Keto Means
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What should I eat if I crave chips?

Curb Your Craving With This Reach for kale chips, air-popped popcorn, and crunchy produce like apples, celery, and carrots. Dip veggie sticks into hummus if you feel the urge for chips and dip coming on!

Why do I feel better after cutting carbs?
Why do I feel better after cutting carbs?

Reducing your intake of calorie-dense carbs automatically reduces the amount of calories you're consuming on a daily basis, which forces your body...

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Can dogs eat cucumbers?
Can dogs eat cucumbers?

Cucumbers are perfectly safe for dogs to eat, and offer a low-calorie, crunchy snack that many dogs love. Cucumbers only contain about 8 calories...

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Getting to the Root of What’s Fueling Your Food Cravings

There’s a lot of talk about food cravings stemming from nutritional deficiencies, but research has not proved this to be true. If you've ever been tempted to blame your chocolate urges on a magnesium deficiency, Kimberly Snyder, a clinical nutritionist and the author of The Beauty Detox Power, would beg to disagree. She claims your desire for chocolate is more likely coming from an emotional place than a biological one. “I do believe it’s important to listen to your body and feel what foods you are naturally drawn to,” says Snyder. “Overall though, many common cravings are tied to emotional root causes. We often crave foods with specific textures — crunchy, soft, creamy, or smooth — and these textures correspond to particular emotions.” “There are two types of hunger,” explains Amy Gorin, RDN, of Amy Gorin Nutrition, in the New York City area. “Homeostatic hunger, or the physical need to eat, and hedonic hunger, the desire to eat foods for pleasure.” For instance, she notes, “you might be craving salt when your body actually needs it, such as after a hard workout during which you lost salt through sweating. Or you might be craving the salty food as more of a comfort food, since foods that tend to be salty are also ones that are higher in fat, like potato chips, which is what we crave sometimes during hedonic hunger.” It’s not hard to grasp the psychological component of food cravings and how we may have been conditioned, from childhood, to want certain foods right now. Take sweets, for instance. “Most of us grew up with sweets being presented as a reward,” says Snyder. “The very anticipation of a reward triggers the neurotransmitter dopamine in our brain and studies show that regular bingeing on sugar stimulates dopamine — the ‘feel-good’ chemical, which is very addictive.” Or maybe you don’t have an out-of-control sweet tooth but you still find yourself wanting to reach for the carton of cookie dough ice cream. Snyder sees clients craving fatty foods like ice cream and cream-laden dishes during extremely busy times, when they are being pulled in different directions. “During these times, fat can feel stabilizing. It’s heavy in your stomach and takes a while to digest, which can feel like it is grounding for you,” she says. Different cravings also appear to have different consequences. A study published in December 2015 in the journal Eating Behaviors looked at the relationship between food cravings and addictive eating. Researchers found that cravings for sweets and other foods high in carbohydrates may be more closely linked with bingeing and other addictive eating behaviors, while cravings for fats seem to be more closely associated with increased body mass index. Cravings announce themselves clearly, but what’s behind them is complex, and various factors come into play. While cravings aren’t always tied to emotional eating, before you reach for that piece of cake or bowl of pasta, check to see if your emotions may be to blame — and learn the smart ways to combat the cravings.

Additional reporting by Deborah Shapiro.

Is coconut a keto?
Is coconut a keto?

"Coconuts are definitely keto," said Jadin—but not everyone's convinced they're a fruit. Some categorize coconut as a nut or a seed. According to...

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How fast is weight loss once in ketosis?
How fast is weight loss once in ketosis?

The lowdown. The keto diet changes the way your metabolism works by encouraging it to use ketone bodies instead of glucose for energy production....

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What are 2 signs of high blood sugar?
What are 2 signs of high blood sugar?

Symptoms of hyperglycaemia increased thirst and a dry mouth. needing to pee frequently. tiredness. blurred vision. unintentional weight loss....

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What is the number one carb to avoid?
What is the number one carb to avoid?

1. Sugary Foods. Most people already think of many of the foods in this category as unhealthy treats. Candy, soft drinks, and sweet desserts such...

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What brings blood sugar down?
What brings blood sugar down?

When your blood sugar level gets too high — known as hyperglycemia or high blood glucose — the quickest way to reduce it is to take fast-acting...

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How do you get into ketosis without being constipated?
How do you get into ketosis without being constipated?

Preventing constipation on a keto diet reducing daily carbohydrate intake gradually over a few weeks. drinking plenty of water. exercising...

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