Did you know most people have a harder time giving up sweets than alcohol?  

Perhaps this is you? I know for me personally I struggle with sweets….let’s get into why sugar is so addictive.

This topic is so important because if you can tackle sugar…you win. What I mean is, by managing sugar cravings, your health will be POSITIVELY impacted for life.

We’re going to talk about how sugar cravings and carb cravings are the same and how almost everyone, in my opinion, have some sort of sugar addiction. 

The Birth of Sugar Addiction

Think back to your childhood for a moment. You grow up on milk and cereal (sugar & sugar) then you have a PB&J for lunch (sugar again). 

Without realizing we’ve downregulated our immune system with all this sugar.

But then you catch a cold….and your doctor subscribes unnecessary antibiotics and you break down your gut floor and now you can digest things like proteins or fats and you start craving more sugars. 

You go through this vicious cycle year in and year out and we wonder why we struggle with obesity and sugar cravings.

What Happens to Sugar in the Body?

We all know sugar isn’t good for us. We know the obvious that it causes acne it makes you gain weight and it makes you feel lethargic throughout the day. But let’s put all that aside and think about what it actually is happening inside the body.

The first response is increased blood sugar inside your body. After that your adrenal glands respond to help you manage the sugar and it releases insulin into your body. Insulin is released to try to get the  sugar out of your bloodstream and back into your cell. 

But why would your body have such an aggressive response to Sugar entering the bloodstream?  

Because sugar destroys the arteries. It literally shreds them which causes inflammation that leads to high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes. So when we constantly have sugar in our bloodstream we are destroying our bodies from the inside out.

Willpower or Addiction?

This is about more than just willpower to quit sweets. 

Do you know that conversation you have internally when you’re about to eat something you shouldn’t? 

You know it causes inflammation, you know it’ll make you gain weight….but yet you still eat it. Why is that?

Today I want to tell you to give yourself a break and stop beating yourself up.

When you eat sweets or carbohydrates you get a small dose of dopamine. It’s the hormone that makes us feel good. This is why we associate sugary foods with different things like birthday parties, celebrations and Rewards. This dopamine hit is essentially what we were craving when We crave these types of foods. 

This is why sugar is a depressant, it is using up your naturally produced dopamine. Its also why so commonly people turn to sweets and carbs when they lose a loved one, or theyre stressed. Their body is seeking out that dopamine hit. But that hit is temporary and leaves your body drained and in turn depressed.

There’s a reason beyond willpower that we have cravings. Take the guilt away and start looking at it from a scientific perspective and you’ll find there’s much more to this than first meets the eye. Lets take a look into cravings and their causes.

Cravings and Causes

What we crave can often  show us problems in our bodies. For example if you’ve eaten a full healthy meal full of fats and proteins, and afterwards you’re still craving sweets. There’s a good chance that you’re not able to break down fats correctly in order to feel satiated. This is a problem with your metabolism in your ability to burn fat for fuel.

Likewise, if you’re someone that always craves bread and carbohydrates that is an adrenal issue. You’ll find that more than likely your adrenals are taxed and you can have an amino acid or a gut issue More than likely can’t produce enough serotonin And that serotonin is what gives you motivation and makes you feel good. This is the effect carbohydrates can have on our mood and energy levels. 

Lets talk about salt. Another sign that there’s an adrenal issue inside your body is When We crave salt. This means that we have an adrenal insufficiency in your body and your body does not have the nutrients it needs to keep up with your stress load. 

The most important thing to remember is that any craving will let us know we have a deficiency. 

Here’s a cravings chart that will break down cravings and causes:

4 Ways to Fight Sugar Cravings 

Physical

The best thing to do when you’re about to consume a lot of sugar is BURN IT OFF. I mean literally…while you’re in the restaurant go hammer out 20 squats in the bathroom and wake up your large muscles to start burning that sugar.

Mentally

Instead of telTelling yourself what to do or what not to do you start asking yourself questions. Ask yourself the question: “Do I need nutrients or am I emotional?” Being able to discern that the Sugar receptor in your body  is addictive is how you crush your sugar addiction. Being able to ask yourself if there’s a lack of nutrients in your body at the time or are you eating for that dopamine Rush is something that will help you navigate sugar cravings.

Diet

Your diet will help you break sugar cravings. This one is so important because when  your nutrients are satiated, you’ll crave less. My challenge to you is to replace your carbohydrates with healthy fats. Your primary food sources should be in this order: Healthy fats, proteins, then carbohydrates.

Supplements

Our “sugar destroyer” Gynenma has been around for thousands of years and its commonly used to help crush your sugar receptors. It’s even a fun party trick to take it and try to eat something sweet–it will crush that receptor and it won’t even taste sweet anymore. Not only will it help with cravings it also regulates your insulin spike.

If you’re hungry after meals there’s a good chance you have a B Vitamin deficiency. When we eat sugar we are burning up our b vitamins at TWICE the rate. The challenge here is you can start eating good and feel tired all the time. I use Cataplex B to help boost your b vitamins and begin to feel an increase in energy.

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