What was your bridge game snack or food craving today?

I would like to see more bridge players ask themselves this.

If you have never thought of this before, your cravings all mean something.

Snacks are almost an integral part of playing online bridge. If your club doesn’t mind crumbs in the bed, the same is likely true for your face-to-face bridge games.

When people play bridge, they eat.

When people crave certain things to eat, it can help to reveal specific things about their health.

For the average player who finds themselves leaning towards specific cravings, this can be really important to know.

Here’s what 4 common bridge cravings could be telling you.

1: Caffeinated Things (Or Coffee)

A craving for things that contain caffeine can mean that you might be in need of a standard wake-up call (and that’s your body’s way of telling you).

In some cases, it can mean that your body is after the circulatory effect. With regular cravings, see a doctor and see where other symptoms could lead to.

Regular cravings for caffeine or things that might contain it can also indicate low iron levels in the body.

2: Sugar (Or Candy)

A craving for sugar, candy, or dietary things that we know turns straight into sugar when the body processes it can indicate overall nutritional gaps. Are you getting enough of the right foods?

More specifically, it means that the body is likely craving the type of fast energy that you would seek from carbohydrates.

If you follow a lower-carb diet, it might be triggering your sugar cravings.

See a nutritionist, or find out what healthier snacks still provide energy without being processed sugar.

3: Salt

As far as cravings might go, feeling like things that contain salt in all its different forms is a normal urge – and it can be one of the most frequent cravings for people on the move (and for bridge players) everywhere.

But an excessive craving for salt (or the eventual inability to taste vast amounts of it), is reason to see your doctor – and reason to change your diet.

Salt cravings mean mineral cravings. Usually, the most common way people lose their body’s minerals is through dehydration. (Hint: That’s a clue for your body.)

If you feel like salt, try hydrating instead.

It will help, and you might even play better bridge as a result.

4: Chocolate

Chocolate is one of the other most common types of snack (or general food) cravings – and for anyone who experiences it, it can also be one of the most revealing.

When you crave chocolate, it might point to a craving for sugar (as described above).

But craving chocolate can also point to an attempt to naturally alleviate the symptoms of depression (or just a rough, tense day).

Chocolate also points to a need for antioxidants (and things that might trigger a need to detox).

Should bridge players indulge their craving for chocolate?

Sometimes, the answer is yes.