h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

How do cravings work? I always understood that they were you body's way of telling you that it needs stuff, but then I remember recently reading somewhere that you can also have cravings for things your body is actively replled by. Any insights?

Anybody?

Hi

I haven't got time to look this up right this pico=second but I'll have a look at various books today and see what I can find.

The only immediate example I can think of is when my mother was craving Fisherman's Friends - she used to go through at least one package per day, the stronger the better.

Turned out her blood count was horrible so to me, it seems that her body was desperately trying to tell her something by craving what it needed - but I've no idea what made it go for Fisherman's Friend (turned out she had a tumour).

Don't rush yourself, just glad to know someone's actually read this post

AFAIK cravings are a mixture of physical and psychological drives. From experience as an ex-smoker, when I stopped I had physical cravings and withdrawal for about three months. The psychological craving lasted constantly for over a year and on and off for years after that. Even now, 20 years on I still get the very rare craving which is an odd feeling that it takes a while to identify. Once I twig what the feeling is it goes away immediately, I suppose because the tools for the resistance to the craving is deeply embedded in my psyche.

Cravings in pregnancy are thought to be associated with physical needs produced by the demands of the growing foetus however how this translates into what the woman actually craves is unknown.

t.