It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: It’s 9:30pm and you’re sitting in your living room watching TV. It’s a good distraction from your daily issues but in the back of you’re mind you’re still thinking, “How am I going to pay for that? What did he mean when he said this? How am I going to finish that pile at work waiting to greet me at work tomorrow?” You get up because you feel like eating something to help you get through this emotional bump. But instead of reaching for the bag of cookies you knew you shouldn’t have bought, you reach for your jar of peanut butter and a spoon.

It happens more often than you would think. When I went in for an appointment with my nutritional counsellor last week, I was embarrassed to say that I’ve had these strong urges to eat peanut butter at night. Okay I'll admit it here and now. I’ve had my nights where all I want to do is sit and eat spoonfuls of peanut butter right from the jar. I could have EASILY eaten a whole cup one night if it weren't for the fact that I had very little left in the jar from all my other nights of peanut butter cravings. All I could think of when I take a spoonful is, "What the hell is wrong with me?!?"

(PLEASE NOTE: I only eat natural peanut butter. If you crave peanut butter and eat the kind that has added sugar, then you probably crave the sugar only or in addition to everything else I will mention.)

When I spoke about these craving with my nutritional counsellor, she told me that these cravings are probably due to a lack of B complex vitamins.

What? You mean it actually means something?

But of course I should have known that. So I looked it up further. Blog entries upon message boards upon online articles!! I would have never guessed that it was that common. Most people say that it’s because the body is craving protein and there are a lot of people who don’t get enough protein so for the most part that’s probably true for them. For me however, I do believe I get enough protein during the day or enough that my body wouldn’t be craving it at night.

I looked to my favourite nutritional website, World’s Healthiest Foods. The following information on peanuts comes from this site:
Peanuts include (in order of richness) manganese, tryptophan, niacin (vitamin B3), folate (vitamin B9), copper and protein. I want to give a brief description of what each of these do.

Manganese: Helps body utilize other key nutrients, maintains normal blood sugar levels, maintains nerve health and protects cells from free-radical damage. High blood sugar can result from not enough manganese.

Tryptophan: Regulates appetite and sleep, elevates mood. Overeating and carbohydrate cravings can result from not enough tryptophan.

Niacin-B3: Lowers cholesterol levels, stabilizes blood sugar, helps body process fats. Digestive problems can result from not enough niacin.

Folate-B9: Helps prevent anemia and homocysteine build up, allows nerves to function properly, supports cell production. Depression can result from not enough folate.

Copper: Helps body utilize iron (oxygen distribution), reduces damage from free radicals, keeps thyroid gland functioning properly. Elevated LDL cholesterol can result from not enough copper.

Protein: keeps immune system functioning properly, maintains healthy skin, hair and nails, helps body produce enzymes (important for everything that goes on in our bodies, especially digestion). Fatigue and weakness can result from not enough protein.

So turns out most of these as a combination is a good way of preventing stress and helping to sleep, especially the tryptophan. (I find funny that I overeat the peanut butter, which has a component that helps preventing overeating!) Niacin helps too in a sense of digestion since if you’re not digesting well, you’re not going to sleep well.

I am happy to say that these intense cravings have subsided for the past few weeks. I have been sleeping better, although I do sometimes tend to go to bed too late (my own fault) and still have to get up early. I stress out at times, mostly when I’m at work but I do find it easier to relax at home. My nutritional counsellor suggested that I take Vitamin B Complex supplements but I don’t think I will unless it starts back up again.