Craving for salty food? here are 6 possible causes

In fact, cravings are not only experienced by pregnant women. Men or women who are young to old can have cravings for certain foods even though they are not hungry. It turns out that there are several things that can cause you to crave salty foods. What are the causes?

Craving salty food even though you are not pregnant? Maybe you …

1. Being stressed

Conditions that are unpleasant or that make you feel depressed can further trigger your desire to eat certain foods. Usually when under stress, some people tend to crave salty or fatty foods.

Food cravings during stress are the body's natural response to increasing dopamine production. Dopamine is a chemical produced by the brain that makes you feel calm and happy. When you find a particular food that causes your body to release dopamine, your brain will send a signal to your body to want that food under the same conditions.

2. Lack of sleep

Lack of sleep due to frequent staying up late can make you crave salty foods. This idea is reinforced by a study published in the journal Sleep. The study found that people who were sleep deprived were more likely to eat salty foods without realizing it.

It is not known what is the cause and effect of this relationship, but salty food for some people is found to provide special satisfaction to counter the effects of sleep deprivation that makes the body and mind languish.

In fact, several studies have shown that people who basically really like the taste of salt, will automatically add more salt to their cooking.

3. Being bored

Just like cravings for food when under stress, boredom can also make your tongue "itch" to taste a salty snack. A survey conducted by Wansink revealed that out of 1,000 participants, 86 percent of people crave specific foods when they are happy, 52 percent when they feel bored, and 39 percent when they feel sad or lonely.

4. Sweating too much

Cravings for salty foods can be caused by a body that is deficient in sodium, especially after exercising. You sweat a lot after exercising, right? Well, sweat is what makes you lack electrolytes in your body. The reason is, sweat contains salt.

When you sweat too much electrolyte salt, your body responds with cravings for salty foods in an attempt to restore the body's fluid balance.

5. Moderate PMS

During PMS, many women begin to have cravings for certain foods. There are those who crave sweet foods, there are also those who crave salty foods. This is influenced by the rise and fall of certain hormones in the body before menstruation.

6. Adison's Disease

According to the Mayo Clinic, Adison's Disease will cause you to crave excessively salty foods. This condition makes the adrenal glands (which function to secrete hormones that regulate fluid balance) fail to tell the kidneys to store how much sodium in the body.

Watch Out. Most eating salty food is dangerous for health, you know!

Even though it may seem trivial, cravings for salty foods that are allowed to drag on can develop into serious health problems later in life. Foods high in salt not only increase your risk of developing hypertension and heart disease, but also interfere with kidney function and bone loss. Most eating salt can also lead to fat accumulation that makes obesity to obesity.

However, a nutritionist, Kathy McManu, says that refraining from cravings will actually strengthen your desire to eat these foods. Instead of struggling desperately to avoid it, you better eat it but in smaller portions.

The rest of the time, overcome your salty food cravings by diverting your mind to other things, for example listening to music when you are stressed or bored, or drinking isotonic drinks while exercising (although it's still better to drink plain water). Also recognize the difference between real hunger and fake hunger so you don't eat blindly.