
Sugar cravings and sugar addiction is one of the most common problems in society today and one of the biggest contributors to thousands of mental and physical health problems. There are a number of different reasons you may be craving sugar. We will explore of a few of the biggest ones here as well as arm you with some strategies to beat the cravings and break the addiction.
Female sex hormones:
The week before you menstruate your oestrogen hormone elevates in preparation for conception. As such it increases your metabolism which triggers your appetite and cravings for carbohydrates. Again, this is in preparation for conception. Once you menstruate however that all reduces again and appetite drops.
Solution:
Increase your calories the week before you menstruate adding a little extra in protein, fats and fibre from vegetables. Just a mouthful extra of protein and veggies and an extra drizzle of fats, in each meal will make the world of difference.
Lack of sleep
- Lack of sleep will see you craving sugar quite severely, as your body needs energy to be able to function when it’s feeling exhausted.
- Being tired also brings down your mood. As such your brain works on getting you a Dopamine hit so you can feel better. Dopamine is your feel-good hormone which also triggers addiction.
- The more tired you are the more dopamine your body yearns for so the more sugar you crave. More on Dopamine shortly.
Solution:
- Aim at getting 7-10 hours of good quality sleep every night. This will help boost your energy and mood and reduce sugar cravings, which will all ultimately improve your health and fitness goals.
Stress
- Stress is the body’s ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ response. It causes the secretion of cortisol and adrenaline, your stress hormones, so that you have the energy to deal with the stressful situation. It also notifies the cells in the body to break down the glycogen and release glucose into the blood stream as a quick burst of energy.
- When the body is stressed, it thinks a predator is trying to eat you. That’s why it gives you the hormones and surge of glucose you need to have the energy to run away from the predator.
- When cortisol is elevated, you secrete more Ghrelin hormone which is the hormone that tells your body it is hungry so that you can eat to replenish the energy you just burned. As glycogen has just been released from the cells, it makes you crave carbohydrates, as these get broken down into glucose and stored as glycogen.
- The release of cortisol and adrenaline suppresses the Leptin, hormone which tells your body it is full. This is the natural appetite suppressant.
- This increased state of more ghrelin and less leptin keeps you hungry, and craving sugar.
- Stress also reduces your insulin sensitivity. That means your pancreas can’t keep up with how much insulin to secrete to remove excess glucose from the blood. Too much glucose in the blood can be fatal, so insulin’s role is to remove it from the blood and send it back to the liver for metabolism. The liver then converts it back to glycogen and returns it to the cells for storage. If the cells are already full, which they more than likely will be because of the constant eating, the liver converts the glucose to fat and stores it.
- Reduced insulin sensitivity and excess glucose and carbs consumption can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes type 2.
- There are many different causes of stress:
- Work
- Family
- Life
- School
- Illness
- Lack of sleep
- Nicotine
- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Medication
- Processed food
- Going long periods with reduced calories
- Undereating
- Inadequate hydration
Solution:
- Find ways to manage your stress. This could be:
- Asking for help at work
- Removing toxic people out of your life
- Quitting smoking
- Cutting out or reducing alcohol consumption and drugs
- Limiting processed food
- Eating 4-5 meals throughout the day
- Eating adequate calories each day
- Drinking enough water
- Participating in activities that trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, the system that notifies the brain it is time to rest and recover. For example, going for a leisurely walk, crafts, meditation, basically anything that helps you relax.
Understanding the dopamine hormone
- When you understand the behavior and impact of Dopamine you will be able to control your sugar cravings more effectively.
- Glucose triggers the Dopamine receptors in the brain, secreting the Dopamine hormone. As stated earlier, this is your ‘feel good’ hormone.
- It also triggers the Opioid receptors in the brain, which are the addiction receptors. This is why it is so many people get addicted to sugar.
- Studies have shown, if you look at MRI scans of someone that has taken cocaine, and someone who has consumed sugar, they are almost identical in the way they impact the brain. As such, the withdrawal symptoms are extremely similar when trying to break the addiction. They are so harsh, that it is extremely difficult to break the habits, causing people to relapse. Examples of withdrawal symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Shakes,
- Headache
- Cold and flu-like symptoms
- Body aches
- Dopamine is also the reason people emotionally eat sugar. When someone is feeling down, you don’t see them turn to broccoli and chicken to help them feel better. They turn to high carb foods or sugary foods, as these contain glucose, and trigger the Dopamine hormone.
Solution:
- Find things to do to distract yourself from succumbing to cravings:
- Crafts
- Music
- Phone a friend
- Go for a walk
- Exercise
- Brush your teeth
- Find ways to help lift your mood in other ways that do not include food. Some suggestions may include:
- Phone a friend for a chat. Laughter with a friend elevates Serotonin, your happy hormone.
- Go for a walk in the sun. The UV rays from the sun help synthesise more Serotonin hormone.
- Get good quality sleep.
- Exercise, get active. Movement increases the production of endorphins (feel goo hormones) and serotonin (happy hormone).
- Speak to a counsellor.
- Participate in any of the activities listed under ways to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system
- Socialise in person; social connectivity reduces cortisol and adrenaline and increases your oxytocin (your love hormone) and serotonin (your happy hormone).
- Write in a journal about your feelings.
Insufficient good fats, fibre and protein in your diet
- When you don’t eat enough good quality fats, your body will crave fuel because it is hungry. The quickest and simplest way to get fuel as we have already said, is glucose. The body doesn’t need to work as hard to break it down and turn it into usable energy, hence your cravings for sugar.
- Good fats, fibre and protein take longer to digest so keep you fuller for longer. They trigger the leptin hormone and suppress the ghrelin hormone, therefore stopping you from craving and overeating.
- Good fats help synthesise all of your hormones. The more good fats you consume the better balanced all of your hormones will be, therefore cortisol, adrenaline and ghrelin won’t be leading the way.
- Protein helps build lean muscle. The more lean muscle you have the more insulin sensitive you are and therefore can use carbs more efficiently as energy, avoiding the negative effects of carbs.
- Lean muscle also makes you more leptin sensitive, meaning your body will be more efficient at naturally portion controlling you and releasing less ghrelin hormone.
- Fibre from vegetables also triggers the leptin hormone so works as your natural appetite suppressant, reducing cravings and hunger pangs.
Solution:
Eat adequate amounts of good quality fats, fibre from vegetables and protein, with each meal.
Undereating:
- Your body needs a certain number of calories per day just to keep it alive and functioning. It needs calories for your organs to function, the brain to think, muscles to contract etc. If you are undereating, you are stressing and starving the body therefore triggering hunger and sugar cravings.
- This also occurs if you are skipping meals.
- The body over secretes the ghrelin hormone leading to binge eating and overeating.
Solution:
Eat adequate portions, over 4-5 meals throughout the day, of high quality food, including protein, fibre and good fats that we just discussed, to reduce sugar cravings.
Snacking
- Snacking keeps the ghrelin hormone elevated throughout the day.
Solution:
Eat adequate portions, over 4-5 meals throughout the day to trigger the leptin hormone instead.
Over consuming carbs and sugar foods
- The more carbs and sugary foods you consume, the more Ghrelin you secrete, the more Dopamine you secrete, the more you want to eat. It becomes a vicious cycle which is extremely difficult to cut.
Solution:
- The only way to stop the cycle is to stop all sugary foods, including fruit, and all simple carbs, cold turkey. A bit like an alcoholic has to stop alcohol.
- You need a minimum of 14-21 day without these to break the addiction.
- You will very likely experience withdrawal symptoms for the first 3-14 days, which can be extremely harsh, which is why so many people give in.
- Get support from a coach, friend or family member.
Sugar cravings happen to everyone at some point. When you can understand and pinpoint why you are craving sugar it makes it easier to handle the cravings, and reducing your consumption.
If you need help breaking a sugar addiction, reach out to me.
- Coach Terri