Have you ever wondered why you crave something salty vs something sweet or vice versa? Or maybe your craving fatty foods like pizza or a hamburger and french fries, but why, what does that mean? What types of food tempt you the most? Interestingly, what we crave speaks volumes about the deepest needs of our souls. Every craving we have is linked to some deeper physiological and psychological need. Often our strongest and most persistent cravings reveal a great deal about our emotional states. It is the reason food is the number one addiction affecting billions of people around the world…most likely even without them knowing it.

A report from a few years ago on obesity in the United States revealed that over one-third of Americans struggle with food addiction – that is a staggering 78.6 million people. With so many individuals struggling with food addiction, it Is a good thing to know about since your probably one of them. If you know why, it’s easier to figure out how to fix the problem. Your health is the most important thing you have so this information is extremely important to note for your overall wellbeing. So to help you out, here are the top three most tempting foods approached from a holistic perspective:

Sweet Things

Sweet cravings are the sign of emotional instability. People tend to crave sweet things to soothe and comfort themselves. Treats are perceived as a way to get through a tough day. If you are under a lot of emotional strain you’’ll turn to things like cake, chocolate, candy, etc.

This occurs inevitably because of your resistance and refusal to wholly experience what you are feeling, no matter how uncomfortable. So eating sweet things ends up becoming like a refuge because they allow you to enjoy the sweetness of life again. Unfortunately this is not a genuine sweetness, but an artificial one that does not last very long. In other words, sweet foods are like a bandage that conceals a much deeper issue: the inability to fully face, experience, accept and embrace tough emotions like anger, betrayal, bitterness, shame and grief, replacing these feelings instead with a superficial layer of momentary pleasure.

How To Fight The Cravings

You must explore alternative ways of dealing with your emotions openly and honestly. Some alternative healing methods worth trying include: meditation, mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, and energy healing. Most importantly, you have to keep in mind that practicing self-acceptance and non-resistance is the best way to completely experience and therefore completely heal from uncomfortable emotions.

Salty Things

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People who crave salt usually also crave control and stability. This is because salt is a very grounding element: it is present in the earth, it is present in the ocean and rain, and it is present in our bodies. The element of salt itself even balances and controls our blood pressure, bodily fluids as well as nerve and muscle function.

If you crave something salty you are probably feeling “ungrounded” and psychologically stressed out. Most likely you are a control-freak by nature and hate uncertainty, imbalance and instability. It could also be that low-energy people who are prone to low blood-pressure inevitably crave salt more than sugar or fatty foods because of its grounding and strengthening effects.

How To Fight The Cravings

You must learn to develop a trust for the process of life no matter how difficult that may seem. To do so requires that you loosen your tight grip on existence because the truth is that life is unpredictable, change is inevitable and struggle is inescapable. In order to be comfortable with what you actually can control will require you to develop an understanding of acceptance and non-resistance. The sooner you develop a more humble and realistic attitude towards what you can truly control (your choices and attitudes), the more naturally grounded you will feel.

Fatty Things

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In many traditions the liver is considered the seat of our inner power. The solar plexus chakra is located in the same place as the liver which is the chakra connected to experiencing feelings of personal power vs. personal disempowerment (anxiety, bitterness, jealousy, etc.).

The liver is also the organ that processes all of the fat that we consume. Therefore, people who crave fatty foods are essentially craving to exert their inner power, but often suffer from feelings of low self-esteem and self-worth.

How To Fight The Cravings

You must develop a strong love for yourself and value of your thoughts. Only then will you be able to reclaim your personal power. If you crave fatty foods it means you need to discover ways of getting in touch with that innate source of inner strength.

In Conclusion

Food addiction is, in reality, your soulful cravings for authenticity, happiness and wholeness. It is not just about over abundance, greed, and gluttony. Even if you don’t eat very much you could still be a food addict. So next time you feel a craving coming on, an urge to eat something in particular (something specific), just as yourself first, “What is it that I truly need in this moment?”

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