Sweet things: Curbing your sugar cravings
Uncovering some truths about sugar and tips to help curb your sweet tooth
How to kick sugar cravings is a constant question, and recognizing the impact it has on our society and personal health is essential to our lasting wellness.
Eliciting the same response in our bodies as hard drugs like cocaine, we are designed to crave sugar, as something with a sweet taste is related to feeling safe. However, sugar is linked to multiple chronic diseases, obesity, and of course, diabetes. Furthermore, over-consumption of sugar can ruin our gut microbiome, leading to digestive issues or autoimmune conditions, and completely wear out our insides.
We crave sugar mostly because it’s secretly added to everything. The suggested amount for consumption is 6-9 teaspoons per day, however, the average American eats more than 20 teaspoons per day, maybe without even realizing it.
Foods to look out for with lots of extra sugar added:
Soda pop and all sugar-sweetened beverages
Kombucha
Coffee creamers
Non-dairy milks
Juice
Energy or protein bars
Flavored yogurt
Cereal and granola
Sauces (BBQ, ketchup, salad dressings)
All processed foods
Getting comfortable with reading food labels to uncover the secret sugars added to things is mega-crucial. I’d love to help you if you’d like a crash course! Just recently, the FDA made an amendment for food labels to contain the “Added Sugar” amount. So now on top of grams of naturally occurring sugar, we need to be aware of all the other freaky sugar additives that are added. Click here to get some information about reading labels for Added Sugar. There are about 4 grams of sugar in 1 teaspoon.
You may be surprised when you realize your favorite energy bar from Whole Foods has 17-22g of sugar in one bar, or the low-fat yogurt you eat every morning has close to 30g, if not more. It’s hiding in e v e r y t h i n g, and it’s not your fault! Next time you’re at the grocery store I challenge you to quickly look at food labels to check for Added Sugar amounts. If you need help, feel free to reach out to me! And, don’t get me wrong, please indulge in your favorite sweets every so often.
So, how do we kick the cravings? Here are some tips:
Eat more sweet vegetables like beets, carrots, sweet potato, and squash.
Eat fresh fruit for snacks or dessert.
Add sweet spices like cinnamon or nutmeg to your meals.
Add more healthy fats to your diet like avocado, olive oil, nuts, and fish.
Eat unsweetened dark chocolate for dessert.
Drink more water — sometimes sugar cravings are as simple as being dehydrated. Add fresh berries or mint to your water to make it yummy.
Get active! Moving and grooving helps balance blood sugar levels, creates natural energy, and could possibly make you smile.
One of my favorite little tips I’ve picked up is to clean or scrape my tongue daily since tastes linger there for a few days. So, it is possible you are craving sweets cause the taste is stuck on your tongue!
I truly love coconut milk ice cream, Talenti Mango Sorbet, and vegan chocolate chip cookies. So I’m with you on this journey to kick our cravings. I never want to come across as demonizing a diet or saying what’s right and wrong, though I do think it’s incredibly important for us to realize the amount of added sugar in processed foods and how that affects our overall well-being.
”The body needs to have a fire drill when eating major amounts of sugar. Over time this burns out your machinery. It’s the magnitude and the repetitive amount of sugar that we are exposed to…” Quote from Dr. Jeffrey Bland, father of Functional Medicine, from this podcast episode.
And, since it’s on all our minds…
I wanted to add a quick thought on Covid-19. I’ve been reading, listening, and seeing more information on the topic of sunlight and Vitamin D in relation to the virus and how Vitamin D affects our immune system. It seems that if you aren’t able to get enough sunlight for Vitamin D, it is recommended to be taking Vitamins D supplements (always consult your doctor before adding a supplement). Let’s get outside!
Here are a couple articles for further reading on Vitamin D/Covid-19 HERE and HERE and a podcast episode which goes into the topic as well.
Please comment below with your favorite sweet treat hack or a sweet you are having trouble substituting for something else.
