Quieting the Food Noise: A Root-Cause Approach

Do you ever feel like food takes up too much mental space? You may think about eating after you’ve finished a meal, feel like you are  battling against your cravings, or like you can’t “turn off” the inner chatter. If this resonates, you are experiencing food noise. 

When working with clients, they will often blame their lack of willpower. I don’t necessarily believe that willpower is to blame, rather, a lack of awareness of what is truly happening internally. In Functional Nutrition, food noise is seen as a symptom of deeper imbalances within the body. The good news? The body is wise and insightful, so when you uncover the root causes—like nutrient deficiencies, blood sugar swings, hormone signaling disruptions, poor gut health, stress, and sleep issues—you can quiet the noise and restore peace with food.

In this post, we’ll define what food noise is and why it happens, and share holistic strategies to manage it naturally.

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What Is Food Noise?

Food noise is the persistent chitchat in your brain about food—repetitive thoughts about eating, strong urges and cravings that are intrusive. Instead of feeling like you have a character flaw, this cycle is often your body sending signals that something is off. 

Why Do People Experience Food Noise?

1. Nutrient Deficiencies

The human body is one of the wisest machines on the planet. Symptoms don’t happen just because; they are your body’s way of trying to get your attention and communicate with you. When your body is low in key nutrients—like protein, magnesium, B vitamins, or omega-3 fatty acids—it may drive cravings as a way of “filling in the gaps”. For example, a nutrient deficiency in magnesium can cause the body to crave more sugar. This happens because magnesium is required to convert glucose to energy. If you have low magnesium stores, the brain interprets that as “I need quick energy”, turning to processed sugar. 

2. Imbalanced Meals

The Standard American Diet (SAD) often consists of meals that are carb-heavy. When a meal lacks sufficient protein, fiber, and healthy fats it causes quick hunger rebounds. The conventional nutritional model puts too much emphasis on calories, but here’s the loophole– you can eat 600 calories of “empty energy” coming from processed foods. For example, a medium fries, a few chicken nuggets and a large soda mostly consists of refined carbs and fats and liquid sugar with very low nutrient density. After consuming the meal your stomach will most likely feel full and possibly even heavy and bloated, but your brain won’t feel satisfied without having enough protein, fiber and healthy fats. Without balance, your body doesn’t feel nourished, and your brain keeps asking for more. The more imbalanced your meals are, the more imbalanced you feel in your body.

3. Blood Sugar Dysregulation

Blood sugar spikes and crashes are big drivers of food noise. A sugary snack gives a quick burst of energy, followed by a crash that signals urgent hunger—even if you’ve eaten recently. Eating sugar, refined carbs and even whole food carbs like fruit alone can cause your glucose to increase. From there the body responds by flooding insulin into your system, contributing to a blood sugar crash. When blood sugar abruptly crashes, cortisol and adrenaline rise, switching the brain into “seek energy FAST mode”.  Low or unstable blood sugar affects neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin and GABA, leading to strong urges for carbs and sweets.

4. Hormonal Signaling (Ghrelin, Leptin & Insulin)

Your hunger is controlled by hormones:

• Ghrelin rises before meals, making you feel hungry. (I like to think of a gremlin.)

• Leptin signals fullness.

• Insulin regulates blood sugar.

These hormones are extremely sensitive to sleep, stress and nutrition. When sleep is poor, stress is high and nutrition is imbalanced, ghrelin stays elevated, leptin signaling weakens, and insulin fluctuates– creating relentless food chatter.  

5. Environment & Food Exposure

We live in an environment saturated by food– commercials, office break rooms, social media, and the check out lines in stores. Processed and fast foods are marketed to us as if they should be a normal part of your diet. Digestion starts in the brain– seeing and smelling food triggers the digestive process. These external triggers amplify food noise.

6. Poor Gut Health & Digestion

The gut and brain are in constant communication. Poor and sluggish digestion, even bloating can confuse hunger and satiety signals. The gut microbiome consists of trillions of bacteria– most should be beneficial bugs, but “bad bugs” can also take up residency, causing an imbalance in bacteria called dysbiosis. An example of a harmful bug is a yeast called Candida. These bugs feed off of sugar, so they can “ask” your body to seek it out in order to thrive. 

7. Lack of Sleep

Do you ever experience an uptick in hunger after a bad night’s sleep? Poor sleep increases ghrelin (hunger) and lowers leptin (satiety), leading to more cravings the next day. Chronic sleep deprivation can push the body to seek quick-energy foods like sugar and refined carbs because they don’t require much work to digest in a body that is lacking energy.   

8. High Stress

We’ve heard the word cortisol mentioned in abundance in the wellness space, typically with a bad reputation, but it’s not the villain it's always chalked up to be– it’s essential for survival. The issue isn’t having cortisol; it’s having it at the wrong times. Stress elevates cortisol, which increases cravings for sugar and processed foods while reducing proper digestion. Stress is also catabolic, meaning it depletes you. The body breaks down stored energy to mobilize resources during the stress response. Prioritizing stress management, while understanding the underlying causes for the stress is key for breaking the cycle.

Functional Nutrition & Holistic Wellness Strategies to Tame Food Noise

1. Balance Your Plate 

Include protein, fiber, healthy fats, and colorful veggies at every meal. Prioritizing whole food sources of nutrition will ensure that the body is receiving the highest quality of sustaining energy.

• Protein: 20–30g per meal for satiety.

• Fiber: beans, whole grains, fruit and veggies.

• Healthy fats: olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.

Eating enough protein and fiber can slow gastric emptying and promote GLP-1 hormone naturally. Balanced meals stabilize blood sugar and reduce cravings.

2. Lock In Your Meal Timing 

Eating at consistent intervals can help stabilize blood sugar by supporting hormone balance, cortisol rhythm and appetite regulation. The body loves structure and pattern, so if you have sporadic meal timing, the body may misfire hunger signaling. Eating a protein and fiber forward meal within an hour of waking, then consuming a meal or small snack every 4-5 hours throughout the day will keep energy intake predictable so your brain does not need to keep scanning for food. 

For example:

Wake up 7 am

Breakfast 8 am

Lunch 12 pm

Snack if needed 3:30-4 pm

Dinner 6-7 pm 

3. Optimize Nutrient Intake

• Eat a rainbow of fruits, vegetables and lean sources of protein.

• Prioritize fiber rich foods like pears, sweet potatoes, chia seeds, psyllium husk and berries. 

• Choose mineral-rich foods like leafy greens and pumpkin seeds.

• Consider testing for deficiencies if cravings are ongoing.

4. Support Gut Health Naturally

• Eat a variety of prebiotic fibers (like onions, garlic, asparagus, berries) 

• Remove added fillers, gums, seed oils and refined sugars. 

• Eat slowly and chew well to support digestion.

• Add probiotic-rich foods (sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi), if tolerated.

• Consider gut microbiome testing if cravings persist or you suspect symptoms of yeast overgrowth or poor digestion. 

5. Reset Hormone Signaling

• Sleep: Try to get to bed by 10 pm and aim for 7–9 hours to regulate ghrelin and leptin.

• Meal timing: Avoid grazing; structured meals help retrain hunger cues.

• Movement: Exercise improves insulin sensitivity and can reduce cravings.

6. Create a Supportive Food Environment

• Keep nutrient-dense foods visible– have a fruit bowl on the  counter instead of a cookie jar.

• Reduce exposure to food cues online or in your surroundings.

• Find healthy alternatives for processed foods that will leave you satisfied and not deprived. 

7. Manage Stress Every Day

• Try breathwork, journaling or meditation.

• Incorporate calming movement like yoga or walking.

• Build in recovery time to reset your nervous system.

• Take breaks throughout the day to slow down.

• Reduce doom scrolling on your phone.

• Identify your stressors and triggers– emotional, mental and physical. 

8. Stay Hydrated

Dehydration often masquerades as hunger. Drink water steadily throughout the day, adding electrolytes if needed.

9. Practice Mindful Eating

• Pause before meals and check: Am I physically hungry or emotionally triggered?

• Eat without distractions.

• Eat slowly to allow your body time to register fullness cues instead of eating on autopilot. It can take up to 20-30 minutes for the brain to signal fullness, so eating really quickly will bypass that communication.

Bottom line– food noise isn’t about lack of discipline—it’s your body’s way of signaling imbalance. It’s helpful to understand the root cause(s) behind the patterns you experience around food noise. Working with a practitioner can help you dig deeper to assess any nutrient gaps, stabilize blood sugar, support gut health, balance hormone signals, manage stress, and build healthy sleep hygiene so you can quiet the chatter and reconnect with your body’s true needs.

The take away– don’t just suppress cravings, but restore balance so food becomes nourishment, not noise.