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Strategies to Help Curb Sugar Addiction

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One of the most common issues our clients reveal to us is this: “I have a sugar addiction.” If you find yourself in this category, know that you're not alone. It seems impossible to avoid sugar with so many enticing treats. Even if you don't consider yourself a dessert person, too often, sugar is an added ingredient in a lot of products. 

Why is it so challenging to combat sugar cravings ? The answer may be found by taking a closer look at our biology.

Sugar Addiction and Our Biology

In a 2007 study, researchers found that given the choice between sugar water and cocaine, rats chose sugar water every time. It doesn’t matter whether this sugar is natural, like an apple, or artificial, like saccharin. Astonishingly, when researchers increased the concentration of cocaine, the rats still chose more sugar water.

What conclusion can we draw from this? We are hypersensitive to sugar. When the sweet receptors in our brain are over-stimulated by sugar-rich diets, the sugar easily overrides our mechanisms for self-control. After that first bite of ice cream or brownie, it’s an uphill battle for most of us to stop. Our brain is telling us to eat more.

6 Simple Ways to Break a Sugar Addiction

So, if sugar easily overrides our self-control, what are some actions we can take that work with our body’s natural desire for sugar?

1. Eat enough low-sugar whole foods daily. When we don’t eat enough low-sugar whole foods during the day, our body naturally craves calories. Guess which type of food our body knows has calories? Sweet foods. Eating sufficient amounts of low-sugar whole foods is the simplest and fastest way to reduce cravings. When you’re craving sugar, check in with yourself to make sure you’ve eaten enough during the day. Did you skip breakfast? Did you only have a small lunch? Eat whole foods like grass-fed meats and wild fish, vegetables and greens, non-gluten grains like quinoa and millet, and good fats like avocados and coconut. Adding sufficient amounts of these whole foods into our daily regime will dramatically cut sugar cravings. 

 Simple trick: Have a high-protein green smoothie as soon as you get home from work to curb cravings for junk food.

2. Hydrate. Sugar addictions often arise because of dehydration. When we feel a craving, drink a few glasses of water. A good health habit is to start our days by drinking water and having a smoothie for breakfast. This practice will hydrate our systems, give our bodies easily digestible nutrients, and set us up for healthy eating for the rest of the day. Look to incorporate 2 liters of water into your daily regime. To boost hydration in the body, consider adding an electrolyte blend to give your body exactly what it needs. While most electrolyte drinks can contain a ton of sugar, we've formulated a blend that will boost hydration and your energy, minus all of the extra.

3. Stay mindful of cravings. One of the things that people struggle with is mindless eating. And when it comes to sugar, it's easy to reach out for more because we want it and not necessarily because our body needs it. If you find yourself reaching for a sugary snack, pause and ask yourself this: If it were something healthier instead, and it's all that was available, would you still want it? Don't judge yourself for it, but notice if you're eating out of hunger or for some other reason. It can be an exercise in mindful eating, but one that can help curb sugar cravings.

strawberry on sugar4. Eat fruit or use low calorie natural sweeteners. When we desire something sweet, eat fruit or use low calorie natural sweeteners–such as monk fruit– exclusively. Monk fruit is a natural sweetener used as a low-carbohydrate, low-glycemic sugar that doesn’t feed yeast or fungus in the body or cause cravings. We can add monk fruit  to teas, smoothies, or desserts. Commit to eating only fruit and using monk fruit for two weeks. It may be more challenging to reduce sugar when eating at restaurants so commit to eating only fruit and monk fruit at home.
5. Eat sour and fermented foods. This is the trick of the trade. When we crave the sugar taste, hit it with its opposite. Eat sour and fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha. These foods give us a blast of probiotics and nutrients and cut sugar cravings. Part of the reason to reach for these foods is because sugar cravings can be linked to feeding the candida in your gut. Candida needs sugar to thrive which can make us crave more sugar. It causes a vicious cycle. However, if we combat this with the good bacteria that can be found in fermented foods, we can bring our bodies back to a healthy balance. Instead of reaching for a soda, add a bottle of kombucha to your diet as a healthy replacement. It's carried at most stores and comes in a variety of flavors. For everything else look for unpasteurized krauts at your health food store, or an Asian marketplace, or easily make them at home.
6. Take a daily probiotic. When our gut bacteria is out of balance, we crave sugar. Probiotics help replenish intestinal flora and restore balance to the gut system. They help tip the scale back towards good bacteria and away from bad bacteria, fungi, and yeast. Consider taking at least 15 billion active bacteria daily.

Curbing Sugar Cravings

Remember, our bodies are naturally hypersensitive to sugar. Don’t fight it. Work with it. Start now by incorporating these doable strategies into your life rather than depending on willpower alone. 

It's worth noting again that you're not alone when it comes to craving sugar. But the good news is that sugar addiction can be curbed. It's simply a matter of adding a few incremental changes to your habits that could be life-changing. 

It's also worth considering our wellness kits like the Clean 21 or Clean 7 Program to give your body a clean slate and build long lasting healthy habits that you can actually maintain. Our past participants report feeling considerable reductions in sugar cravings. Learn more about our programs here. 

Sources:
Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward
5 Steps to Kick Your Sugar Addiction

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