Cravings For PUFAs

Vanced

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Why do I have cravings for pufas? I try to keep a strict no pufa diet however usually give in after 5 days or so due to extreme hunger that saturated/meat fats don't satiate, only when having some pufas does my hunger go away. However, if I keep eating them negative symptoms start to appear, mainly brain fog, cold extremities and edema.
 
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If mayonnaise had no salt, vinegar and lemon juice it wouldn't taste good. If ranch dressing didn't have salt, sugar and flavorings it also wouldn't taste good. Pufa oil by itself doesn't taste good. French fries without salt and ketchup, gross. People don't crave pufa, they crave what it's coated with.
 

Mjhl85

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If mayonnaise had no salt, vinegar and lemon juice it wouldn't taste good. If ranch dressing didn't have salt, sugar and flavorings it also wouldn't taste good. Pufa oil by itself doesn't taste good. French fries without salt and ketchup, gross. People don't crave pufa, they crave what it's coated with.
really? why dont they just eat salt and ketchup then?
 
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really? why dont they just eat salt and ketchup then?

The OP said they crave pufa. If they really craved pufa, why don't they just swallow a cup of safflower oil then? Pure pufa. You can eat French fries fried in non pufa oil and it would still taste good. It's not the pufa that tastes good. Swish some canola oil around while you swallow it and see if you can can do so without throwing up.
 
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Vanced

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I tend to eat nuts when I have this craving, it's usually hit or miss if I feel good or crap after. Something like vegetable oil would make me feel shite. I can't help but think the body does have at least some requirement for these fats. I'm not basing that on any studies or facts though so could be completely wrong.

I have the say the main thing is the hunger that comes from restricting pufas, though that could just be increased metabolism.
 

Tarmander

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I think when you combine Pufa with carbs, the food becomes very addictive. Any of the big 600 lb life people eat some kind of mixture of PUFA and carbs. My hunch is that the short term effects of PUFA, like lowering blood sugar or endotoxin, make you hungry, and contribute to eating more. When the long term effects of lowered metabolism and inflammation kick in, they get even hungrier. Those big fat people, they are literally starving all the time, but not for plain rice, or corn, no they need the PUFA/Carb 50/50 mix.

In fact there was a documentary not to long ago that walked around New York offering people a choice of three donuts: a plain glazed donut, a cream filled donut, and a icing topped donut. 90% of the people took the glazed because it was an exact 50/50 mix of PUFA and starch. The cream filled was too much fat, the icing was too much sugar.

My anecdotal evidence comes from a brand of potato chips fried in coconut oil that I occasionally buy. Potato/corn chips are the most addictive food to many people, just think of Mexican food restaurants. When I eat this brand of chips fried in coconut oil, I am kind of full after a couple handfuls. A bag will usually sit on my counter for a couple weeks without being finished. If it was blue corn chips in Safflower...I could eat multiple 12oz bags. I know because I used to when I thought blue corn was like the best super food on the planet.
 

Mjhl85

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The OP said they crave pufa. If they really craved pufa, why don't they just swallow a cup of safflower oil then? Pure pufa. You can eat French fries fried in non pufa oil and it would still taste good. It's not the pufa that tastes good. Swish some canola oil around while you swallow it and see if you can can do so without throwing up.
There's a lot of talk of combining macros. Perhaps there is some craving of the combo of pufa oil with those other tasty ingredients. Just as the those other things are not joyfully eaten on their own as pleasurable food I wouldn't assume having pufa oil on its own is that great either. So back to addressing the craving.
 

InChristAlone

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Yeah id like to know what PUFA foods you are referring to because I'm sure you are not just taking a spoonful of oil. I also used to get irresistible cravings for things like Doritos, those are like PUFA bombs but they also had tons of seasonings that were highly addictive and maybe all I really needed was more calories and salt. I don't have chip cravings at all anymore, I might eat them if they are in front of me or we go to a restaurant but I just hate the way I feel after so it's a huge deterrent. Now bacon I love but I couldn't call that a PUFA craving.
 

Pet Peeve

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I wonder if these cravings could have something to do with cellular respiration. I started methylene blue, pau d'arco and bag breathing at the same time and my PUFA cravings are completely gone. Before, I'd often crack and buy a bag of Doritos or something.
 

What-a-Riot

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"Why do I have cravings for pufas? I try to keep a strict no pufa diet..."

Ask me it's pretty much that simple. It feels like repression to you so there's a build up of tension and a rebound. I'd think if someone gave you seasoned French fries or chips made in coconut oil and/or butter and you thought you were getting that PUFA you'd been restricting you'd get all the satisfaction you needed. I'd try to definitely moderate PUFA, but if you think you're gonna be eating it its probably just like anything else, spreading the load will be less harmful than binging.

I say don't worry too much about it, cut back, and try to relax while you change your mind to better understand what you're going for. Eventually it may be that being more strict won't feel constricting at all, and that's the ideal situation. And of course remember plenty of people consume plenty of PUFA and live perfectly well, the fact that you even have a mind to avoid it puts you in a better spot.
 

Derek

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The OP said they crave pufa. If they really craved pufa, why don't they just swallow a cup of safflower oil then? Pure pufa. You can eat French fries fried in non pufa oil and it would still taste good. It's not the pufa that tastes good.

The original OP wasn't talking about taste, they were talking about satiety. There are many explanations, that I'm sure you're aware of, why PUFA's suppress appetite. Just like how coconut oil increases appetite/calorie consumption.


Swish some canola oil around while you swallow it and see if you can can do so without throwing up.

The same think would happen with heavy cream, beef fat or pork lard; so I really don't see your point. This isn't a property that only PUFA oils have.
 

tara

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The same think would happen with heavy cream, beef fat or pork lard; so I really don't see your point. This isn't a property that only PUFA oils have.
Are you kidding? Cream, butter, lard, mutton fat can all go down easy if I let myself. I exercise restraint. I'd be spitting out soy oil or canola, though.
 

Derek

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Are you kidding? Cream, butter, lard, mutton fat can all go down easy if I let myself. I exercise restraint. I'd be spitting out soy oil or canola, though.

Yes, that's true and do you know why? It's because you have been eating SF for a very long time, while completely restricting PUFA. I know people who eat a diet with SF only, and even a TBSP of PUFA oil makes them sick. It's not because of anything specific in PUFA, it's because their body is not accustomed to eating PUFA. Conversely, I have seen people who have eaten a high PUFA diet with no SF for long periods of time, and even small amounts of cream, butter, lard or mutton fat make them pretty ill. However, the best example is people who eat low fat diets, they are going to be pretty bilious and nauseous when they add any fat back to their diet, whether it's PUFA or not, until they get accustomed to eating fat.

Also, my original point was drawn from Westside saying how 1 cup of oil would make someone throw up. I was just pointing out that it depends on your diet, health circumstances, if you have been eating high fat or low fat, etc... Of course if you've been eating SF for years you won't have an issue consuming a cup of cream, but if you've been eating high PUFA for years I don't think you'd have trouble drinking a cup of canola oil either.
 

Birdie

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Sometimes I'll have those coconut oil tortilla chips now, instead of the pufa tortilla chips. Or popcorn made in butter.. Since I've been off gluten for years, flour and pufa foods aren't an option. And I can't eat potatoes, so potatoes and pufas aren't an option either. Potato chips I mean.

Still, for sure, the starch, even from corn, with fat makes me crave more.
When you have to cook for yourself, and you get cravings for starchy oily things, it's not like you feel like cooking up your own chips or whatever.

Another thing that helps is to have an omelette cooked in butter with apricot jam or maple syrup. And that doesn't lead to more cravings for me. I make my jam and keep in in the fridge. And luckily have no allergic type reaction to Costco maple syrup from Canada.

But it's an ongoing situation for me.
 

schultz

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However, the best example is people who eat low fat diets, they are going to be pretty bilious and nauseous when they add any fat back to their diet, whether it's PUFA or not, until they get accustomed to eating fat.

There may be something to this, though I am not quite sure of all the reasons why. I was however reading a study recently and they were saying how these mice that were eating a high fat diet for some time developed different small intestine and colon lengths versus mice on regular chow.

Soybean Oil Is More Obesogenic and Diabetogenic than Coconut Oil and Fructose in Mouse: Potential Role for the Liver

"Mice on all four HFDs had significantly shorter small intestines compared to Viv-fed mice. Colon length was also shorter in these mice although the difference was significant only between Viv versus SO-HFD or HFD. These effects are most likely due to the reduced amount of fiber in the HFD diets compared to the fiber-rich Viv chow as fiber is known to increase intestinal mass and crypt cell production ."

I don't know if it's because they were eating like this since birth or if this can actually happen to some 40 year old human who goes on a high-fat diet for 5 years, but it's an interesting thought.

I had dinner at my parents house the other week, and my mother is "paleo" so cooks high fat things. I don't remember what exactly it was, burger or ribs or something, but it made me feel sick and gave me reflux, which never happens. My fat has been around 10% for a few months. When my mother eats something high in sugar she says it makes her jittery or something like that (I wasn't quite listening). She says "I just don't do well on sugar, it's how my body works." as if it can never be altered or adapted to another way of eating.

The body is pretty amazing.
 

lvysaur

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Maybe you're still in an overall excited state.

Cravings in general are a sign of bad health, in my opinion. I've had many different types of cravings (not just food) while in an unhealthy state. They went away when true recovery took place, and I am actually somewhat disgusted or neutral toward the things I used to crave.

I think some foods are traditionally "craved", while others are "appreciated", and that cravings are a more primitive/non-oxidative form of desire.

Peat diets are low on "craved" foods; fried foods, meat, potatoes, etc., and high in "uncraveable" foods; milk, sugar, fruit, eggs.

I know someone's going to say that sugar is a commonly craved food, but I've personally never craved sugar in my life. I think the people who crave sugar experience a different type of craving than for meats and fried foods.
 

tara

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Yes, that's true and do you know why? It's because you have been eating SF for a very long time, while completely restricting PUFA. I know people who eat a diet with SF only, and even a TBSP of PUFA oil makes them sick.
Not quite. While I was restricting dairy but eating lots of beef and mutton and PUFA oils, I used canola and other PUFA oils to cook more strongly tasting food that tasted OK (but messed with my energy levels in retrospect), but by themselves they would have tasted terrible. Unlike beef, mutton, pork, coconut and dairy fat, which taste great to me.
 

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