Hungies? 🍩 What Makes You Crave?

The body and mind are interconnected; what the body needs, the mind seeks. The serotonin in a sugary melt or the fullness in your core after a warm, creamy pasta – what you crave ties into your emotions, memories and hormones, it’s more than a craving. It's brain chemistry.

Every craving reveals something about your body, understand the root of your emotional eating with an interactive 60-second quiz. ▶️

The Psyche 🧠

Whether it be a dark winter afternoon, your feet hidden under thick socks and warmed by the flame of an old heater backgrounded by the ambience of a movie you are no longer watching; you crave. Perhaps, an exceptionally hot spring day, the sun blinds your eyes and the overwhelming aftertaste of the Mediterranean sea prickles your mouth in all its salty glory; you crave.

What makes you crave? You feel it surge through your body in waves, with each one more overwhelming than the last. The urges fluctuate, salty and crunchy then sickly sweet. You crave texture, rich creams, sugar glazed, peppered and roasted; it’s only natural.

There are a thousand reasons we crave, the rumble in your stomach may be the cause of your cravings, a biological need for energy. When your body is physically hungry you’ll find yourself craving carbohydrates or protein. You may want a cheese toastie or long for a homemade bolognese; the root of physical hunger is easy to get to, the roots of emotional cravings, are not.

Cravings aren’t just hunger, they’re direct signals from the hypothalamus. The area in your brain which regulates both your appetite and your emotional responses, they’re interconnected. In some way, your cravings are dependent on your emotions, how a spoon of rich honey brings you calm, or a spicy bowl of ramen cures a bored mind. Cravings are the body's needs, wrapped – or seasoned, in emotion.

Memories influence everything. It starts with the senses; the sight of heavy cream, the sizzle of oil, the smell of a warm stew – the body welcomes it all in, and allows it to take you back. Perhaps cinnamon triggers your memory of Christmas as a child or the smell of a fruit salad takes you back to a warm summer afternoon. These hunger cues become emotionally charged and you may find yourself craving something even if you weren’t hungry to begin with. It’s more than hunger, you crave experience, connection and a way back to these memories; it’s comfort. 

Cravings & Consciousness, Digital Comic Strip, Clay Gosden, 2025

The associations you create over habits will also influence your appetite, if you tend to eat ice-cream on rather blue days, your brain will think of ice-cream as the cure to sadness. Food impacts emotions through long intervals of repetitive actions. You can quite literally train your mind to think a certain way. Along this, your brain may even associate food with safety. This is commonly the cause of binge-eating, the sense of comfort and familiarity brings warmth to the mind when it can’t be found elsewhere. 

Enjoying every mouthful, crunch and sizzle of food allows your mind to fully comprehend it. If you crave, follow it and enjoy it to its fullest, let every bite marinate and sink its warmth into your stomach. It strengthens your emotional awareness, allowing you to understand when you’re full and what the food you’re eating actually makes you feel. Slow eating also allows your body to digest food effectively; meaning you fulfil your emotional needs and your physical ones. 

The importance of listening to your body is just as important as feeding your cravings. Knowing when to stop eating, how to slow your pace and embrace every bite, treat every meal to its fullest. Every slurp of broth, twirl of pasta and slice of heaven.

Food is so much more than fuel, it’s a way for us to feel. We socialise through food, create new memories and experience so much though every bite. Feel it all as deeply as you can, surf the craving-waves and let them guide you to what your soul savours.

Slow Bites, Calm Soul

Chew slow, savour flavour and understand the art of eating alongside a soothing playlist, created to guide you through every meal with a special clarity 🎵