Did you realise the bacterial and fungal composition of your gut largely determines your food preferences? It can determine the types of foods you crave, as well as how hungry you get. Just like any living creature, the bugs in your gut need to eat. Some types of bad bugs have a high requirement for sugar, and they can make you develop strong sugar cravings until they get what they need.

Most people assume their food cravings are the result of lack of willpower, hormones or fatigue. It’s true all of those factors play a role, but your gut bugs may play an equally important part. If you have recently gone through a phase of overindulging in sugary, fatty foods, this may have caused an overgrowth of harmful bacteria and Candida in your intestines. These bugs require you to keep eating those foods for their survival, potentially triggering strong food cravings for you.

We each have a slightly different composition of gut bugs inside our intestines, and their food preferences vary. Your dominant gut bugs will have the greatest influence over your physiology and food preferences. Researchers have found that intestinal bacteria can affect your food choices in several ways:

  • They can change the expression of your taste receptors, causing certain foods to taste better.
  • They can cause the release of hunger-inducing hormones.
  • They can manipulate the vagus nerve (which connects your stomach to your brain) to control your eating behavior.

The good news is you can change your food cravings. You have a lot of control over what types of bacteria grow inside your digestive tract. Studies have shown that consuming more vegetables and probiotics skews the balance of gut bugs in a favorable way; promoting the growth of bugs that make you crave healthy foods.

Reference