6 Reasons You're Craving Carbs
Contrary to popular belief, craving carbs isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it’s entirely normal. There are a whole host of physiological reasons for cravings, none of which have to do with a lack of self control or ‘willpower.’
Below, registered dietitian nutritionist Anthea Levi breaks down six reasons you might be craving carbs, plus what to do about it.
01 - You’re Undereating
Carbohydrates are your body’s preferred source of fuel. That’s because glucose — the breakdown product of carbohydrates — supplies quick energy to your cells.
When you under-eat (either carbohydrates or calories in general), you tend to feel weak and fatigued. As a result, the body craves quick energy, which is most readily obtained from carbohydrates.
Refined carbs, like those found in white bread, pasta, and sweets, are especially energy-giving because they lack fiber and are therefore digested quickly. As a result, refined carbohydrates raise your blood sugar levels (and, by extension, your energy levels) faster.
Also key: Your brain requires carbohydrates in order to function optimally. So when you fully ban carbs from your plate, you are literally blunting your focus and productivity.
The bottom line? Severely restricting carbs typically heightens cravings, setting you up for binges when you finally do allow yourself to consume the starches you’ve been avoiding.
AWN tip: Include a source of complex carbs at at least two main meals daily. This can look like a slice of whole wheat toast with breakfast and some oven baked sweet potato fries with dinner. It can also look like a cookie when you’re really craving one. Remember: The longer you deny yourself carbs, the more likely you are to overeat them later on.
02 - You’re Sleep Deprived
Research shows that sleep deprivation leads to an increase in caloric intake the following day. Why? Lack of sleep leads to changes in brain activity that are associated with marked increases in cravings for high-sugar, high-calorie foods, per a 2013 study published in the journal Nature Communications.
It makes sense when you think about: When you’re sluggish and sleepy, you want to find a way to feel energized, stat. Eating concentrated sources of carbohydrates typically solves that dilemma — but only in the short term.
AWN tip: Aim to get at least 8 hours of shuteye nightly. If you struggle with falling asleep, work on optimizing your sleep hygiene. Here are some general tips for better sleep:
Shut down your devices at least one hour before bed
Consider buying an old school alarm clock and storing your cell phone outside or across your bedroom to reduce the temptation to scroll in bed
Set the ‘night shift’ function on your phone to turn on around 7:30pm nightly
Commit to a low-effort evening ritual that brings calm, such as a two-minute meditation or a five-minute gratitude journal before bed
Stop consuming caffeine starting 10 hours before bedtime
Avoid engaging in high intensity exercise within 4 hours of hitting the hay
Close down your kitchen at least 2 hours before turning in for the night to help your body enter ‘rest and digest’ mode
On days when you’re suffering from a serious sleep hangover, emphasize balanced meals that combine quality carbs, lean proteins, and healthy fats to avoid big spikes (and subsequent crashes) in your blood sugar levels.
What goes up must come down, so while that doughnut on your way to work may feel like optimal fuel in the moment, there’s a good chance you’ll feel even more fatigued an hour or so after eating it.
Read more: Here are some balanced snack ideas I love.
03 - Your Gut’s Talking
The bacteria in your gut may have the power to influence your food choices and cravings.
According to a 2014 review published in BioEssays, ‘chocolate desiring’ people may have different microbial metabolites in their urine compared to ‘chocolate indifferent’ people, despite eating identical diets.” (Side note: Who are these chocolate indifferent people?!)
Another 2014 study published in Nature suggested that mice given artificial sweeteners like saccharin (aka Sweet’n’Low) and aspartame (aka Equal) experienced changes in the bacterial makeup of their gut microbiome. And these shifts in the bacteria in their gut were associated with impaired glucose tolerance.
AWN tip: While more research on the role of the gut microbiome on carbohydrate cravings is needed, there are steps you can take now to support the proliferation of beneficial bacteria in your gut.
I recommend loading up on fiber-rich whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts and seeds as much as possible. Regularly including fermented foods like plain Greek yogurt and kefir that contain live active cultures, raw sauerkraut, and kimchi is also helpful.
Work on increasing the variety of plant foods in your diet, as well. More plant diversity on your plate can translate to more bacterial diversity in your gut (which we want!).
Note that some fiber-rich foods can cause discomfort for people with GI conditions like IBS or chronic constipation. If you struggle with GI issues, work with a registered dietitian to determine the best way for you to meet your fiber needs.
04 - Your Period is Making an Appearance
Both appetite and carb cravings tend to rev up towards the end of a woman’s luteal phase, the portion of the menstrual cycle that takes place after ovulation and lasts about 14 days, until menstruation begins.
These changes may happen because estrogen, which is thought to have appetite-suppressing effects declines during this time. Serotonin, a feel-good neurotransmitter that normally supports stable mood, also takes a dip during the premenstrual phase.
AWN tip: An increase in food cravings towards the end of your menstrual cycle is quite literally mama nature doing her thing, so don’t fight or question your body if you find yourself craving more carbs as you head into this time of the month.
Try answering your carb cravings with slow-digesting (i.e. complex) carbs like oats, brown rice, and potatoes leading up to your period. Eating high-quality carbs also stimulates the body’s production of serotonin, meaning they may weaken those pesky PMS mood slumps.
05 - You’re SUPER Stressed
Carbs help mitigate rises in the stress hormone cortisol. Again, this is because carbs help stimulate the production of the feel-good brain chemical serotonin.
Serotonin helps us feel focused, calm, and emotionally balanced. Low levels of serotonin have been associated with greater risk of depression. Hence why the drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (or SSRIs) are one of the most effective treatments for depression.
Here’s how eating carbs affects serotonin levels:
When you eat carbohydrates, your pancreas releases the hormone insulin
Insulin helps shuttle an amino acid called tryptophan into the brain
Some of this tryptophan is then converted into serotonin
Translation: Eating carbs can actually help us cultivate calm :)
AWN tip: Sometimes a gooey brownie really is what you need when you’re feeling ultra overwhelmed, and that’s a-ok. But if you feel like comfort food is your only coping mechanism for stress, it’s a good idea to find other productive ways to feel calm.
Try calling a loved one to vent, taking a warm bath to unwind, sweating it out on an outdoor walk or run, doing a restorative yoga flow, or tuning in to a free guided meditation on YouTube.
06 - You’re DEALING WITH A MEDICAL CONDITION
Medical conditions like insulin resistance can also stoke carbohydrate cravings. Insulin resistance occurs when your cells become less responsive to the hormone insulin.
Why might this happen? If you chronically overeat carbohydrates, your pancreas has to work harder and harder to pump out more and more insulin, the hormone that shuttles glucose into cells, where it is then used for energy.
Over time, though, cells can become resistant to insulin. As a result, glucose hangs out in the bloodstream for longer and the cells feel like they are starving because they aren’t getting the fuel they need.
As you now know, carbs provide us with quick energy, so your body may crave more starchy foods when insulin resistance is at play.
FYI: While insulin resistance can occur on its own, it’s also commonly seen in conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Unfortunately, almost no doctors assess for insulin resistance on annual labs. Instead, they look at downstream biomarkers, like fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c to assess blood sugar control. What is the difference between fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c?
Fasting glucose is a mere snapshot of your current blood sugar levels after a period of no food or drink intake for at least 8 hours. It tells you where your blood sugar levels are at one specific moment in time and can be influenced by fleeting factors like how much you slept, what you ate last night, or whether you exercised the day before getting your blood drawn
Hemoglobin A1c is a marker of your blood sugar levels over the last 2 - 3 months. It provides a better picture of glucose trends over time and isn’t as affected by the near-term variables mentioned above
Both of these markers can be used to diagnose conditions that follow from insulin resistance (like pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes).
AWN Tip: Insulin resistance can start up to 10 years before we actually see changes in fasting glucose or hemoglobin A1c levels! So why wait until these biomarkers are elevated to start making critical diet and lifestyle changes?
I recommend asking your healthcare provider to add fasting insulin to your yearly lab order to assess your insulin function and get ahead of any signs of insulin resistance early. Doing this may also provide some insight into your carb cravings if they feel ongoing and severe.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Carb cravings can be important messages from our bodies. They might be telling us that we’re eating too few calories, not sleeping enough, or experiencing early symptoms of insulin resistance.
What carb cravings are not telling us is that we lack self control or willpower.
When we deny ourselves certain foods (or restrict calories far below our needs), our bodies enter a sort of survival mode. As a result, the brain literally up-regulate messages that drive us to obsess about and crave the very foods we’re willing ourselves to avoid.
The bottom line? Instead of shaming ourselves for craving carbohydrates, receive those messages with compassion and curiosity.
Need help identifying the root cause of your carb cravings? I’d love to help you. Schedule a free 15-minute intro call with me here.