Sugar cravings are the new drug addiction | Zyla Health
“Why am I craving sugar?”
I have often heard my patients say this. Or
“Desserts help me destress”.
Are you one of those people who often say this? Do you also experience sweet cravings after eating meals? If no, then that’s good and if yes, then there is something your body is habitual of and you need to know about it…
Experiencing sugar cravings quite frequently might indicate that you have an addiction to sugar. It is important for you to work on your sugar cravings because their long term effects on health are not good.
In this blog, we’re going to break down how sugar is addictive, why we have to overcome it and how we can overcome it.
How does sugar cravings work?
There is a scientific phenomenon behind sugar cravings.
After consuming sweets, your brain releases dopamine which is a neurotransmitter that helps in communicating signals through nerves and it helps in giving you a sense of a happy state and reduces your stress levels.
The response of your brain to dopamine is quite strong after eating something sweet. That’s why you keep on wanting more and more to maintain dopamine levels and the pleasure state. Thus, a craving is formed.
Have you noticed that biscuits, chocolate, and pastries seem to attract you especially when you are stressed or tired? And it is so strong that you can’t ignore it! Have you ever wondered why?…
How is a sugar addiction formed?
Once the sugar craving is formed, it leads to bingeing. Bingeing is the first phase and it happens so that the feeling of happiness and pleasure continues. But after some time, you might feel bad or guilty of eating too much sugar and so you enter the 2nd phase i.e. withdrawal.
Withdrawal causes you to have strict control over your cravings but this phase is also temporary. With time, you feel the need to improve your mood through the sugar to release dopamine.
This increases your craving for sweets and at one point, it is so high that you give up and enter the craving phase. This cycle repeats and gradually forms a sugar addiction.
So, don’t think that you have less willpower, it is just your body’s mechanism that makes you give in to it.
The same effects can be seen when you eat a high carbohydrate (starchy) meal. Yes, sugar cravings go beyond plain sugar itself. After eating food, it is broken down to its simplest form called glucose (a simple sugar).
A high carb-starchy food will give more glucose and has a high glycemic index causing blood sugars to spike and kick in the craving. That’s why some people crave foods such as white bread or the Indian food bhature, cookies, maida and potatoes which must be avoided especially by a diabetic.
Did you know? Most of the food you see on the shelves today and most of the junk food you eat contains refined sugars and other overly processed ingredients. Most people eat as much as 63 kgs of sugar a year!
Why is sugar addiction similar to drug addiction?
Sugar may work like a drug. That is, it affects the brain in the same way as cocaine, morphine, and heroin. Sugar triggers the release of dopamine, which gives us a sense of pleasure. Drugs of abuse like heroin, cocaine, marijuana, tobacco, alcohol, and all others, trigger dopamine release.
Many studies suggest that medicines used to treat drug overdose have been successful in curbing sugar cravings as well. In controlled studies, researchers have used a medication called “naloxone” to establish this. Naloxone is used in emergency rooms to block the effects of drugs like heroin.
If a person has taken an overdose of heroin, doctors inject naloxone, which blocks the heroin from attaching to receptors in the brain. A drug addict who has had an overdose of heroin-induced coma rapidly comes to life again with a dose of naloxone.
Researchers have tried similar research with sugary foods. It turns out that naloxone causes a noticeable drop in sugar cravings.
Normally, you might long for a cookie or piece of cake, but with a dose of naloxone, much of the craving is gone. The effect is particularly clear for foods that contain both sugar and fat: cookies, cakes and ice cream.
One thing is important to note. Unlike morphine or cocaine, sugar does not contain a drug. Rather, the taste of sugar on the tongue is what apparently triggers the release of dopamine within the brain.
However, consuming sugar leads to changes in mood, blood sugar levels and weight gain. Moreover, this can lead to the development of chronic diseases.
Let’s move on and see how eating sweet or carbohydrate-rich food can cause changes in blood sugar levels.
The highs and lows in blood sugar after sweet consumption
We all know that after eating sweets, blood glucose levels increase very quickly. But did you know that it can also lead to low blood glucose levels as well? Let’s find it out…
After consuming sweets or high carb (starchy) food, blood sugar levels spike up (hyperglycemia) because they have a very high glycemic index. In response to high blood sugars, the pancreas releases insulin hormone.
Insulin transports glucose from the blood to other body cells and thus reduces the level of glucose in the blood. This leads to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels) which further causes the body to eat something sweet!
If your blood sugar level drops late at night or quite early in the morning, you must read our blog, “The 3 am blood sugar phenomenon” to know what’s causing it.
After reading all of this, you might be thinking, “how to reduce sugar cravings“ or “how to break sugar addiction”… right? Well, my friend, we have everything you’ve been looking for! Continue reading to know the answer.
How to create a sugar de-addiction plan?
If cravings are affecting your health, it’s time to take control now.
If you give up your sugar addiction, you can lower your risk of diabetes, hypertension, stroke and heart attacks. Your metabolism will also boost up, thereby burning all the fat and sugar in the body and shedding those extra kilos!
If you think this is tough (or impossible) to do, do not worry. The fact is that you have not probably tried out healthy foods in moments of craving. You may like apples, oranges, bananas but you have never tried eating them when you crave sweets.
Another good news: There are some positive habits you could adopt which lead to similar production of “feel-good” chemicals in the brain. Let’s talk about it…
Next time when you crave sugar, follow these easy tips:
- Natural sweeteners: The idea is to replace refined white sugar with a natural sweetener. These natural sweeteners are so flavorful you won’t miss sugar at all. Of course, the best choice is fresh fruits, just eat fruit when you have the craving.
- Fruits also help ensure your daily requirement of fibre, vitamins and minerals.
- Other sugar substitutes: A pinch of cinnamon (dalchini), one-inch licorice (mulethi), 4–5 raisins (kishmish), 2–3 overnight soaked dates (khajur) and a handful gur chana are just other natural sweet alternatives.
- Eat protein: Protein makes you feel full and helps curb hunger and cravings. Try adding dal/ milk/ curd/ buttermilk/ egg whites in your breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Drink water: Sometimes the brain misinterprets signals of thirst with cravings. So, next time whenever craving kicks in, drink 1–2 glasses of water. If it resolves, that means you were dehydrated.
- Move your body: Exercise causes the release of endorphins which are natural feel-good chemicals within the brain. Each time you think about sweets, distract yourself by taking a 20–30 minutes walk or hitting the gym.
- Manage stress: We learnt above that stress can cause you to crave sugar so it’s important for you to avoid stress. Try meditation, perform breathing exercises, read a novel, listen to favourite music or do gardening to destress.
- Sweet drink alternatives: Drink tulsi tea with gur (jaggery), ginger (adrak) tea or even green tea with lemon and jaggery.
And next time you go out to shop, watch out for the label on the packaging carefully, for not just “Sugar” but also artificial sweeteners which are equally bad for your body. GOOD LUCK!
Consuming sweets or a high carbohydrate meal makes you eat more and more of it. In the long run, it’s not good for anyone. And that’s the reason why you must work on managing your sugar cravings.
Start by following the steps mentioned above. Take baby steps because habit formation takes time and breaking that habit takes more time. You can start by drinking more water and engaging in regular physical activity.
This will help in managing not only your sugar cravings but also your body weight and blood sugar levels. If you’re looking for diabetes treatment and care, Zyla can help you with it.
Zyla aims to give you a happier life with lifestyle interventions that include nutrition, exercise, and medication review under the constant guidance from the best doctors in India.
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