Your body tells you to eat chocolate or a curry - but what does it really mean?

YOU'RE at work, up to your ears in meetings and reports. Then out of nowhere, it hits you: stodge. You hardly ever eat comfort food, in fact you positively avoid it, but if you don't get your hands on a big, steaming plate of carbohydrates there is going to be trouble.

Most of us have at some point in our lives fought an all-consuming desire for a particular food. No matter how firm your resolve, the sudden urge for a bar of chocolate or a bag of crisps can be overwhelming and maddening.

In many cases though, these dietary urges have nothing to do with fragile willpower, nor are they linked with hunger. They are, in fact, our body's way of trying to correct a chemical imbalance or point to a nutritional deficiency.

According to Sarah Stelling, a nutritional therapist at the Edinburgh Centre of Nutrition and Therapy, many of us encounter preoccupations with certain foods on a regular basis. "By the time we become adults, food cravings are very common," she says. "Many of these are unhealthy impulses that should not be indulged, but others reflect an imbalance in our systems."

Stelling points to the fact that very occasionally our bodies start to crave foods we are allergic to. "It is possible to develop a sensitivity to food items we eat every day for years," she says. "Sometimes we then start to crave that food. It can be self-perpetuating. The more we indulge a craving, the more upset our system becomes."

So what should we do about our culinary hankerings? "Food cravings are your body's cry for nutrients," she says, "not for crisps, chocolate or fast food. A balanced and varied diet that includes everything our bodies need is the only real way to get rid of them. That, and a little restraint sometimes."

YOU CRAVE ... SALTY TREATS

YOU NEED ... TO RELAX

If you crave food like crisps when you're up against it, this may indicate your adrenal glands, which produce stress hormones, are over-exerting themselves. People who lead hectic lives crave salt as their bodies need the minerals found within it that are responsible for stabilising their adrenal glands. Table salt and the stuff in processed food is stripped of these minerals though, so knocking back a bag of prawn cocktail crisps won't help. Try to come up with a new way to unwind, whether it's a walk in the park or a relaxing massage. You will curb your cravings, and by cutting your sodium intake, also lower your risk of heart disease.

YOU CRAVE ... A CURRY

YOU NEED ... AN IMMUNE system BOOST

As a food group, spices are high in antioxidants and therefore have many potential health benefits, including cancer and cardio-vascular disease prevention, as well as having anti-ageing properties. Studies have shown you only need small quantities of healthy spices to reap the benefits. If you're in the mood for spicy food, it can be a sign that you are run down and need a health boost - smoking, drinking and restrictive diets can all weaken your defences. To satisfy a spice craving without loading up on a fatty masala, try to incorporate more spices into your favourite dishes.

YOU CRAVE ... RED MEAT

YOU NEED ... Much MORE SHUT EYE

Does your craving for red meat coincide with your habit of nodding off halfway through the afternoon? If you find yourself needing to nap no matter how long you've slept, you might need a healthy helping of iron. Instead of reaching for the caffeine, eat some protein, a rich source of iron. A high intake of saturated fat can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and other related disorders. As an alternative source of animal protein, choose poultry, fish and shellfish. Foods such as nuts, seeds, lentils, beans, pulses, vegetable protein foods and soya products also all contain iron. There are also small amounts in grains and dairy products.

YOU CRAVE ... CHOCOLATE

YOU NEED ... CHEERED UP

It can be easy to assume our craving for chocolate is our body telling us we need a sugar fix. Far from it. This can actually be a sign that we are down in the dumps. Chocolate contains alkaloids which raise levels of the hormone serotonin. If you want chocolate morning, noon and night your serotonin levels may be too low and you could find you're feeling blue a bit too often. Get outside or do something active; exercise produces a plentiful supply of feelgood chemicals.

YOU CRAVE ... CARBS

YOU NEED ... A SUGAR RUSH

The snow and ice have melted at last, but chilly temperatures are lingering, and with them our desire for carb-heavy comfort foods. While it may be tempting to indulge, this can actually be a sign that your body's blood glucose levels are low. Medically this is known as hypoglycaemia. Try to avoid sweets and chow down on 'good' sugars such as fruit and complex carbs during a main meal, including whole grain pasta and rice.

• This article was first published in the Scotland on Sunday on January 30, 2011