Cravings are something we all experience. While a desire for your favorite Thai restaurant doesn’t always have a deeper meaning, our cravings can sometimes also communicate more to us.

Sometimes cravings can be our body’s way of telling us what we’re lacking. Deciphering these clues will give much insight into what’s going on inside of your body and how you can fix it.

What do your biggest cravings mean? Let’s dive in…

Craving Something Salty

Whether it’s fries, chips, or pretzels you’re dreaming of, you may be surprised to learn that your body could be a little dehydrated. The best way to tackle this is to have some water. Salty cravings also can indicate a need for calcium, but if you indulge in this, you’ll only temporarily raise calcium levels in your blood.

After ensuring you’ve had some more water, your best bet is to feed your body healthy foods with calcium. Grab a yogurt from the fridge, have a handful of raw almonds, or enjoy tofu topped with sesame seeds and green onions to tackle this craving and give your body what it’s asking for.

Chocolate, Chocolate, and More Chocolate

Do you feel the need for something sweet? When you’re craving chocolate, you likely need more magnesium. While it is common around your period, your body can also exhibit these signs of magnesium deficiency any time in the form of headaches, irritability, and fluid retention.

While enjoying some dark chocolate is enjoyable, you may also want to see how your body responds when you give it more natural magnesium forms. A spinach salad topped with nuts and seeds can help you get back to balance, as can enjoying a hearty soup full of legumes.

Craving meat?

If your body is craving meat, it could be signaling that it needs more iron. You can also get iron from fresh fish and poultry for those of you that don’t eat red meat. For the completely meatless options, you have tofu, lentils, kidney beans, cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, oatmeal, dried apricots, raisins, mushrooms, and potatoes can all give your body the iron it needs. Plant-based iron sources are harder to absorb, but you can help your body by pairing it with foods with plenty of vitamin C.

When it comes to cravings, it’s often your body’s way of telling you that you’re missing an essential nutrient.

It always helps to take in plenty of water, but when that craving is still sticking around, you may want to try these ways of getting your body what it needs and seeing if that kicks your cravings to the curb.