If you’ve ever tried to follow a healthier diet, you know how hard it is to ignore cravings. In a study published in the journal Appetite, 97 percent of women and 68 percent of men reported experiencing food cravings. While it may seem attractive to believe that cravings represent a deep desire of your body for a specific nutrient, when is the last time you seriously craved broccoli?
Cravings don’t have to be the end of a healthy diet. There are ways to deal with cravings when they arise. And many experts agree that occasionally allowing small portions of indulgent food can help to maintain a healthy diet over a longer period of time.
Toni Brayer, M.D., Internal Medicine physician with Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, offers these tips for dealing with food cravings.