Which nuts is your body craving and why? Have you ever been craving almonds, looking for nuts to add to many of your favorite dishes, or just can’t stay away from a jar of nuts. If so then you are experiencing something called “almond cravings”. This is something that is generated and created by the part of the brain that is responsible for pleasure, memory, and reward. Apart from that, it may also have something to do with the nutrients needed by the body so that the body has its own way of getting someone to eat food that contains certain nutrients.
Actually, not everything is scientifically proven about food cravings and body nutrition. However, there are also proven ice cravings when someone has a serious iron deficiency. If you experience almond cravings, here are some things you should consider.
This is what You Should Consider when Craving Almonds
1. What Causes Food Cravings?
In fact, hormones are the main cause of every craving that occurs, hormones can also be a sign and influence a person’s physical and psychological. For example, hormones such as leptin and ghrelin are responsible for feelings of hunger and fullness. However, cravings for sweet foods and simple carbohydrates are often triggered by the brain and not by the stomach. Foods high in fat, sugar and carbohydrates provide the hormone serotonin which often makes us feel better and more comfortable. That is why humans often snack on sweet or carbohydrate-rich foods when they are stressed. So, food and taste sometimes have something to do with memory. So, we often crave certain foods when we are in an emotional situation. For example, why do we like to enjoy peppermint mochas during the holidays and not at other times, why do we remember certain foods during certain celebrations that we have experienced before. It’s all emotional and psychological.
So, food cravings occur due to many factors, it can be emotional, due to nutritional problems or due to memories, appreciation and memories of the past.
2. What Causes Nut Cravings?
Why are you craving nuts or almonds? If you are craving peanuts or butter, then the main cause that you need to look at is what triggers the craving. Is this triggered by stress? If you are stressed, then that is most likely the cause. Research shows that stress can arouse a person’s desire for high-fat foods such as almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, walnuts and others.
Nuts are foods rich in beta-sitosterol, this is a compound that can cure depression or stress or has anti-depressant properties. So, it’s natural that when you are upset, your body will want to snack on almonds or other types of nuts.
Likewise, when you are tired and lethargic, you will usually crave foods such as peanut butter. This is because these foods provide an energy boost to recover from fatigue. Sweet foods such as peanut butter contain important energy to restore sluggish stamina.
3. What Nuts Should I Be Eating?
Nuts are a nutrient-rich food and there are no significant differences between the various types of nuts, they all have or offer balanced nutrition.
Therefore, if you follow a certain diet, nuts are a suitable type of food to add to your diet, assuming you are not allergic to nuts. So, what nuts should you eat? So just use whatever type of nuts you have in medium portions.
4. Keto – Macadamia Nuts
Macadamia nuts are a type of nut that is rich in nutrients, not only are they rich in vitamins and minerals, Macadamia nuts are also nuts that are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids which are good for health.
Macadamia is a type of keto-friendly food because it is not high in carbohydrates, but high in fat with some protein content. Monounsaturated fats are a type of fat that regulates insulin performance. Macadamia nuts with their fat content are useful for regulating basal metabolism, namely regulating the amount of energy released when a person is resting. It is a food that balances the diet and is very good for heart health.
5. Vegetarian/Vegan – Peanuts
If you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, then nuts of all kinds, and whole grains are a great addition to your diet. Including various types of nuts can help meet your needs for micronutrients and fats.
Don’t think that peanuts are useless, they are technically legumes, but they contain the highest protein compared to other types of nuts. 1 ounce contains more than 7 g of protein. For comparison, 1 ounce of chicken contains 8 g of protein, and this is almost comparable to 1 ounce of peanuts, quite high isn’t it!
If you already know this fact, you can easily answer people’s questions about “how do you get protein if you don’t eat chicken?”, Peanuts is the answer.
6. Athletic Endurance – Almonds
An athletic person’s endurance is also affected by nuts or almonds and that is the reason why you crave almonds, because you feel better in exercise sessions. The content of magnesium, antioxidants, manganese, has an effect on oxidative stress and inflammation. An athlete who consumes almonds has a faster recovery time and has better endurance. Well, you definitely know why athletes crave almonds, especially those who have experienced the benefits.
Research also proves that athletes who eat almonds burn more carbohydrates and use less oxygen during exercise sessions.
7. Brain Boost – Walnuts
If you are craving nuts like walnuts, then just stick with the medium portion, because walnuts are rich in nutrients such as omega 3 fatty acids or polyunsaturated fatty acids, they also contain linoleic (LA) and alphalenic acid (ALA). All types of these compounds work in maintaining brain health and cellular function.
Walnuts are a plant food source with the highest ALA content, they are also nuts that are high in antioxidant content. So, it plays a very big role in maintaining and protecting the brain. If you are craving walnuts, the possibility is that your brain needs lots of nutrients to function optimally, but also because the needs of other organs are also very high in need for antioxidants and fatty acids.
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8. Gut Health – Cashews, Almonds, and Chia Seeds
Nuts and seeds are foods that are high in fiber and magnesium. These two types of minerals play a role in helping the digestive system run smoothly. Cashew nuts contain quite high levels of resistant starch so they are good for beneficial bacteria, this will keep your intestines healthy. This great benefit makes craving nuts normally happen.
If you find it difficult to digest nuts, you may need to soak them to make them easier to digest. But there is one caveat: If you are following the FODMAP diet because of your health condition, then you should not consume excessive amounts of nuts.