Do you feel like a slave to your sugar cravings? Trying as hard as you can but the 3pm slump still gets you?
You’ll be happy – and relieved – to know that it’s not all in your head. While it does take a little old fashioned gumption to get through sugar cravings, the underlying reasons for them can be as physical as they are psychological. Here are just some of them – how many apply to you?
1. You’re hungry.
You can’t get by on just a green smoothie and a salad. To feel satisfied and reduce cravings, you need real food, and that means two or three solid meals per day. You especially need protein, which is the most satiating macronutrient. Protein in the morning is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce cravings for the rest of the day.
2. You’re thirsty.
Hunger and thirst are processed by the same part of your brain (hypothalamus), so it’s easy for signals to get crossed. For example, there may be times when you feel hungry – but actually, you’re thirsty. Try it out. Next time you’re craving, have a tall glass of water with lemon, and then wait 20 minutes. The craving may simply fade away.
3. You didn’t get enough sleep.
When you don’t sleep, you make more ghrelin (which scientists call the ‘hunger hormone’), and endocannabinoid (a potent appetite stimulant). In a recent study, sleep-deprived participants reported strong hunger, and snacked significantly more than participants who had slept for eight hours.
4. You’re premenstrual.
Your body’s natural estrogen (estradiol) has a beneficial appetite-suppressing effect. Estradiol is highest in the middle part of your cycle and then drops away just before your period, which causes premenstrual hunger. A magnesium supplement can be helpful because it stabilises blood sugar, and helps your body adapt to the drop in estradiol. Magnesium improves PMS so dramatically that some scientists believe magnesium deficiency is the main cause of PMS.
5. You take hormonal birth control.
Hormonal birth control suppresses natural estradiol, which is one of the ways it causes insulin resistance and worsens cravings. Injectable birth control (depo-provera) is the most appetite-stimulating type of birth control, and is known to cause “unstoppable weight gain” in some users. Alternative non-hormonal methods of contraception include condoms, copper IUD and fertility awareness method.
6. You have a digestive problem.
Your gut bacteria interact with appetite hormones, so a digestive problem can affect appetite and cause sugar cravings. Maintain a healthy digestion by eliminating food sensitivities such as gluten and dairy, and by using as few antibiotics as possible. And eat your veggies, because plant fibre promotes the growth of healthy intestinal bacteria.
7. You’re addicted to fructose.
Fructose messes with the appetite centres in your brain and makes you feel hungry even when you’re not. The very best way to combat sugar cravings is to stop having sugar!
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