The body asks and the mind judges: the episode of food craving, its triggers and nutritional treatment

Food desires are defined as motivations that drive the search for and consumption of food. However, when domains of intensity and urgency are activated, these desires can become intense (i.e. food craving), being then characterized by episodes or cognitive events loaded with affectivity, in which food is associated with obtaining pleasure or relief, which is the only attentional focus. Specificity and urgency mark the differentiation between food desires and cravings. The process of elaboration with vivid images, the retention in working memory, the emergence of a negative affect state (awareness of the lack), and a committed attentional focus to seek food are characterized as stages of an episode of food craving. Individuals with eating disorders have the lowest levels of food craving when it comes to anorexia nervosa and the subsequent increase to bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Some environmental and cultural triggers and internal factors of cognition and emotions play a crucial role in the emergence of food craving episodes. The external factors include positive/negative events, food environment, advertisements, cultural beliefs about food, specific locations, and food itself. The internal factors comprise dietary restriction, food reward, impulsivity/inflexibility, emotions, thoughts and feelings about food, hunger/satiety/appetite, and anxious/depressive symptoms. Treatment involves the association of flexibility, awareness, and questioning strategies about dietary practices based on three principles: unconditional permission to eat, eating more for physical than emotional reasons, and tuning in with the body’s signs of hunger and satiety (intuitive eating).