The Insatiable Cravings

Until today, I can not recall the last time I had a food cravings. That crazy feeling in your guts that you just had to have that particular type of food. I hate that feeling. It's like you can't go on with your day and eventually your life if you can't stuff your mouth with that food and quench the thirst of your palette for that particular taste.

It may have something to do with the late night drinking, but I found myself salivating over the thought of a certain breakfast meal. The meal was Longganisa from Jollibee. It was not that epic of a meal but I swear that I could smell that garlic aroma from that smoking hot fried rice. I could clearly see the glistening bright yellow color from the egg yolk drizzled with cooking oil. That beautiful brownish color from the half-burnt processed meat. I am not sure if it's from the hang over or from the hunger but I could picture that meal in front of me. My mouth got dried in anticipation of the food.

To cut to the chase, I picked the phone up, opened the delivery app and placed my order. Everything was good until I came to the payment part. The app is asking me for a payment method and my preferred method was not even listed. I tinker with my phone for a few minutes and got everything figured out. It was just a little over 20 minutes and the rider was in front of the door. Funny thing was, I almost missed him. As I checked my phone the calls were being silenced because he was calling from an unregistered number. Yes, I'm paranoid that way. So thankfully after almost 30 minutes the food I was imagining, the meal I was dreaming of is in front of me. I rushed back to the table to open it and alas, what do I get? Another phone call, this time it's work related and I had to do it first before I could enjoy the little feast I wished for.

At long last, it's time to consume the long-awaited meal. As I opened it, the egg was fully cooked, not what I would prefer but meh, it's better than nothing, the rice was not as hot as I would have liked and the rolled meat? The skin was beyond half-burnt. That being said, I still enjoyed the food as I finished it in less than 10 minutes. My tummy was happy and my tastebuds rejoiced.

So what's up with the cravings? A quick search around the vast internet has told me that food cravings can be caused by some kind of food deprivation. Meaning, if you haven't eaten that certain food that you usually enjoy, a craving for it will likely occur. Hmmm. I somehow agreed to that point. From a little while ago, before all these craziness happening in the world, I eat that meal from time to time, although not often enough for it to be called my go to breakfast. But still, I've had enough of it to memorize and to realize the awesome taste just by closing my eyes.

This concept might actually explain why when you try to lose weight via dieting, the craving for food you are trying to get rid off from your diet increases. But fear not my dear friend, some studies show that those cravings could be overcome over prolonged deprivation of the concerned food items. With the little searches I made, it also came to my attention that rice is one of the top food craved by people trying to alter their diet, in Asia at least.

Also brought by this totally random quick research, I understand that cravings can also be an indirect cost of physiological and psychological situations. Physiological, if the craving is directly related to the fact that you are really hungry and your body yearns to be filled. For instance, you just got home after a 10 kilometer jog, for the sake of the argument let us just say that you really jogged lol. So you get home all sweaty and tired. You just lost a lot of calories and fats along the way and voila, what would you like to intake after several glasses of cold water? A bountiful serving of calories and a sumptuous symphony of flavors. I don't think someone ever said "Ooooh I would like to have some ceasar salad now." after a hard work out and a tiring activity. I guess that explains the physiological side of wanting, nah, needing that type of food.

Going to the other side of that, the psychological side of craving, they say that it has something to do with mental or emotional association. You may crave something that is in a way meaningful to a memory or sentiment you have. Again, hmmm. I thought that it's like wanting, again nay, needing that bottle of beer or that glass of whiskey after a long hard day, but it's not entirely like that. They say that some cognitive contexts or stimulus can induce a craving for a food type if in one's subconscious the target food is related to the mental cue.

I'm not entirely sure about that one but I can imagine that it's like this: on a hot afternoon when the sun was at its highest point and at its hottest, a sudden thirst for a carbonated drink arises. The stimulus being the hot weather somehow induces the craving for the cold drink. It just come to my mind, maybe it's the same way that after eating a lot of Korean bbq you are likely to find yourself wanting a stick of that cantaloupe flavored ice cream. Maybe I was just conditioned to eat that specific ice cream bar after consuming that fatty but glorious Korean barbecue. A lot of Korean restaurants here in our place do that stuff. They offer free ice cream after your every meal.

Anyhow, that's how my morning went and fortunately I was able to satiate my craving and I hope that whatever food that comes to your mind after reading this you can enjoy it whole-heartedly. Happy eating. :)

Photo by Jonathan Borba from Pexels

P.S. As I was finishing this article and I placed the lead image I now have that urge to have a cheeseburger and salty fries. Wow, I guess that's what they are talking about on that psychological thing. I shouldn't have picked this picture. Dang it.