Craving sweets is seemingly natural especially with women. Unfortunately, it can get out of hand which leaves people wondering how they can stop craving sweets. If you are wondering the same, perhaps you would benefit from knowing why you have sugar cravings.
Why Do You Crave Sugar?
First of all, you have to understand that this is biological in nature. When you feel tired or depressed, the sugar levels in your blood are low. This means that the feel-good hormone, Serotonin, in your brain is also low. The body reacts by craving sweets. Once you eat or consume sweets like chocolates or cakes, the brain releases the Serotonin. Unfortunately, the brief bursts eventually subside and since you are still depressed or tired, you will still feel the need to eat sweets.
Craving sweets may also be attributed to severe stress or adrenal fatigue. Not everyone understands what adrenal fatigues means. Basically, this results from severe stress. When people have little sleep or practically no sleep or when they are overworked, they will generally experience severe fatigue. Accordingly, they will also experience intense sugar cravings.
Your diet can also cause sweet cravings. If you have been on a low-fat low-carbohydrate diet for a significant length of time, chances are your body will become insulin resistant. When this happens, the body will send signals to the brain prompting you to eat more sweets even though you already have ample glucose supply in your blood. Many people who use appetite suppressants are not aware of this. They don’t know that by constantly craving sweets, they also increase their fat deposits even if they are eating less than usual. However, they do not feel the need to stop the craving since they figure they are already addressing the problem by eating less.
Perhaps, It is in Your Genes
Many researchers believe that craving sweets may be attributed to a gene variant that helps in maintaining and handling sugars. Constantly craving sweets may caused by this gene urging you to hunger for sweets like sodas, cakes and chocolates.
The researchers and scientists from University of Toronto claim that this particular gene, the glucose transporter type 2, actually assists the brain in regulating food intake. They conducted a study on two groups of people – one group with regular gene and the other with a gene variant. They then compared the eating habits of these two groups.
The first group consisted of 700 individuals who were in perfect condition. These people were asked to make a record of their diet and eating habits over a course of one month. The other group consisted of about 100 overweight individuals who were in the early stages of diabetes. They were not taking any diabetic medication. They were asked to record their eating habits over three days, and then to record their diet again for another three days after the lapse of two weeks.
Researchers discovered that regardless of their health and condition, the people with the gene variant ate more sweets than those people with regular gene. However, they did not see any difference in the fat or protein intake of either group.
Craving Sweets – How to Deal with It?
There are some things that you can do in order to curve your sweet cravings. You are likely to place your health at risk if you keep on gorging on chocolates. So, how do you stop yourself from cravings sweets?
a. Eat small meals every two to four hours. This way you will avoid cravings. Just make sure that you keep your meals small or light. Otherwise, you would gain a lot of weight.
b. Relax. You need to relieve yourself of stress. So, you should give yourself time to relax. Hit the gym. Watch a movie. Go for a walk. Read a good book. Stress can trigger sweet and carbohydrate cravings. You should make sure that you have a stress management plan set up, so you can relax every now and then.
c. Exercise! Regular exercise can relieve stress. You don’t have to go to the gym. You can go for a walk or take up jogging. Just make sure that you exercise at least every other day.
d. Avoid skipping meals. Many people avoid meals or restrict their calories thinking that they are going to lose weight faster. In truth, they are only actually starving themselves. Craving sweets also comes in the same territory. Do not deprive yourself of food especially if you are hungry.
Craving sweets is not a whim. Often, there is a biological reason behind an incessant craving for sugar and carbohydrates. If you are constantly craving sweets, you should try to determine what is causing the need, so you can address the problem properly.