You're enjoying a relaxing night at home when suddenly it hits you: that old familiar food craving. Maybe it's for something sweet like chocolate or something salty like a bag of chips. Whatever the craving is, it often isn’t the healthiest choice.

You might find yourself wondering why you’re craving junk food and how to stop it. Did you know that complete and proper nutrition can actually cut those cravings and even help you lose weight?

Cravings usually mean that your body is missing something. Your body is hungry for the right kind of nutrition.

Tanya, from Better Raw, explains how cravings work, stating that “cravings are not quite the same as hunger, in fact, they couldn’t be more different. Hunger is controlled by the stomach and craving by the brain.”

While it’s totally okay to give yourself a treat once in a while, if you’re on the road to weight loss, it’s nice to know how to beat the craving by giving your body what it's really looking for.

What does getting the 'right' nutrition mean?

Cravings, as we mentioned, mean your body is looking for something that you’re missing, nutrient wise.

The body needs seven basic nutrient classes to survive: minerals, vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fibre and water.

Let’s do a quick breakdown of what these nutrients do for your body:

Carbohydrates: Your body’s main energy source, coming in either simple or complex forms, mostly from plant sources.

Protein: A major structural component of cells, responsible for building and repairing body tissues, made up primarily of amino acids.

Healthy fats: An energy source and your brain’s main fuel, also allowing your body to absorb fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K. Some fats can be made by your body, while others (e.g., omega-3s and -6s) must come from your diet.

Vitamins: Essential nutrients that your body cannot make on its own; they must be obtained from food. Plants produce vitamins, but our bodies can store them.

Minerals: Support fluid balance in cells, catalase enzyme reactions, conduct nerve impulses, support muscle contraction, and function as structural elements in the body.

Fibre: Aids digestion, prevents constipation, and positively impacts blood sugar by slowing down absorption.

Water: Transports nutrients to cells, removes waste, and supports other bodily functions. You lose water through breathing, sweating, and digestion, so constant replenishment is necessary.

When you’re not getting the nutrients your body needs, which could come from any of these seven categories, you can suffer both mentally and physically.

The thing is, you may think you’re getting enough of these nutrient types every day but how do you know for sure?

How can I tell if my body needs more nutrients?

Aside from the cravings, you can tell your body is lacking nutrition if your hair is drier than usual, if you notice premature signs of ageing, poor oral health, reduced brain function (e.g. memory issues, sluggish thinking), digestive issues, a difficult time healing wounds, frequent fatigue, a weak immune system and extreme weight gain or even an unhealthy loss of weight.

In this post, we’re going to focus on weight gain and how it links to cravings and related nutritional deficiencies.

The problem with putting a lot of unhealthy foods into your body, which often happens due to cravings, is that this then becomes what your body craves.

According to Living Whole, “Your body stores an impression of everything you’ve ever eaten – every flavour, texture, and chemical make-up of what’s gone into your mouth. If your diet isn’t full of a wide variety of foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, quality protein, and flavours (beyond salty and sweet), it will crave the only source it knows of to obtain what it needs…brownies, cookies, chips, anything fried...”

Breaking the Craving Cycle

The most common cravings are easy to break down.

We’ve got a whole blog post, right here, that breaks down some of the more common cravings and explains what they’re really telling you.

For example, chocolate cravings are often just your body needing magnesium. Some cravings can even signify dehydration. 

Cravings can lead to a vicious cycle. You crave junk food, give it to your body, which leads to extra calorie consumption and weight gain. Meanwhile, your body still isn’t getting the healthy foods packed with nutrients you need, leading to more cravings and weight gain.

How do you break the cycle?

What can I eat instead of the junk I’m craving?

Breaking the craving cycle doesn’t have to be hard work. Instead of reaching for junk food, choose foods high in what you're missing.

If you’re trying to lose weight, it may not necessarily be about eating less but about eating more of the good stuff. Focus on what you should be eating, and you’ll start to notice a change.

Be proactive—don’t wait for a craving to hit. Do your best to get adequate nutrition every day, and you may find that those cravings disappear.

Tips for Daily Nutrition:

• Drink 2–3 litres of water each day.
• Eat 2–3 servings of whole fruits and vegetables at every meal.
• Include healthy fats and protein in your meals and snacks every day, ideally through whole foods but also through quality supplementation.

Superfoods like spinach, salmon, sweet potatoes, blueberries, and nuts are packed with nutrients. When you fill up on the good stuff, your body won’t crave the bad stuff.

There is one superfood that definitely stands out above the rest in terms of giving you the nutrients you need in your diet every day to improve not just your weight, but your overall health.

That superfood is phytoplankton.

How can phytoplankton help?

Marine phytoplankton is a single-celled aquatic microorganism or microalgae. It’s the basis of the aquatic food chain and incredibly valuable for humans as a nutrition source because it is so nutrient-dense.

Phytoplankton contains omega-3s, amino acids, a variety of vitamins and minerals, chlorophyll, trace minerals, antioxidants, and more. It’s a powerful superfood that can fill the nutritional gaps in your diet.

Marine phytoplankton boosts metabolism and overall energy levels, helping with weight loss and cutting cravings. It also contains high levels of chromium, which regulates blood sugar and helps insulin move sugar to be burned and used as energy.

As if phytoplankton wasn’t amazing enough, it’s also ridiculously easy to get your phytoplankton simply by adding it into a glass of water or a smoothie. Hello hydration!

Marine phytoplankton works hard to improve your health at a cellular level, which is an important, yet often overlooked aspect of weight loss. Keeping your cells healthy, means keeping your body healthy.

Where can I get raw, clean phytoplankton?

We’ve got you covered. Our Oceans Alive is a terrific example of this superfood. Oceans Alive is a blend of two strains of phytoplankton that are suspended in trace mineral solution, adding additional health benefits. The phytoplankton we use in our blend is fresh, raw and unprocessed.

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