Craving Tacos – What Causes This Desire & How To Stop It?

What is it about tacos that you find them so desirable?

Is it just hunger, nutrient deficiency, emotional reasons, or something else?

Here we’ll make research about tacos and explain what craving this particular food means.

Traditional Mexican Food

Tacos is traditional Mexican food made of small hand-sized corn or wheat-based tortilla topped with filling. Then tortilla is folded and eaten by hand. It can be made with a variety of filling – beef, chicken, pork, seafood, cheese, beans, and vegetables,…  Often, they have different condiments as a garnish – salsa, guacamole, or sour cream and vegetables (lettuce, onion, tomatoes, chiles).

Actually, tacos are a popular form of antojitos – Mexican street food, that become very popular worldwide. They can be prepared in many different ways with an assortment of ingredients. Also, they can be healthy,  but that depends on the ingredients you choose to put.

Let’s check what a portion of the few most popular types of tacos contain.

Tacos Nutrition

Let’s check what beef, chicken, fish and shrimp, veggie and traditional tacos contain.

Beef Tacos – Beef tacos are very popular and when compared with other versions, tacos with beef are higher in calories, fat and some proteins. One perk of beef contains zinc, iron, selenium and vitamin B.

Chicken Tacos – This version is very high in protein and low in fat. Chicken tacos made of chicken are a good source of zinc, iron, and B vitamins.

Fish and Shrimp Tacos – Seafood doesn’t contain as much protein as meat, but fish and shrimp tacos are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Veggie Tacos – This tacos version has the lowest calories, salt and fat content. Also, they are lower in protein than meat and seafood tacos.

Traditional Street Tacos – These tacos are usually served on corn tortillas and topped with onion, cilantro, lime juice and salsa. In fact, these tacos are very popular around the world.

The nutrition in tacos varies, depending on the used ingredients. So why you are craving tacos?

Why Do I Crave Tacos?

It is possible that your body requires some nutrition and energy that can be found in tacos, such as protein, fiber and fat.

It may be a sign for you to adjust or level up your diet or you are under some kind of stress.

We divided the possible factors into two groups – physical and mental causes.

Physical Reasons

• Lack Of Good Sleep – Sleep is crucial to the human body, therefore, inadequate sleep will cause hormone imbalance and food cravings.
• Dehydration – This one sounds a bit strange, but thirst can be confused for hunger. Poor hydration can even increase food cravings, so take a glass of water.



• Gut Microbiota – There is a link between your gut flora and food cravings. Some bacteria can influence your cravings for tacos, pizza, burgers, etc.
• Physical Inactivity – Moving less can cause food cravings, so try to increase your physical activity.
• Nutrient-deficient Food – Mostly, taco cravings are the result of nutrient deficiencies. Nutrients such as fiber and protein will keep you full for longer. If you miss crucial nutrients, that will cause cravings for particular food.



• Calcium – If you crave greasy or fatty meals, it is possible that your body needs more calcium. Your body needs fat to work efficiently. Also, oily and fatty meals have appealing scents and flavors.
• Carbohydrates – Consuming carbohydrates has a soothing impact on your body and increases levels of serotonin – a happy hormone.

Mental Reasons

• Stress – Stress can disrupt hormones, influence appetite and cause a craving for tacos. Chronic stress increases the appetite for calorie-dense and high-fat food.



• Mood Fluctuations – Usually negative moods lead to a craving for food.
• Emotional Hunger – In some cases, there can be emotional reasons behind that. There can be a simple need for satisfaction and comfort or you just want to lift your mood. Or it’s your way of dealing with stress.

In some cases, craving certain food can be a sign of some health issues or conditions, so consult with your doctor. Understanding the cause of cravings is the starting point to managing this condition.

What About Women?

When it comes to women, things are more complicated due to their hormone fluences.

So, craving a certain food during pregnancy affects many women, especially if they trying to cut spicy food out of their pregnancy diet.

If you are craving tacos, you probably need calories, protein of fiber it contains. Your body needs more nutrition during pregnancy. Also, before and during a women’s menstrual cycle, her body goes through hormone changes and craves more protein and iron. These can be found in tacos.

What To Eat When Craving Tacos?

Well, tacos. 😀

As long as you enjoy tacos in moderation, go for it. If you don’t have tacos at the moment, look for food with similar tastes and nutrition. For example, any Mexican food or other dishes with protein, fiber and other nutrients. If you lack tortillas, you can add the tacos ingredients to the bread and the nutrient value is almost the same which may stop your craving.

Try to add more fruits, vegetables, protein, whole carbs, nuts and almonds to your everyday diet.

Can You Eat Too Many Tacos?

Of course, you can. While tacos are a good source of protein and fiber, eating too many tacos can’t be good. That works with any other food. Since tacos contain a lot of fats and other ingredients that make them unhealthy and not for everyday consumption.