Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Sugar Cravings

I struggle with sugar cravings, so I'm always looking for ways to beat them. I came across an extensive list recently that I thought was worth sharing. Some of these suggestions I have tried, and they work great, while others are completely new to me. Let me know if you find anything that works for you.

Source: http://www.drfranklipman.com/20-ways-to-get-sugar-out-of-your-life/


1. Eat regularly. Eat three meals and two snacks or five small meals a day. For many people, if they don’t eat regularly, their blood sugar levels drop, they feel hungry and are more likely to crave sweet sugary snacks.
2. Choose whole foods. The closer a food is to its original form, the less processed sugar it will contain. Food in its natural form, including fruits and vegetables, usually presents no metabolic problems for a normal body, especially when consumed in variety.
3. Have a breakfast of protein, fat and phytonutrients to start your day off rightBreakfast smoothiesare ideal for this. The typical breakfast full of carbs and sugary or starchy foods is the worst option since you’ll have cravings all day. Eating  a good breakfast is essential to prevent sugar cravings
4. Try incorporate protein and/or fat with each meal. This helps control blood sugar levels. Make sure they are healthy sources of each.
5. Add spices. Coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and cardamom will naturally sweeten your foods and reduce cravings.
6. Take a good quality multivitamin and mineral supplementomega 3 fatty acids and vitamin D3.Nutrient deficiencies can make cravings worse and the fewer nutrient deficiencies, the fewer cravings. Certain nutrients seem to improve blood sugar control including chromium, vitamin B3 and magnesium
7. Move your body.  Exercise, dance or do some yoga. Whatever movement you enjoy will help reduce tension, boost your energy and decrease your need for a sugar lift.
8. Get enough sleepWhen we are tired we often use sugar for energy to counteract the exhaustion.
9. Do a detox. My experience has been that when people do a detox, not only does it reset their appetites but it often decreases their sugar cravings. After the initial sugar cravings, which can be overwhelming, our bodies adjust and we won’t even want the sugar anymore and the desire will disappear.
10. Be open to explore the emotional issues around your sugar addiction. Many times our craving for sugar is more for an emotional need that isn’t being met.
11. Keep sugary snacks out of your house and office. It’s difficult to snack on things that aren’t there!
12. Don’t substitute artificial sweeteners for sugar.  This will do little to alter your desire for sweets. If you do need a sweetener, try Stevia, it’s the healthiest.
13. Learn to read labels. Although I would encourage you to eat as few foods as possible that have labels, educate yourself about what you’re putting into your body. The longer the list of ingredients, the more likely sugar is going to be included on that list. So check the grams of sugar, and choose products with the least sugar per serving (I teaspoon of sugar is roughly equivalent to about 4 grams). Become familiar with sugar terminology and recognize that all of these are sweeteners: agave, corn syrup, corn sugar, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, honey, cane sugar, cane crystals, fruit juice concentrates, molasses, turbinado sugar and brown sugar.
14. Sugar in disguise. Remember that most of the “complex” carbohydrates we consume like bread (including whole wheat), bagels and pasta aren’t really complex at all. They are usually highly refined or act just like sugars in the body and are to be avoided.
15. Scare yourself straight. While I won’t say our national love affair with sugar is all in the mind – there is a strong physical component to sugar addiction – one way to kick off your sugar-free journey is to re-frame the way you think about sugar. Treat it like an illicit drug, a kind of legal form of heroin, a dark force to be avoided, and a substance whose use leads to physical ruin. Next, take a look at CBS’s 60 Minutes “Is Sugar Toxic?” story – it’s a potentially life-changing report for anyone who needs just a bit more inspiration to help them kick sugar.

And if you have acute sugar cravings, try these:

16. Take L-Glutamine, 1000-2000 mg every couple of hours as necessary. It often relieves sugar cravings as the brain uses it for fuel.
17. Take a “breathing break”.  Find a quiet spot, get comfortable and sit for a few minutes and focus on your breath. After a few minutes of this, the craving will pass.
18. Distract yourself.  Go for a walk, if possible, in nature. Cravings usually last for 10-20 minutes maximum. If you can distract yourself with something else, it often passes. The more you do this, the easier it gets and the cravings get easier to deal with.
19. Drink lots of water. Sometimes drinking water or seltzer water can help with the sugar cravings. Also sometimes what we perceive as a food craving is really thirst.
20. Have a piece of fruit. If you give in to your cravings, have a piece of fruit, it should satisfy a sweet craving and is much healthier.

1 comment:

  1. Great post! I wish a lot more people spoke about sugar addiction.

    All my life I have struggled with an addiction to sugar. The more sweet things I ate, the more I wanted. I couldn't eat just one piece of something without wanting more.

    Since learning about nutrition and glycemic index, my relationship with food has changed dramatically. I have learned that there are healthy alternatives to sugar, and I can still have delicious desserts and not feel deprived!

    When out to dinner with friends and colleagues and they order dessert, I an no longer bothered seeing the dessert, because I know I can go home and have something just as delicious that won't spike my blood sugar and is even good for me!

    I'm talking about having Guilt Free Desserts.

    I bought the recipe book for $34.95 USD, which does seem a little overpriced at first... but it is totally worth it when you take a look at the amount of content that is in the Book. Probably the best $34.95 I have spent in a long while!

    The recipes are so easy to do... And you don't have to feel guilty!

    Here's where I bought my copy.

    This might be what changes you & your readers relationship to sugar FOREVER.

    It did for me...

    Best regards,

    John

    ReplyDelete