Are You Addicted to Sugar? Here's How to Break the Cycle
June 29, 2017
Foodviki
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Sugar addiction happens due to intense cravings for sweet food. It is triggered by the brain by sending signals to the receptors in our tongue that were not able to develop from the low-sugar diets of our ancestors.Your emotions might be more important than you think, as newer and more recent studies show that conditioning yourself and analyzing the impacts of your eating habits can help you curb bad practices sugar addiction included
Hype or hope?
Various diets promise to rid you of your sugar addiction so you can finally lose weight. Can eating masses of broccoli for seven days really get the sugar monkey off your back for good? Let we show you the truth about sugar cravings, sugar addiction and how to tame an unruly sweet tooth right now.
Foodviki
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Sugar addiction happens due to intense cravings for sweet food. It is triggered by the brain by sending signals to the receptors in our tongue that were not able to develop from the low-sugar diets of our ancestors.Your emotions might be more important than you think, as newer and more recent studies show that conditioning yourself and analyzing the impacts of your eating habits can help you curb bad practices sugar addiction included
Hype or hope?
Various diets promise to rid you of your sugar addiction so you can finally lose weight. Can eating masses of broccoli for seven days really get the sugar monkey off your back for good? Let we show you the truth about sugar cravings, sugar addiction and how to tame an unruly sweet tooth right now.
Is sugar addiction real?
You say you can't live without your daily doughnut - but are you really "addicted" to sugar? The answer is complicated. Researchers think a pattern of withholding and bingeing - not sugar itself - may lead to addictive-like behaviour and even brain changes. Sugar influences the same "feel-good" brain chemicals - including serotonin and dopamine - as illicit drugs. However, scientists aren't quite ready to lump sugar in with heroin.
Symptoms of sugar addiction
Whether you call it an addiction, an eating disorder or simply a bad habit, there are signs of an unhealthy use of sugary foods. You may lose control and eat more than you planned. You may have withdrawal symptoms when you skip your regular sugar "fix”. Low blood sugar symptoms may include anxiety, shakiness, jitteriness or even a cold sweat.
Your brain on sugar
Sugar fuels every cell in the brain and influences brain chemicals too. Overloading on sugary foods may alter the brain receptors that regulate how much we eat. In laboratory studies, rats that binged on sugar had brain changes that mimicked those of drug withdrawal. In humans, just seeing pictures of milkshakes triggered brain activity similar to that seen in drug addicts. The activity was stronger in women with a high food-addiction score than in women who didn't report addictive eating.
When you eat cake, the sugar in that treat - called a simple carbohydrate - is quickly converted to glucose in your bloodstream. Your blood sugar levels rise and spike when simple carbs are eaten alone - for example,when you grab a mid-afternoon chocolate bar. All simple carbs are absorbed quickly, especially the processed, concentrated sugars found in syrup, fizzy drinks, sweets and table sugar. Simple carbs are also found in fruit, veg and dairy products - but fibre and protein in these slow absorption and provide wholesome nutrients.
Your pancreas releases the hormone insulin to move glucose out of the bloodstream - and into your cells for energy. As a result, experts say, your blood sugar level may drop pretty dramatically.That lonely afternoon chocolate bar has set you up for more bad eating. When you have a very high spike followed by a very low drop, you tend to get hungry again. Low blood sugar leaves you feeling shaky, dizzy and searching for more sweets to regain that sugar "high."
When starch equals sugar
Do you overdo it with bread, crisps or chips? These starchy foods are complex carbohydrates, but the body breaks them down into simple sugars. When eaten alone, without better foods, some starches such as white flour, white rice and potatoes can trigger the same surge-and-crash cycle of blood sugar seen with sugary foods. Highly refined starches are the worst culprits: white bread, crackers and pasta. Grain-based desserts can be a double-whammy of sugar and refined grains.
Do sugar detox diets work?
Can you beat your sugar addiction by going cold turkey? Some sugar detox diets urge you to eliminate everything sweet - including fruit, dairy and all refined grains - to purge your system of sugar. Diet changes like this are too drastic to be realistic. Experts warn if you attempt something that is not sustainable - that you can only do for the short-term - you risk ultimately going back to your old habits.
Retrain your taste buds
You don't need sugar as much as you think you do. Experts say if we wean ourselves off sugar, we can train our taste buds to enjoy things that aren't as sweet. Try eliminating one sugary food from your diet each week. Pass on dessert after dinner. Slowly reduce the sugar in your coffee or cereal. Over time, you should lose your dependence on that sensation.
Choose sweet alternatives
You don't have to give up sweetness - just get it from other sources. Try fresh fruit or pureed berries on porridge instead of sugar. Fruit in many different forms beats table sugar: dried, frozen or tinned fruit (in juice, not syrup, without too much added sugar). A glass of skimmed milk or natural yogurt can satisfy too. These contain the milk sugar lactose which doesn't taste sweet. These dairy foods are also packed with protein and calcium.
Kick the habit: Take baby steps
Don't get drastic. Experts suggest making small, simple changes to your diet that you can sustain over time. Eat more fruits and vegetables, drink extra water and use fewer processed products. Start buying unsweetened foods and add just enough sugar to satisfy your taste. Cut out a little bit of sugar each week. After a few weeks of trimming back the sugar, you'll be surprised at how little you miss it.
Kick the habit: Add protein
When you're starving, every biscuit cries out to you. Hunger robs you of the willpower to resist sugar cravings. Eating protein is an easy way to help curb those cravings. High-protein foods digest more slowly than high carbs, keeping you feeling full for longer. Protein doesn't make your blood sugar spike, like refined carbs and sugars do. When you pick a protein snack, choose healthy sources like lean chicken, natural yogurt, eggs, nuts or beans.
Kick the habit: Fill up on fiber
Nutritionists tell us fiber helps with fullness. High-fiber foods also give you energy and they don't raise your blood sugar as much as simple carbs, so there's no hunger crash afterward. Look for soluble fiber from fruits and vegetables, as well as insoluble fiber from whole grains.
Kick the habit: Get outside
Exercise doesn't "cure" sugar addiction, but it could change the way you eat in general. Experts have found people who get into an exercise routine and start to feel better about themselves, are more likely to try another healthy behaviour - like eating less sugar. Whatever exercise you prefer - walking, riding your bike or swimming - try to do it for at least 30 minutes a day, on at least five days of the week.
The truth about sugar substitutes
Before you sprinkle that packet of artificial sweetener into your coffee, consider this: researchers have found that sugar substitutes may leave you craving more sugar, making it harder - not easier - for you to control your weight. Experts warn you never get out of the sense of needing something sweet, and eventually you’ll reach out for the real stuff.
Are 'natural' sugars better?
Honey, brown sugar and evaporated cane juice all sound healthy - but are they really any better for you than white table sugar? No. Sugar is sugar. Whether it comes from bees or sugar cane, it can cause your blood sugar to rise. Honey and unrefined sugars are slightly higher in nutrients than processed table sugar, but they still contain calories, which will go straight to your hips if you eat too much.
How much sugar is too much?
The NHS says most adults and children in the UK eat too much sugar. Research suggests that non-milk extrinsic (‘added’) sugars make up 12.5% - an eighth - of food energy intake compared to the recommended not more than 5%.
Names for sugar
Just because you don't see the word "sugar" on a food label doesn't mean it isn't hiding inside the package. Sugar goes by many different aliases, including:
Agave nectar
Brown rice syrup
High-fructose corn syrup
Dextrose
Evaporated cane juice
Glucose
Lactose
Malt syrup
Molasses
Sucrose
Scouting for hidden sugar
Sugar isn't just in ice cream and sweets. It can hide in foods where you least expect it. Although you don't think of them as being sweet, ketchup, barbecue sauce, pasta sauce and reduced-fat salad dressings can all be loaded with sugar. Bread may also be high in sugar; so are baked beans and some flavoured coffees. Get in the habit of reading food labels and filtering out high-sugar foods before they go into your shopping trolley.
Does sugar cause diabetes?
You may have heard that too many sugar splurges can lead you straight down the road to diabetes. Sugar doesn't cause diabetes, but it can trigger a chain of events that make you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Eating too much sugar can contribute to weight gain. Being overweight makes your body more resistant to the effects of insulin, which increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, which affects over 3 million people in the UK.
Tame sugar withdrawal
When you first cut back on sugar, you will go through a sort of withdrawal. You may feel tired, listless or on edge, but this should be short-lived. Having realistic goals - like vowing to lose 10 pounds, or to cut out desserts for a week - can help you get through your sugar withdrawal. Knowing that you'll soon be free from your sugar cravings and on the road to better health can also be a real motivator.
How to Break Sugar Addiction
Don't fret – it's not too late to kick those bad habits to the curb. I have a couple of recommendations on how to safely consume sugar without sacrificing your health.
The first would be to appeal to your emotions. Sometimes, when you crave food, it is triggered by an emotional need such as wanting to relieve stress or feel a little bit happier after a tiring day. More often than not, people tend to ignore their emotions when considering whether to eat healthy or otherwise.
I highly recommend the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), a simple and effective psychological acupressure technique that could help you manage the emotional components of your cravings. It has been proven to relieve a lot of emotional traumas, abolish phobias and post-traumatic stresses, break down food cravings, and lessen physical pain and discomfort.
What EFT entails in its practitioners is to have the right mindset when going on a diet or just taking steps to improve on their health. If you're already curious, you can browse through the basics of EFT here.
Another way to reduce sugar consumption would be to lessen the amount of sugar that you consume on a daily basis – below 25 grams to be exact – including that from whole fruits.
I also advise you to avoid high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) at all costs. This is a sweetener that is made from corn and found in many of the food items that we eat and drink today. Now, this is considered to be deadly not only because of the amount of sugar that goes in it, but also because of the health risks that can it can cause, most of which were already mentioned above.
Choosing a well-balanced diet tailored to your specific body type helps, with extra emphasis on food rich in fiber, which helps slow down the absorption of sugar, and food rich in high quality omega-3 fats, which are also crucial to lessening the impact of eating excessive sugar. Avoiding food with high sugar content and constantly rehydrating with fresh and pure water are also recommended.
Lastly, exercising every day, along with optimizing your vitamin D levels, getting enough sleep, and managing your stress levels can also help minimize the effects of excessive sugar intake. Exercise in particular is known to improve insulin sensitivity, reduce stress levels, suppress ghrelin (the appetite hormone), speed up metabolism, strengthen bones, and boost your mood.
It can be quite difficult to say no to sweets, especially if you have been consuming them on a daily basis, but trust me, once you feel the effects that lowering your sugar intake has on your body, it will all be worth it.By Dr. Mercola
Don't fret – it's not too late to kick those bad habits to the curb. I have a couple of recommendations on how to safely consume sugar without sacrificing your health.
The first would be to appeal to your emotions. Sometimes, when you crave food, it is triggered by an emotional need such as wanting to relieve stress or feel a little bit happier after a tiring day. More often than not, people tend to ignore their emotions when considering whether to eat healthy or otherwise.
I highly recommend the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), a simple and effective psychological acupressure technique that could help you manage the emotional components of your cravings. It has been proven to relieve a lot of emotional traumas, abolish phobias and post-traumatic stresses, break down food cravings, and lessen physical pain and discomfort.
What EFT entails in its practitioners is to have the right mindset when going on a diet or just taking steps to improve on their health. If you're already curious, you can browse through the basics of EFT here.
Another way to reduce sugar consumption would be to lessen the amount of sugar that you consume on a daily basis – below 25 grams to be exact – including that from whole fruits.
I also advise you to avoid high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) at all costs. This is a sweetener that is made from corn and found in many of the food items that we eat and drink today. Now, this is considered to be deadly not only because of the amount of sugar that goes in it, but also because of the health risks that can it can cause, most of which were already mentioned above.
Choosing a well-balanced diet tailored to your specific body type helps, with extra emphasis on food rich in fiber, which helps slow down the absorption of sugar, and food rich in high quality omega-3 fats, which are also crucial to lessening the impact of eating excessive sugar. Avoiding food with high sugar content and constantly rehydrating with fresh and pure water are also recommended.
Lastly, exercising every day, along with optimizing your vitamin D levels, getting enough sleep, and managing your stress levels can also help minimize the effects of excessive sugar intake. Exercise in particular is known to improve insulin sensitivity, reduce stress levels, suppress ghrelin (the appetite hormone), speed up metabolism, strengthen bones, and boost your mood.
It can be quite difficult to say no to sweets, especially if you have been consuming them on a daily basis, but trust me, once you feel the effects that lowering your sugar intake has on your body, it will all be worth it.By Dr. Mercola
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