You started your healing journey with the best intentions. You cleaned out the pantry. You stocked the fridge with fruits and leafy greens. You committed. And then, somewhere around day three or four — or maybe day ten — the cravings hit like a freight train.
Chips. Cheese. Chocolate. Pizza. That specific thing you swore you were done with.
If this has happened to you, I need you to hear something: the cravings are not a sign that you're failing. They're a sign that you're healing.
I've seen this play out hundreds of times in my practice over the past three decades. Brilliant, motivated people who are ready to change their health, who feel blindsided when their body seems to fight them at every turn. And I get it, because I've lived it myself. Cravings nearly knocked me off course more than once on my own healing path.
The conventional world doesn't have much to say about why cravings surge right when you're doing the right things. But after 33 years of clinical work, combined with the functional nutrition and integrative lens I now practice through, I've come to understand that cravings are rarely about willpower. They're biological signals. And once you understand what's driving them, you can stop white-knuckling your way through and actually get ahead of them.
What's Really Behind Your Cravings
Most of us have been taught to think of cravings as behavioral habits or character flaws. In my experience, they almost always have a physiological root — and usually more than one operating at the same time.
The Bugs Are Losing Their Food Supply
This is one of the most important concepts I share with my clients, and it's one that shifted my entire clinical perspective. When you begin removing certain foods from your diet — particularly those that feed viral and bacterial overgrowth — the pathogens that have been quietly thriving in your body begin to starve.
As they die off, they release waste byproducts (toxins that can affect your nervous system and skin, among other things). And here's the part that surprises people: the die-off process itself can intensify cravings for the very foods the bugs were feeding on. Your body isn't craving cheese because it needs cheese. The organisms that were thriving on it are sending signals as they lose their fuel source.
Anthony William's Medical Medium work was one of the first places I encountered this concept articulated so clearly, and it resonated deeply with what I was already seeing clinically. When you understand that cravings can be driven by pathogenic activity rather than personal weakness, it changes the entire conversation.
Deep Cleansing Unlocks Old Patterns
When we start eating clean for an extended period, something unexpected often happens: old cravings that have been dormant for months or years come roaring back. I've had clients tell me they suddenly want foods they haven't thought about since childhood.
What I've come to understand, both through my own journey and my work with clients, is that the body stores more than just physical toxins. As the liver begins releasing its accumulated burden — heavy metals, old pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, pathogenic debris — the chemical and even emotional associations connected to those substances can resurface. You're not going backward. Your body is processing and releasing its history.
This is actually a sign the healing is working. But it can feel deeply destabilizing in the moment if you don't know what's happening.
The Adrenaline Trap: Fat Cravings Are Really Stimulant Cravings
This one catches almost everyone off guard, and it's something I talk about a lot in my practice because it connects directly to the nervous system hypervigilance I see in so many of my clients.
Here's what most people don't realize: cravings for fat are essentially cravings for stimulants. When we eat large amounts of overt fat, it forces the adrenal glands to release larger quantities of adrenaline hormone blends. Those hormones act as a stimulant in the body, and that stimulant effect masks the symptoms we're struggling with. The fatigue lifts for a moment. The brain fog clears temporarily. It feels like the meal "hit the spot" ... but what actually happened is that the fat triggered an adrenaline surge that's covering up how you really feel.
Over time, the body becomes dependent on that cycle. You eat fat, the adrenals pump out adrenaline, the adrenaline gives you a temporary lift, and your body learns to crave the fat again because it's chasing the stimulant effect. Meanwhile, the liver is quietly absorbing all that excess adrenaline, soaking it up like a sponge. And that adrenaline accumulation is one of the things that beats the liver down over time, contributing to the sluggish, overburdened liver that so many chronically ill people are dealing with.
So when you shift to a cleaner, lower-fat healing diet and the cravings for fat surge, what you're really withdrawing from is the stimulant effect. The craving for fat isn't about the fat. It's about the adrenaline hit your body had grown dependent on. Anthony William's work in Liver Rescue goes deep into this adrenaline-fat-liver connection, and I recommend that book to nearly every client I work with because it articulates what so many of us are living.
Your Liver Is Asking for Glucose
The liver runs on glucose — natural glucose from fruits, root vegetables, and raw honey. When its glucose reserves are depleted (which they are for most people, due to high-fat diets, chronic stress, and pathogenic activity), it sends hunger and craving signals.
The problem is that most of us misread those signals. The liver is asking for an apple or a banana. We reach for bread, crackers, or something sweet wrapped in fat. The genuine need for glucose gets hijacked and redirected toward foods that don't actually serve it.
I watch this pattern resolve over and over with my clients. Once they start giving their liver what it's actually asking for, the mystery hunger and the frantic quality of the cravings begin to soften.
Salt Cravings: A Mineral Deficiency in Disguise
If you find yourself reaching for the salt shaker, chips, or anything salty, your body is telling you something real — but it's not asking for table salt.
In my clinical experience, salt cravings are almost always a sign that the body is starving for the right kind of mineral salts. This is where I find Medical Medium information especially useful: Anthony William describes a unique subgroup of sodium in celery juice that he calls "sodium cluster salts." These are fundamentally different from table salt, sea salt, or Himalayan pink salt. They function as complete electrolytes that support neurotransmitter function, help the liver produce bile, and actually draw toxic old salt deposits out of the body.
When you crave salt, the answer isn't to pour more table salt on your food. It's to flood your system with the mineral salts your body actually recognizes and can use. Daily celery juice is one of the most powerful tools I know for resolving salt cravings at their root. Other foods rich in healing mineral salts include Atlantic sea vegetables, cilantro, parsley, spinach, and dark leafy greens.
Foods That Help Your Body Move Past Cravings
Beyond understanding what drives cravings, there are specific healing foods that actively support your body in releasing them. These aren't random "healthy swaps." Each one plays a distinct role in nourishing depleted systems, supporting the liver, and helping your body find its footing on a healing protocol. I pull many of these from Anthony William's Life-Changing Foods Expanded Edition, and I've seen them make a real difference with my clients.
Apricots — Rich in a form of natural sugar that satisfies the brain quickly, apricots are wonderful for curbing sugar cravings at the source. They also provide beta-carotene and minerals that support liver function.
Cherries — Cherries are deeply restorative. They help calm the nervous system and provide the kind of clean glucose the liver is desperate for during a cleanse. They're one of the foods I recommend keeping on hand (fresh or frozen) for those late-afternoon craving windows.
Cranberries — A powerful liver cleanser and pathogen fighter, cranberries help address cravings at the root by supporting the body's ability to flush the very toxins and viral waste that can drive them. Fresh or pure unsweetened cranberry juice are best.
Lemons and Limes — These are some of the most underestimated healing tools available. Their living water and mineral content help hydrate at the cellular level, support bile production, and gently detoxify the liver. Squeezing lemon or lime into your water throughout the day can reduce the intensity of cravings, particularly for salt and processed foods.
Cruciferous Greens (Kale, Collards, Arugula) — Dark, leafy cruciferous greens provide the mineral salts your body is actually asking for when you crave salty foods. They also support the liver's detoxification pathways, which means they're helping to clear the pathogenic waste that can drive cravings from the inside.
Sprouts and Microgreens — These are nutritional powerhouses, packed with bioavailable vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that are easily absorbed. They deliver a concentrated dose of living nutrition that helps replenish what's been depleted. I'm a huge advocate for sprouting at home ... it's one of the simplest ways to add living food to your daily routine.
Broccoli and Cauliflower — Both support Phase 2 liver detoxification and provide sulfur compounds that help the body process and eliminate stored toxins. When the liver is better supported in its detox work, the old chemical signals that trigger cravings have less power.
These foods aren't a magic fix on day one. But incorporated consistently, they give your body the raw materials it needs to stop sending the distress signals we experience as cravings.
Tools to Get Ahead of the Cravings
Understanding the why is empowering. But you also need practical strategies for the moments when a craving hits and your resolve feels paper-thin. These are the tools I use with my clients — and the ones I relied on myself.
Eat Every 90 Minutes to 2 Hours
This is non-negotiable during active healing, and it's the single most effective craving-reducer I've found. When you eat a light, balanced snack every 90 minutes to two hours, you keep your blood sugar steady so your adrenals don't have to flood your system with adrenaline to compensate.
Each snack should ideally include a balance of three things: natural glucose (fruit), mineral sodium (celery, leafy greens), and potassium (bananas, dates, leafy greens).
A few combinations my clients love:
- Apple slices with celery sticks and a couple of dates
- Banana with a handful of spinach and a squeeze of orange
- Mango with figs and celery
- Sweet potato with kale and lemon juice
- Coconut water with dried apricots and a celery stick
When your blood sugar stays steady and your liver has glucose available, the desperation that drives cravings calms dramatically.
Keep Whole-Food Glucose Within Arm's Reach
When a craving strikes, having the right foods immediately available changes everything. I tell my clients to always carry dates, dried apricots, figs, or fresh fruit. When a sugar craving hits, a few Medjool dates give your brain and liver exactly the glucose they're asking for, and the craving often dissolves within minutes.
The key insight: your brain and liver need glucose to function. When you swap processed sugar-and-fat combinations for clean, whole-food glucose, the addictive cycle starts to lose its power.
The Cravings Shifter Brain Shot
For those of you already familiar with Medical Medium tools, the Cravings Shifter Brain Shot from Brain Saver and Brain Saver Protocols, Cleanses & Recipes is specifically designed for moments when cravings or addictive impulses feel overwhelming. It's a small juice shot, taken 15–30 minutes apart from other food or drink, and it can be a powerful in-the-moment intervention. I recommend it to many of my clients.
Lower the Fat — Gradually and Gently
Too much dietary fat — even "healthy" fat — keeps the liver burdened and prevents glucose from efficiently reaching your cells. You don't need to eliminate fat overnight. But gradually reducing the overall fat load in your diet (fewer oils, smaller portions of avocado and nut butter, less added fat in cooking) gives your liver the breathing room it needs to start clearing stored toxins and rebuilding its glucose reserves. As liver function improves, many cravings resolve on their own.Celery Juice — Every Morning
Sixteen ounces, straight, on an empty stomach. If I could give you one tool from everything I've learned, it might be this one. The mineral salts in celery juice address salt cravings at their root, support the liver, help the adrenals stabilize, and begin flushing the pathogenic waste that can drive cravings from the inside out.
If you've never started, start. If you fell off, come back to it.
Tend to Your Nervous System
Cravings don't operate in isolation. They're deeply connected to your nervous system state. When you're living in fight-or-flight — which is where most chronically ill people exist — cravings intensify. The body reaches for anything that will provide a hit of comfort or energy, even if it's ultimately harmful.
This is why I weave nervous system work into everything I do with my clients. Breath awareness, what I call the "Daily Healing Conversation" with your body, simple grounding practices — these create just enough space between the craving impulse and your response that you can make a different choice. Not from force. From presence.
Cravings Are Part of the Healing, Not the Enemy
Here's what I want to leave you with. Cravings during a healing journey are not a sign that something is wrong with you. They are a sign that things are shifting. Pathogens are losing their food supply. Your liver is releasing old toxins. Your adrenals are recalibrating. Your body is learning to run on clean fuel instead of adrenaline and fat.
It takes time. It takes patience with yourself. And it takes understanding the why behind what you're feeling so that you don't walk away right when things are starting to change.
I've walked this road myself. I've watched clients push through those first difficult weeks and come out the other side with cravings that have genuinely dissolved — not through sheer willpower, but because the underlying drivers were addressed. The bugs lost their food supply. The liver got the glucose it needed. The adrenals found their footing.
That possibility is available to you, too. You are not broken. You are healing. And cravings are just one more thing your body is asking you to understand.
If you're struggling with cravings on your healing journey and want personalized guidance, I'd love to work with you. Visit drsherrigreene.com to learn more about my coaching packages, or follow me @drsherrigreene for daily healing insights.
