Levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin drop and insulin levels go up. This dangerous combination leaves you reaching for mood-boosting foods like chocolate – that sweet mix of sugar AND fat – while glucose-levelling insulin leaves you craving a sweet treat to raise your blood sugar.
When estrogen drops and progesterone increases, we eat more and experience more cravings for chocolate, sweets, and salty foods (and food in general).
Some believe chocolate is the snack of choice due to hormonal imbalances during the menstrual cycle. When estrogen, progesterone and serotonin (the happiness hormone) levels drop, and cortisol (the stress hormone) rises, the result is a sugar craving.
According to health experts, food cravings in some cases may be indicators of nutritional deficiencies. This explains why you crave fatty foods and sugary treats while on a diet. As an example, chocolate cravings are often a sign of magnesium deficiency.
For instance, chocolate cravings are often blamed on low magnesium levels, whereas cravings for meat or cheese are often seen as a sign of low iron or calcium levels. Fulfilling your cravings is believed to help your body meet its nutrient needs and correct the nutrient deficiency.
You may find that a diet abundant in magnesium-rich foods will help keep your chocolate cravings at bay. Of course, you can get magnesium in a supplement form, too.
You're not getting enough magnesium
We need magnesium to help turn the food we eat into energy. As dark chocolate is high in magnesium, some argue that chocolate cravings stem from a magnesium deficiency.
“Quite often people feel calmer almost immediately, especially with magnesium L-threonate.” When it comes to killing chocolate cravings, that can take a little longer, as “you are dealing with hormonal and receptor changes.” Turley suggests taking magnesium for two months to make the correction.
Some little-known jobs of magnesium include regulating blood sugar, insulin production, and releasing dopamine. Many doctors believe sugar cravings could actually be a magnesium deficiency, especially if the person craves chocolate. Men should get between 400-420mg per day, with women up to 320mg of magnesium.
Hormone-driven conditions such as menopause, andropause, and menstrual periods can sometimes drive a person's cravings for sweets and snacks that are high in carbs.
A 2016 study suggests that changes in levels of hormones estrogen and progesterone cause cravings for high-carb and sweet foods before your period.
– Chocolate has many benefits but it can contribute to hormonal balance via its potent magnesium and iron, and ability to lower cortisol and boost mood-impacting hormones, serotonin and dopamine. Just 6gms of 70%+ cacao chocolate bar daily will do the trick!
The foods you need to avoid include: flax seeds, dried fruits, sesame seeds, garlic, peaches, berries, wheat bran, tofu, tempeh, dairy products, meat, alcohol, grains, and legumes.
The drop in estrogen and progesterone causes deficiency of the hormones in the body and this causes increased craving for sugar.
Sweet cravings can also be your body's response to a low blood sugar and hunger; it's your body's way of telling you it needs fuel.
You Have Some Serious Chocolate Cravings
If you feel like your body is in desperate need of chocolate more than just on occasion or the week before your period, this could be a sign to up your magnesium intake. Dark chocolate is high in magnesium—just 1 ounce packs in 10% of your daily needs.
Nutrient Deficiencies
Deficiencies in certain minerals such as zinc, chromium, iron, calcium, and magnesium may lead to sugar cravings as well, Elia says.
It helps fight PMS. “There's a reason we crave certain foods, such as chocolate, at that time of the month,” says Toronto-based raw foods coach Nathalie Lussier. “Chocolate releases calming endorphins that reduce anxiety. Plus, it's high in magnesium,” which lifts moods and reduces water retention.
CoQ10 is an enzyme that is naturally produced in the body. But it is also available as a supplement and may help sugar cravings by improving one's energy levels. CoQ10 works by helping the mitochondria in our cells produce energy. When we have more energy, we're less likely to reach for sugar-laden snacks.