Everyone experiences food cravings once in a while. When we do, the foods we crave are usually high in sugar, fat or both. Cravings have been attributed to emotional problems, hormonal changes, brain chemistry and bad eating habits, but no one actually knows for sure why we crave certain foods. Others say the body produces different types of chemicals first, and then cravings for certain foods develop. One thing seems certain, however.
Food cravings have little to do with hunger.
If cravings result in binge eating or weight gain, they should be controlled. But some experts say that if you try to eliminate a particular food from your diet, you'll only crave it more. If you're obese, sensible eating and behavior modification may not be enough to kick-start your weight loss plan. You may need to take more extreme measures, such as starting with a medically supervised, low-calorie liquid diet or a regimen of prescribed diet pills. Both liquid diets and diet pills can cause serious side effects and should only be started under the supervision of a doctor.