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A food that is eaten throughout the world, potatoes can be prepared in a variety of ways. Whether you like them mashed, baked, fried, or any of the countless other ways, it’s likely you eat plenty of them on a weekly basis. In fact, there are thousands of different varieties of potatoes grown around the world, from white to red to sweet and many more. But as you eat potatoes, you may find yourself craving them more and more. If you’re curious about why you are craving potatoes, here are the top five reasons why this occurs.
Table of Contents
- What Does it Mean When You Crave Potatoes?
- Are There Benefits to Craving Potatoes?
- Why Am I Craving Potatoes?
- Why Am I Craving Mashed Potatoes?
- Why Do I Crave Potatoes All the Time?
- What Does Craving Potatoes Mean?
- What Can I Substitute When I Crave Potatoes?
- Is a Potato Craving Weird?
- FAQ
What Does it Mean When You Crave Potatoes?
When you absolutely have to have a helping of potatoes of any kind, many different reasons could be behind your craving. For some people, it may be an emotional craving that has them seeking foods that give them comfort. For others, it can come down to needing potatoes to satisfy a physiological need, such as giving them energy when their blood sugar levels dip too low. Yet whatever the reason, everyone agrees potatoes of any kind make their meal even better.
Are There Benefits to Craving Potatoes?
Actually, there are numerous benefits you’ll gain by craving your potatoes. First, they are a great source of fiber, which can help digestion, lower cholesterol, and possibly help prevent certain types of cancer. Being full of complex carbohydrates, they are great foods for giving your body tons of energy. Also full of potassium, they are well-known for helping with cardiovascular health. Finally, potatoes are full of iron, Vitamin C, magnesium, and folic acid, all of which can help regulate your body’s nervous system, immune system, and others as well.
Why Am I Craving Potatoes?
Now that you know the benefits of eating potatoes and that your cravings could be physiological, emotional, or perhaps a combination of both, let’s dive into why you just can’t stay away from potato chips and other popular types of potatoes.
Dehydration
If you are like most people, you love your potato chips and French fries. However, when potatoes are fixed in this manner, they are usually very salty. When you are dehydrated, your body loses large amounts of salt from sweating or urinating. Thus, when you start popping those chips or fries into your mouth, your body regains some of the salt it lost.
Unfortunately, the salty foods soon make you thirsty. While drinking water will bring temporary relief, it’s not long before you are again losing the salt you gained, creating a cycle that can continue on and on. Thus, any time you are dehydrated, expect to be reaching for the potatoes.
Energy
To give your body the energy it needs to keep you going during the day, complex carbohydrates are required. Fortunately, potatoes are loaded with complex carbohydrates, making them perhaps the best food you can eat to build up your body’s energy reserves. Even when eaten as French fries, tater tots, or potato chips, potatoes will give you a burst of energy that will last for hours.
A Need for Potassium
If you are not getting enough potassium into your body, the result can be a nervous system and fluid balance that are both needing some improvement. To stay healthy, you need to consume at least 4,700 milligrams of potassium per day. While potassium can be found in other foods such as bananas, oranges, and apricots, chances are you probably eat more potatoes than these foods on a regular basis. When you don’t have enough potassium in your body, the result can be a constant craving for potatoes of all sorts.
Potatoes are Comfort Food
While your body can be tricked into believing French fries and potato chips solve its dehydration problem, your brain is also prone to getting tricked into believing potatoes, especially processed potatoes, make things so much better.
From an evolutionary standpoint, we as humans are made to crave salt and carbohydrates, since both of these are vital to keeping our energy levels high. Because of this, once those first few potato chips or French fries enter your mouth, your brain begins to release dopamine, commonly known as the “happy chemical” because it’s what makes you feel happy. As your body and brain get conditioned to this, your cravings will increase whenever you get stressed out, making potatoes your go-to comfort food.
Diversity
Yes, you can crave potatoes simply because you enjoy them for their taste, variety of ways in which they can be prepared, health benefits, and many other reasons. If you enjoy leading a healthy lifestyle, you may love potatoes because they contain no cholesterol, are fat-free, a fantastic source of protein, and are very low in calories. All of this, coupled with them helping you feel full while not having to overindulge, could explain why you are always craving potatoes.
Why Am I Craving Mashed Potatoes?
Of all the ways potatoes can be prepared, mashed potatoes may be the most popular. If you’ve ever sat down to a Sunday dinner with a big helping of mashed potatoes on your plate, you know how irresistible they can be. When you are craving mashed potatoes, it can be for a few different reasons.
As stated previously, they can be a great source of comfort food after a hard day. Since they are very easy to eat, you can grab a bowl, sit down in front of the television, and lose your sorrows in bite after delicious bite.
However, mashed potato cravings can play a more important role in your health. Should you be a diabetic and be suffering from low blood sugar, mashed potatoes can be a great food to eat to get energy levels back up to where they need to be. Easily and quickly digested, mashed potatoes allow carbohydrates to get back into your bloodstream and raise blood sugar levels.
Texture is also another reason why you may be craving mashed potatoes. Should you have been eating lost of foods with harder textures, or perhaps have health or dental issues that prevent you from chewing and digesting certain foods, mashed potatoes will be a food you crave on a regular basis.
Why Do I Crave Potatoes All the Time?
If you crave potatoes seemingly all the time, you may have what is known as a habitual food craving. More than likely, this has come about due to you eating more than your fair share of processed potatoes, such as potato chips, onion rings, tater tots, and similar potato treats.
While the salty and processed potatoes taste great with your favorite sandwich, burger, or just by themselves, they are not very good for your health. If you have a craving potatoes deficiency, such as needing additional potassium or magnesium, this can explain why you are always craving potatoes.
What Does Craving Potatoes Mean?
When the taste of potatoes just won’t leave your mind, one way to solve your dilemma may be to drink more water. While dehydration is a prime reason for potato cravings, you can stave off dehydration by incorporating more ways to drink water into your daily routine. These can include drinking a glass of water before you go to sleep at night, drinking water multiple times during the day, keeping a bottle of water nearby in case you start to feel thirsty, and adding a slice of lemon or cucumber to your glass of water, which will give you even more moisture while also providing additional health benefits.
What Can I Substitute When I Crave Potatoes?
Though it may take some time to get into the habit of doing so, you can break your potato craving by gradually substituting other types of food in its place. As an example, if you are always opening a bag of potato chips when you are feeling stressed, opt for a healthier alternative like air-popped popcorn or crunchy produce like carrots and celery.
Nuts, such as pistachios, are another great alternative to curb potato cravings. In fact, when you eat unsalted pistachios, you can eat well over three times as many pistachios as potato chips per ounce, meaning you get filled up faster with a more healthy snack. In addition, you’ll get lots of protein, fiber, and healthy fats that won’t be in your potato chips.
Is a Potato Craving Weird?
No. When a food craving occurs, it usually means you are suffering from a lack of sleep or physical activity, high stress levels, a poor diet, or perhaps a hormonal imbalance. Since these cravings can come due to factors involving your physical or mental health, talking with your doctor may be necessary if you need additional help.
FAQ
What Does it Mean to Crave Potatoes?
When you crave potatoes, it means your body is most likely lacking either water or energy. To put your craving to rest, you can drink more water or have a serving of healthy, unprocessed potatoes, such as a baked potato or mashed potatoes.
How Do I Stop Craving Potatoes?
To stop your craving for potatoes, there are two things you can do that work very well. First, since your body is requiring carbohydrates and fiber, you can add various whole grains to your diet, such as oatmeal, whole wheat bread, and brown rice. Your craving may also signal dehydration, meaning you can begin drinking more water as part of your daily routine.
What Happens if You Eat a Potato Every Day?
When you consume a potato every day, you’ll get complex carbohydrates to give your body essential fuel. You will also get fiber that will help your digestion, potassium to maintain your heart, plenty of protein, and essential vitamins and minerals such as iodine, thiamin, niacin, and Vitamin B6.
Why Do I Like Potatoes So Much?
You like potatoes so much because they can be fixed many different ways, are easy to chew and digest, and can act as a comfort food. Your potato craving may also be due to physiological needs, such as giving you plenty of energy and helping to elevate your mood.
