A list of known satisfiers

Today I would like to look at the way cravings work in a little more depth.  When yin and yang get out of balance, the aspect that is in excess creates a need for the other aspect to bring it into balance.  In other words, if you are too yang, your body will crave yin.  If your body is too yin, you will crave yang.  Remember the body can be excess yin and yang at the same time.

Most food vendors know this intuitively.  It is the reason that bars give away free popcorn because they know that the salt will make you crave their alcoholic beverages.  If you look at the grocery store and observe how much shelf space is devoted to foods in the middle of the yin and yang spectrum as opposed to the shelf space devoted to foods that are at the extreme ends of the spectrum you will begin to see the enormity of the problem.

Food advertising works on these imbalances.  Food advertisers know that you have developed a list of known satisfiers that have satisfied your cravings in the past.  When you are craving yang and a big mac or a pizza appears on your tv screen you scan your list of known satisfiers to see if what you are watching is on your list.  If it is, you are very likely to make an appointment with yourself to meet up with that particular food in the near future.

How do foods get on our list of know satisfiers?  Food advertising often motivates us to try a food that we have not tried before to see if it qualifies for our list.  Peers often pressure us into trying foods or other substances and then if the craving is present, our list is often updated.  This is how drug dealers work.  They give you a free sample so that your list of known satisfiers gets updated.  Once there, if the opportunity presents itself we are ready to use that food again to satisfy our craving.  Eating in a balanced way removes these cravings and allows us to take control of our lives.

Thanks for reading.