This lockdown has bought out hidden chefs inside us. But there is always something or the other we crave to eat. It was yesterday night when I was craving for ice-cream, but we were out of ice cream at that point. If I had been in my work city, I would have ordered it online. While It caught me thinking, why do we crave for food?
Well, there are various factors involved. Like usually it’s said that you have food cravings when you have specific nutrient deficiency. For instance, around our periods, we feel like eating chocolate because of the reason that our body needs iron-rich food and from the list of iron-rich food like spinach, beans, nuts and dark chocolate, we fall for Dark chocolates (because of apparent reasons, taste). Likewise, many times people do have a strange habit of eating chalk which could be due to deficiency of Calcium. But that does not mean that I am having any deficiency as I wanted ice cream.
Often, we have cravings because of our habit. Many of us are crazy lovers of tea or coffee which are so deep-rooted with our daily routine that at times when you skip it, makes you feel incomplete. As if you are missing out on some significant part of your everyday life. Some of your friends, family or someone known could be so used to the caffeine that they cannot start the day without it. For me, it’s my mother. She needs her morning tea to get started. Some of our habits could be really great and beneficial for the body. Like my roommate Annu, she starts her day with lukewarm lemon water which is really great for better metabolism, improves skin, rich in potassium, fat cutter and list of benefits goes on. Some of the habits are bad for the body. Like munching on fried food during evening snack time It’s definitely tempting, but it increases the cholesterol levels, weakens digestion process, fatigue and whatnot.
Well, there is always some special dish maybe at some particular place, making you feel nostalgic. It could be your favourite cuisine at home, or chai ki tapri (tea stall) near your college or office where your gang would hangout for all the gup-shup (chattering). Food connects. Whenever you think about a person or incident, you would want to eat something relatable or vice versa. Whenever I have Maggi, it reminds me of my college days. It has happened to me many times that I literally crave for Maggi or panipuri when I feel nostalgic about college days. Surprisingly memories also one of the reasons why we crave for some particular dish.
In the world of social media, it’s tough to distance ourselves from food commercials or tempting pictures or recipes, we either prepare it by ourselves or just order it online. I prefer calling it an instant craving. Trust me this type of desires is the worst. I mean one moment you are watching an advertisement, food blog or maybe a picture of chocolate dripping waffle with ice-cream or some cheesy burger, the very next moment you find yourself making an online payment for the order. If this is not craving, then I don’t know what is it called.
Anyway, circling back to ice cream cravings at night. The refreshing creamy bite surprisingly helps in trouble digestion. It acts as a warrior against stomach acidity and heartburn as it has a soothing effect. An ice cream craving could be your body's way of expressing irritation and a sign that it needs a break. It is also possible you are tired and milk creamy products like ice-cream act as a stressbuster. Ice cream (and healthy dairy foods like skim milk, yoghurt) contains natural milk sugars that can give you a quick boost of energy. In countries like India, we try to have all kind of flavours in our daily food routine like sweet, salt, sour and spice. When we have the same palate food throughout the day, psychologically we tend to start craving for other palates. Like I had spicy food throughout the day, so by the end of the day, I started longing for ice-cream. If any day you happen to go out with a sweet tooth person like me, then there is no better option like an ice-cream💓.
Isn’t it hilarious that many of us end up bankrupt by the end of every month all because of food cravings we have throughout the month? I have seen many of my friends and colleagues waiting anxiously for their next salary or pocket money to start binging all over again.
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