Why is it that our bodies crave sweet things and why do we go for chocolate and not a sweet apple instead?

Question

Doing Weight Watchers (doing okay) but I always want something sweet... I crave chocolate more than anything... sooo hard, especially when tired.

Answer 1

im doing WW as well and im just eating some peanut M & Ms!! LOL but dont tell anyone!!

Answer 2

People get cravings for all sorts of foods: good for you, bad for you, and otherwise. Sometimes people get cravings for things that aren’t food at all, like clay or laundry soap. It’s a condition called pica, which is treated as a medical disorder. Unfortunately, food cravings, like everything else in the brain, are incredibly complicated. Nothing in the way our brains work is straightforward. There’s no circuit in the brain that says, "I need manganese and selenium. Bring on the brussels sprouts." We don’t even usually have chemical circuits that can detect that kind of micronutrient deficiency. Instead, you get a much more general feedback loop. You don’t feel your best, and some part of your brain figures that maybe it’s a nutrition problem, but it doesn’t know what. So it sends out a signal by raising or lowering certain neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, etc.) and other parts of the brain intepret it as a craving. Often, it’s a particular source of concentrated calories, such as ice cream, meat, or bread. Or it can be something further afield, such as particular vegetables, but not necessarily the right vegetable. Or, as in pica, it may be stuff that isn’t food at all. The journals are full of articles (such as the one below) trying to understand why and how we get good cravings. It would be great if they were accurate in telling you what you need, but sadly it’s not true.

Answer 3

You crave sweets probably because chocolate is connected with good memories and fuzzy feelings of happiness. Cravings are usually not hunger related - but emotionally related. If you are tired - you should make yourself just go to bed or take a quick nap. You should let yourself have chocolate - but eat a very small amount very slowly. Make a game of taking the tiniest bite you can and savoring it in your mouth as long as you can. You will see that a little can go a very long way if you try this. Good luck.

Answer 4

because chocolate releases endorphins- that ohhhh feels so good feeling- and an apple does not- but for the apple i say - good fiber, and a living food good for our bodies- i eat both- but mostly apples- watch the diet foods- sometimes the chemicals in the can make you crave things as well- stay far away from modosodium glutamate or MSG- very bad for you-----and sometimes it is a nutrient that is missing from your body that triggers a get me some of this fast- and the biggie- stress- that will make you want that ohhh so good feeling more and more---

Answer 5

My husband drinks a beer in the evening and always craves a sweet after dinner...I think he is unbalanced, but in this case with the craving during dieting it is just training yourself to reach for the delicious fruit.

Answer 6

Try eating a banana instead.

Some times the craving for chocolate or something sweet is in fact a request for potasium, which bananas are rich in.

Answer 7

because silly as it sounds chocolate is addictive i`m not 100% if i have this entirly correct but i think chocolate is one of the things that help the body to release happy endorphins (or something like that )but i can vouch for the fact that eating chocolate makes me happy!!! the sugar in it gives you a boost when you tired but i doesnt last long

Answer 8

Our body's blood sugar require it..hence the craving and dip in energy..also chocolate releases endomorphins ie, the feel good factor in our bodies, alos called serotonin, the same way excercise does..in or out the bedroom..heh heh

Answer 9

The fat in chocolate melts in your mouth and leaves a taste behind that makes you want more. Also, the prococessed sugar in sweet foods gives you a more immediate and noticeable 'rush' than with natural sugar (fructose), so people look to it for a pickmeup.

Answer 10

i crave fruit all the time! you just have to get used to it, don't each chocolate for awhile and you won't like it at all. I used to eat all the candy I got but now I crave fruits like strawberries, cherries, pineapple...

Answer 11

Because they taste nicer and give us a short burst of sugar/energy as opposed to an apple which is slow acting