Mirror
Magazine 
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Have
you got a bottomless pit? You
come to school in the morning and you pass the tuck-shop and smell
those freshly fried Chinese rolls or the famous ala and fish pastry… The lunch interval, is long over and there’s just about 15 minutes to go before school is over for the day and you just have this urge to run to the tuck-shop to have a peanut packet, some pol toffee, prawn crackers or some veralu achcharu?? Sound familiar? Well, these are what are called food cravings… and yes, we have all been through them at some point or another… Researchers are discovering, that we are born with an almost inborn instinct toward the taste for sweets and salts. The older we grow, we begin to understand that fat makes food taste great as well. But what happens when you become too fond of all that junk food? Yes, we know that too much of anything is bad for you… So then what can you do to curb those urges or cravings? We decided to speak to Nutritionist Sigrid Samuelson de Silva on the issue of food cravings teenagers go through, why they have such cravings, how they can be managed, and found out in the process some tips on curbing those teenage food cravings. Cravings are a result of the body wanting some sort of nutrient that it is lacking, she says. Such a condition occurs in adults and growing children alike. One of the main reasons for an individual to experience food cravings is by not having one’s meals on time. “It is a message from your body to tell you that it is missing something.” So the best way to avoid it, is by eating on time and eating proper, healthy food. One interesting thing she mentioned was that “craving was about prevention.” You would not necessarily crave for healthy foods. The chances are that you would want something sugary or starchy. High sugar, high starch foods, she said are “quick to use, ready to use energy.” This is one reason one would go for such a snack. The chances are quite small that one would crave for a salad instead of flour products! The cravings kick in mainly when you don’t have breakfast. Most school children wake up early and leave for school without having their breakfast. Most often children are on an empty stomach till their lunch interval! So it is only natural to crave for food, Ms. De Silva said. The school canteen, as we all know, is short-eat paradise! So chances are that you would go for an éclair, a Chinese roll or a pastry. The healthiest foods are the foods prepared at home, says Ms. de Silva. So if by chance you are not able to take your food from home, try and stick to foods with less calories like string hoppers, hoppers, rotti or bread, which you can buy on the way and have it with a curry. Try to avoid foods which are oily because it is tough to concentrate when you eat a lot of oily foods for breakfast. If you are buying something on your way to school, try and buy a fish or vegetable bun instead of a Chinese roll or pastry. Some of the easy food items you can make at home without much effort are sandwiches. For small children, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are great. Apart from that try cheese or marmite in your sandwiches or ‘toasties’ with some chicken or a vegetable paste. Pulses are also a good option and do not take much preparation. So ask you mum to try some of these out – or you can try your hand at it! If you can have breakfast at home try having some cereal with milk. The dietitian also suggests kola kande as a good meal to have in the morning, as it is filling and healthy. Yes, the thought may be not be all too satisfying, but try it! Once you have had a good breakfast you should be settled at least till the school interval. At that time try having a snack like a sandwich. Due to various activities once school is done the chances are that you will get home late. So lunch will come quite late in the day. But you may not necessarily crave for anything, says Ms. De Silva, if you have a healthy snack before lunch. She also said that once a craving comes on, it cannot be controlled. “If you are hungry you should eat,” she holds. For young, active and growing children it is fine to eat anything. Even a bun or a kimbula bun is fine. You can also try and snack on some biscuits. Biscuits, she said, provides “continuous energy” whereas, chocolates give you “quick energy”. For adolescents or young children who have stopped growing, fruits, yogurt or even some fruit juice is a good option when you feel you are craving for something. Eating these are much better than snacking on processed foods like potato chips, which are high in salt and fat. For those of you who go on fad diets, you may have noticed that you start craving towards the end of the diet, as these are restricted diets. So most often you will gain what you have lost as you crave for the foods that were restricted during the course of the diet. So go for the healthy snacks suggested instead of the high calorie ones that you would want to have. One of the biggest problems that you can face if you get used to an unhealthy diet is obesity, says Ms. de Silva. Related to obesity comes other problems, like, “diabetes, pressure, hyper tension, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance and ovarian diseases or irregular period (for girls),” she said. When you are severely over weight you will have to face joint, hips ankles and knee problems. So think about all these, before allowing yourself to crave for all those high calorie, junk foods! |
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