It is possible to control, manage and end your food cravings. Even though all brains are biologically driven to seek and devour high calorie, fatty foods, it is possible to control that urge.

Why does it happen?

The brain's desire to binge and rich food is genetically attached to us. It has come from the days of hunter-gatherers. Our brains are hardwired to fixate on high calorie foods because we needed those calories to sustain ourselves when we were hunter-gatherers and food was not so easily available. More calories meant survival. It's a survival mechanism. Eating as many calories as possible, whenever possible was necessary for our ancestors because that helped them to store excess calories as fat and survived lean times.

Now we have easy access to different types of foods and we have access to them 24/7. Earlier you needed to spend lots of energy being the hard work of killing or picking your food. That is why they needed high calorie foods to offset the loss of energy.

The blood sugar cascade

If you are consuming simple carbohydrates like sugar or starch, they goes to your bloodstream from your gut instantly. As a result of that, your blood sugar levels start to rise. To counter this rise in sugar, your body releases insulin. Insulin allows sober to enter your cells by unlocking them. After sugar entering the cells, the sugar levels in your blood and the body restores homeostasis. If you are consuming more sugar, your body will be forced to release more and more insulin. Because of over use the cellular locks get worn down and insulin will lose its ability to easily open the cellular door. The cells become numb to the effects of insulin and to offset that insensitivity, your body will start to really be more hormone so that it can keep the blood sugar levels in check. This will ultimately result in a dangerous condition known as insulin resistance.

How to reprogram

If you want to reprogram or rewire your brain to control and end food cravings, there are a few ways to do that.

Balance blood sugar

By balancing your blood sugar, you can rewire your brain to and food cravings. Primitive food cravings are driven by blood sugar highs and lows. If your blood sugar is low, you will eat anything. It is possible to better balance blood sugar by eating a small meal or snack. Include healthy protein like seeds and nuts every 3 to 4 hours.

High quality protein at breakfast

Consume a high quality protein at breakfast. When you consume protein after waking up, it will help you to lose weight, reduce cravings and burn more calories. Such good quality protein sources include eggs, seeds, nuts, nut butters and protein shakes.

Get rid of liquid calories and artificial sweeteners

By getting rid of the liquid calories and artificial sweeteners, it will be possible for you to rewire your brain to end cravings. Stop consuming sodas which are full of chemicals and high fructose corn syrup. Also avoid processed fruit juices because they are full of sugar. Water, green tea are some of the drinks that you should drink whenever you feel thirsty. Green tea is good for you because it contains plant chemicals which are good for your health. The artificial sweetener that are present in diet drinks forces your body to think that it is taking in sugar and as a result of that it will create insulin spike.

References

1. Love Your Body
2. Change in food cravings, food preferences, and appetite during a low-carbohydrate and low-fat diet
3. The psychology of food craving