Food commonalities

[UffishThought]

I've heard that sometimes you crave things to fulfill some sort of nutritional deficiency. I'm not sure how true that is, but it's kind of interesting. Lately these are the things I've been craving: brussels sprouts, salmon, mushrooms, spinach, chocolate, and cranberry juice. Is there some kind of commonality I'm missing? They all seem very flavor-intense, but that's about as far as I can figure it.

[Zedability]

Antioxidants?

[Giovanni Schwartz]

Something that they don't have in common is color. Maybe you're just rainbow deficient.

[NerdGirl]

In one of my how to deal with celiac disease books, the author had a section about what to do when you crave things that you can't eat anymore, and she had figured out that she craved specific types of foods when she had various emotional needs that weren't being met. So she made a chart for herself with things like pretzels=loneliness, pasta=she misses her mom, cookies=she's really tired, etc. That might be another avenue to explore to explain your cravings - do they happen when you are feeling a certain way?

Looking at your list of foods, I can think of a few commonalities (B vitamins in the leafy greens, mushrooms, and salmon, for example), but there's no one thing that comes to mind that all of those foods have that is something you are likely to be deficient in. But on the spectrum of nutritional value, all of those things fall in the area of pretty decent to excellent, so if you keep craving them, it's not going to hurt you to eat a lot of them. It's not like you're craving pizza and beer. So I think it would perfectly legit if you gave into those cravings for a while and watched to see if they went away. But obviously that wouldn't solve the mystery of what you are missing, which is very unsatisfying!

[Yarjka]

Those are all foods I have eaten in the past two days.

I deduce that you actually crave any food I happen to eat.

To test my theory, I will eat dirt tomorrow. Please report back when your craving for dirt arrives.

[krebscout]

Iron. All of them have iron.

[Eirene]

They've done a fair bit of research on food cravings (mostly in the context of pregnant women, but it applies regardless), and the general consensus is that cravings don't indicate specific nutritional deficiencies. The one possible exception is pica, an urge to eat non-food items like clay or dirt, which is sometimes associated with iron deficiency.
I think NerdGirl was right when she pointed out that most cravings are filling an emotional or psychological need, not a biological one.

[Katya]

They've done a fair bit of research on food cravings (mostly in the context of pregnant women, but it applies regardless), and the general consensus is that cravings don't indicate specific nutritional deficiencies. The one possible exception is pica, an urge to eat non-food items like clay or dirt, which is sometimes associated with iron deficiency.
I think NerdGirl was right when she pointed out that most cravings are filling an emotional or psychological need, not a biological one.

Pfff. I don't care what "science" says—I have a severe chocolate deficiency!

[Whistler]

my grandma had a theory that you crave what is bad for you... maybe that was just her

[Portia]

Iron. All of them have iron.

Could Uffish be slightly anemic?

[UffishThought]

I do take an unusual number of naps. But that's probably because I'm a night owl who's forced to wake up early. And yet it would be nice to say it's not my fault. I sleep all the time because I need more steaks!

I am interested to hear that the whole "you crave what you need" theory is bunk. Good to know!

And Whistler, your grandma apparently never met me. (Wait--actually, I think she did, once.) I've got a sweet tooth too, but my savory tooth is much stronger.

[bobtheenchantedone]

I do crave things like fruit and vegetables on a regular basis, but when I'm actually sick with a cold or something I crave things like slurpees and frozen pizzas. Apparently my body hates being sick so much that it wants to make it worse and try to put me out of my misery.

[Yarjka]

I've got a sweet tooth too, but my savory tooth is much stronger.

What are your other 30 teeth?