY:

Purpose or function of these:

• Slow the body down

• Bring heaviness

• Numb and desensitize us

• Very comforting.

• Tire out the body

• Surpress activation

• Settle and soothe

Food patterns & types:

• Creamy / cheesy /

• Eating in excess - binging and overeating

• Eating very late at night

• Alcohol

• Simple carbs : bread, pasta, pastries, crisps

• Very fried foods

• Very fatty foods

  These foods take a lot of time to digest and so a lot of the blood moves to the digestive organs to process the heavy food, meaning less blood in the rest of our body, which means we feel less sensation everywhere else. We feel calmer. Less focus.

When we might crave these?

Typically, when we have a lot of charge and sensation within the body and we need to soothe, settle, depress and push it down. We choose food patterns and food types that will depress and push those sensations down. When a feeling comes up that wants to be expressed, these patterns are very effective at suppressing.

STABALIZES , BALANCE & REGULATE THE BODY:

Purpose or function of these:

• Help you feel grounded

• Clarity

• Balance the body and nervous system

• More easily digestable (aside from personal transform anxiety into security

Food patterns & types:

• whole grains

• vegetables

• herbal tea

• regular meals

• eating breakfast / upon waking / before caffeine

• protein

When we might crave these?

When our body is feeling more stabilised we may find that we start to develop cravings for these foods. However, when there is a lot of dysregulation within our system, we might not find that we crave these. And it makes a lot of sense, because these foods are balancing, stabilising …in some senses boring. They do not create a fluctuation within the body. So, a very activated or a very collapsed nervous system won’t necessarily crave these foods.

However, what’s important to note, that feeding ourselves with stabilising, balancing and regulating foods, is in fact going to support the overall regulation of the nervous system. Meaning, more regulation … more capacity … less overwhelm!

BREAKFAST OPTIONS TO STABILISE BLOOD SUGARS (SUPPORTS THE MANAGEMENT OF CRAVINGS) :

PRACTICE …

The next time you have a craving, get curious about what this type of food does to and for your body.

Does it make you heavy and down regulate?

Does it bring energy and activation and up regulate?

Or does it balance and stabilise you?

Then get curious about where you’re body and nervous system is at in this moment?

Are you activated? Are you collapsed and shut down?

What is it that you’re needing?

And before turning to the food or eating what you crave, can you get curious and try to offer yourself that support through another up-regulating or down-regulating resource?

You can turn to the practices within ‘Working with Food Urges’