CORE-2026 What to do against cravings at the end of the day?

Evening cravings aren't the same for everyone, but when they strike, one thing is certain: they're very difficult to resist. They generally occur a few hours after dinner. Hunger suddenly hits, and we feel an intense need to eat anything within reach. Most often, to calm this bout of hunger, we opt for cookies, sweets, the classic tub of ice cream from Bridget Jones, or reach for an aperitif with highly processed savory crackers. In short, we eat comfort foods that are far too high in calories because they contain too much fat, sugar, and salt. In the long run, these evening "binges" are harmful to our health.

Don't feel guilty right away! It happens to all of us. Stop the pointless, self-deprecating thoughts: "I can't resist," "I'm weak," "I'm going to get huge." If your body reacts this way, there's a reason. It's giving you crucial information! Don't mistake the enemy: your body only wants what's best for you. Your nighttime cravings are the message your body sends when something needs to be rebalanced.

Why do we get cravings in the evening?

Late-day cravings, both sweet and savory, are often linked to a deficiency in vitamins and minerals. These are necessary to produce serotonin, the feel-good hormone. Serotonin calms, soothes, and relaxes us at the end of the day. It helps us fall asleep, which should not be long in coming. It is essential after a difficult day or significant stress.

Unfortunately, our modern, nonstop lifestyle depletes our nutrient reserves needed to produce:

• Cortisol, the stress hormone,
• And dopamine, the action hormone that gives us all the energy we need to face the day.

So, when the time comes for us to relax and stop, our supply of vitamins and minerals has run out. Without any raw materials, serotonin production is then impossible.

To replenish its vitamin stores and help us relax, the body calls for food. In short, a craving appears. It often takes the form of a craving for something sweet, but sometimes something salty (although salty foods often conceal refined sugars), alcohol (also a sugar), or a cigarette. By giving in to this craving, you trigger a spike in blood sugar that limits the effects of serotonin in your body. Nighttime cravings occur to help us relax and feel better.

So don't feel guilty! Your cravings are there for your own good. If you feel guilty, the craving becomes ineffective. You become stressed and enter a vicious cycle in which hunger calls for more hunger. That is when you gain weight!

What deficiencies cause nighttime cravings?

The most common craving at the end of the day is for chocolate. It may signal a magnesium deficiency. When we know that 73% of the population is magnesium deficient, we better understand why we are all addicted to chocolate.

A craving for a salty food may be a sign of dehydration. Salty foods promote water retention and therefore the storage of water in the body.

Why are we deficient?

In naturopathy, we always try to find the cause behind the cause. To put an end to our nighttime cravings permanently, we need to understand where they come from.

According to a study conducted by ANSES (French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety), most diets and meals do not meet the requirements for iron, magnesium, and vitamin D, and a quarter of them do not meet the requirements for vitamin C and calcium. Under these conditions, it is normal for our bodies to express themselves through nighttime cravings to avoid deficiencies. Their sole objective is to keep us alive.

Repeated dieting therefore worsens our deficiencies. And our deficiencies increase our hunger in order to compensate for the imbalance.

Low-calorie foods also encourage snacking. Low-calorie products are indeed low in calories. However, to restore their sweet taste, artificial sweeteners are often added. These molecules have a strong sweetening power but contain no nutrients. There are many of them; the best known are: aspartame, sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin, acesulfame potassium, neotame, alitame…

Although they provide no calories, they are not harmless to our health! Once in the mouth, our brain analyzes the sweet taste and thinks it will have to take in glucose. It therefore triggers insulin production to let glucose enter our cells. But when it doesn't see the glucose arriving, it signals hypoglycemia. You will then feel tired, but above all, you will want to eat something sweet right away.

How can you avoid end-of-day cravings? 5 appetite-suppressing tips!

To avoid cravings, it is therefore important to address our deficiencies through a diet based on fresh, unprocessed foods. The primary goal is to replace all high-glycemic-index foods (fast sugars and fake slow sugars such as bread, pasta, and chips) with healthy foods. And healthy doesn't mean boring!

1/ Treat yourself to smart snacks!

Replace refined sugars with healthy treats. To do this, start by having a snack around 4:30 p.m. Between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., your body naturally produces insulin, so the sugar you eat will be used effectively and won't make you gain weight.

Eat 1 or 2 seasonal fruits you enjoy and add a plant-based fat, such as nuts, along with dark chocolate containing as little sugar as possible. By enjoying this snack, you replenish your nutrient stores and avoid evening cravings.

3 ideas for ideal snacks:

• A banana with melted dark chocolate and a few hazelnuts. Bananas, dark chocolate, and hazelnuts are rich in tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin.
• A fresh, sugar-free smoothie blending fruits and vegetables to replenish your vitamin stores. You can add a little plant-based milk to make it more filling.
• Plain yogurt with protein powders of your choice added for a highly filling, protein-rich, low-calorie snack.

2/ Don't skip dinner

In the evening, we tend to eat too lightly and silence our true appetite. For years, we have been telling ourselves that we need to make dinner as light as possible so as not to gain weight and maintain our figure. FALSE! Nighttime is when your body regenerates. To repair each of our cells, it needs energy. Dinner must therefore be sufficiently complete and nutritious to support the body's efforts throughout the night.

• Starches are beneficial in the evening because they are very comforting and rich in tryptophan.
• Avoid proteins that prevent tryptophan absorption.
• Also make sure to get plenty of fiber and vegetables. Vegetables should make up more than half of your plate.

3/ Take the time to chew

Take the time to chew thoroughly. Chewing triggers our feeling of satiety and thus helps avoid post-dinner snacking. When these food cravings strike, it is not uncommon for us to reach for crunchy foods that force us to chew, such as dry biscuits, bread, or nuts. In addition, chewing improves our digestion. Never forget that your stomach still has no teeth! By chewing, we also promote the secretion of serotonin, which is produced mainly in our intestines.

4/ Don't eat dinner in front of the television or computer

When facing a screen, you eat without paying any attention to your hunger. You will then eat more than necessary. You will also tend to snack in front of the television after the meal. Try to eat mindfully while focusing on your plate, without any distractions.

5/ Don't forget to stay hydrated!

To avoid hunger pangs, remember to drink at least 1.5 liters of water throughout the day. Water delivers nutrients to your cells and thus ensures the proper functioning of the body.

If you get hungry in the evening, what should you eat to avoid gaining weight?

If hunger strikes in the evening, don't fight it. Try to satisfy your cravings, but intelligently.

One of the best ways to resist the urge at first is to drink. When the body is dehydrated, it tends to send a message to the brain that may be misinterpreted. We often tend to confuse hunger with thirst. After drinking a large glass of water or herbal tea, hunger generally subsides after 20 minutes.

If your hunger persists, you can snack healthily without gaining weight. So what snacks should you eat in the evening?

Craving sweet foods? Choose from the following snacks:

• Whole-grain sourdough bread (gluten-free) + Almond butter or fruit jam (with no added sugar)
• Dark chocolate
• Sugar-free fruit salad with your choice of ground seeds
• Dried fruits rich in fiber, minerals, and vitamins, such as raisins, dried apricots, dates, or dried figs

Craving salty foods? Choose from the following snacks:

• Whole-grain sourdough bread + guacamole or hummus
• Seasonal vegetables cut into pieces for dipping in guacamole or hummus
• A serving of fresh goat cheese with a slice of whole-grain sourdough bread (gluten-free)

Be careful not to make snacking a habit!

Even if these little snacks are healthy and easy to prepare, it is important to avoid making them too frequent.

But what should you do if the cravings persist?

Without improvement, your cravings are surely a sign of a need for relaxation, comfort, or love. Once again, your body will try to help you through foods that make you feel good, at least for a moment.

• French fries provide us with crispiness and softness to ease our stress
• Ice cream comforts us when we are sad thanks to its smooth, creamy texture.
• The piece of chocolate in front of the TV eliminates the problems we are unable to solve.

Managing our emotions by eating is like thinking that a cigarette relieves our distress... It works for a few minutes but does not solve the underlying problem, which persists. Our body continues to become imbalanced. What if you started by dealing with your emotions first?

To calm your emotions, 4x8x8x8 breathing is a valuable tool. With your mouth closed, inhale for 4 counts. Hold your breath for 8 counts. Exhale for 8 counts. Hold for 8 counts. Repeat at least 3 times. The urge to snack subsides immediately.

WARNING: The advice given in this article is general in nature. Every individual is different. Evening cravings become pathological when they turn into binge eating or bulimia. Night eating syndrome is estimated to affect 1 to 2% of the population and around 10% of people with obesity. Consulting a naturopath may help you manage your food cravings and restore a healthy relationship with food.