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We say about sweets that they “follow” us. A bit like an unwanted admirer. Excessive familiarity will not only not be an innocent flirtation, it will also lead us to death: tooth decay, diabetes, heart disease or obesity. So how do you get over the killer feeling and break this toxic relationship?
Really believe me, I know what it is like. There are times when I would give a lot for a piece of chocolate, a bar, or sweet coffee. To feel the sweet taste in my mouth, I am able to walk to the nearest gas station in the middle of the night, go to the night shop, knock on my neighbor’s door to beg a piece of chocolate. As a last resort, I can eat half a jar of honey, grate a cogel-mogel with egg yolks and a few tablespoons of sugar. Just get something sweet. I love sweets and I hate them – because I feel like their slave.
Why is this desire to reach for something sweet so strong? And what actually happens in the body when it asks so much for another cookie or chocolate? How are we going to fight this addiction? I asked an internist, nutritional specialist and psychologist about it.
Sweet love
It is good to know the enemy first. There are several reasons why we like sweets so much. First of all – we inherited this tendency from the ancestors who preferred the sweet taste because it was a signal for them that the food was edible, as opposed to the bitter taste – usually poison. According to the psychologist, in many people excessive appetite for sweets appears in childhood (mother’s milk has a slightly sweet taste, but ready-made milk mixtures are artificially and generously sweetened), and then it is systematically aroused by treating sweets as a reward (e.g. for that we were polite) or consolation (e.g. that we would not be sad when we lost in the competition with our peers). A nutritional specialist, in turn, explains the constant craving for sweets very specifically: it is the result of a sharp increase and then a sharp decrease in blood glucose levels. Let’s look at this mechanism in detail.
The human body needs energy, and it derives it from carbohydrates. Sugars (converted into glycogen as a result of digestive processes) are necessary for the normal functioning of the brain, which controls the functioning of all organs. The consumption of carbohydrates also increases the level of an amino acid called tryptophan, which in turn increases the production of serotonin – a neurotransmitter that enables many basic life processes and improves our well-being.
Therefore, carbohydrates are essential for life, explains nutritional specialist Konrad Gaca. – The problem is what sugars we eat. If these are complex, we digest them slowly and glucose is released into the blood gradually, and the brain can work smoothly all the time. If the simple ones (i.e. those made from sweets), they enter the blood very quickly and the body cannot keep up with converting them into glycogen – he says. In order to deal with them somehow, it starts to produce a lot of insulin, which turns them into fat. This way, only a small amount of sugar enters the brain, as most of it is converted into fat. After a sharp increase in blood glucose, it suddenly drops and the brain becomes “hungry”, sending a signal that it wants more cookies or bars. And we are at the starting point.
Watch more on OnetVOD: Sweets are my sin
The female cycle with sugar in the background
One more important piece of information. Behind the excessive appetite for sweets may be hidden not only our childhood habits or ordinary greed, but also serious diseases, e.g. candidiasis (i.e. infection with yeast fungi) or diabetes. Therefore, if you notice a stronger than usual appetite for sweets, you should first of all do a morphology, necessarily with the determination of blood sugar levels. With the results – we go to the internist. Only he will assess the values of certain parameters and it is possible that he will order an additional consultation with a gynecologist or endocrinologist. Because an excessive love for sweetness can manifest itself in diseases of the thyroid gland or hormonal disorders.
Exactly, hormones. Not all of us realize that we may feel an increased appetite for sweets before menstruation. This is just natural, because when the level of estrogen increases in relation to progesterone, it is usually accompanied by a decrease in the secretion of serotonin (this neurotransmitter controlling well-being), and having a huge impact on sleep, mood and … appetite. Its deficiency increases appetite, especially products with a high carbohydrate content, such as sweets, sweet drinks and flour products. Therefore, this desire to eat something sweet is nothing more than the body’s struggle to improve well-being. This is why the average woman consumes 30-40% more calories than normal before menstruation, 25% of which comes from carbohydrates. Also during the menopause, when the level of hormones drops sharply, there is a loss of serotonin, the deficiency of which causes an increase in the appetite for carbohydrates. A lower concentration of estrogens also means a lower concentration of neuropeptide Y, a compound responsible for the decrease in blood glucose and an increase in the demand for carbohydrate-containing products.
Chrome promises
Another possible cause of excessive attraction to sweet taste – all the time looking for a reason in our body disorders, not in our weak will – is the low level of magnesium in the body (this can be supplemented naturally by eating buckwheat, beans, peas, chickpeas, spinach, fish) or insufficient amount of chromium. It has been proven that when chromium is low (and there is naturally less and less of it in our body, when we suffer from diabetes, atherosclerosis and … when we are getting older) – our appetite for sweets increases.
How does such chromium work on our body? It binds with amino acids, enhancing the effects of insulin and lowering blood sugar levels. Thus, it prevents its fluctuations, so it can be helpful in reducing excessive appetite for sweets. But … First of all: a healthy person, who is not deficient in chromium, will not feel any benefits from its supplementation, because the excess of this element is excreted with urine, and the appetite for sweets will not change – what it was, it will be. Secondly: chromium has absolutely no slimming effect, i.e. it burns fat. Thirdly, as Konrad Gaca notes, some studies show that high doses of chromium, taken over a long period of time, can lead to DNA damage. Therefore, like every vitamin and element, it would be best to provide the body in a natural form. We find it in yeast, whole grain groats and poultry.
Salvation in the bill
The greatest desire for sweets appears when our blood sugar level drops. And when is it falling? Well, for example, when we do not eat breakfast and our first meal is dinner. Then we eat a lot, so the pancreas starts to release more insulin than it needs, and the release of this hormone causes a drop in blood sugar levels. And despite a large meal and a full stomach, we feel hungry again.
So what to do? The answer is known and has been repeated by nutritionists for years: eat regularly, about every three hours, at least five times a day, smaller portions so as to keep the sugar level at a relatively constant level.
Personally, I admit – and I think many readers will join in with their frustrations – it’s not that simple. I really eat regularly, and yet, especially in the afternoon, and certainly after dinner, I can’t help but reach for a wafer or chocolate. And yet, I assure you, after a meal, I am not hungry, I just – I want to eat something sweet. – What did you eat for dinner? The dietitian asks me. I wonder and enumerate: Nicoise lettuce – with egg, tuna, tomatoes and paprika and white cheese with chives … It seems to me that everything is healthy and with the right nutrients. But here is the dog buried. It turns out that with such a meal I provided myself – yes – a lot of protein, but not much tryptophan (which was mentioned at the beginning of the text) – an amino acid that synthesizes serotonin and makes me feel better, and complex carbohydrates that facilitate this synthesis of serotonin. Good (and healthy) sources of tryptophan are meat, legumes, whole grain bread, and even better (but unhealthy) – sweets. When tryptophan is lacking, the brain desperately searches for a way to raise serotonin levels. But he takes a short cut in this action – he doesn’t want a chicken with green beans, but something sweet. It’s easier and nicer this way.
Tryptophan deficiency, and thus increased craving for sweets, also threatens us when we want to introduce an overly strict diet devoid of simple sugars (sweets), complex sugars (white bread, pasta) and fructose (fruit). By eating in this way for a long time, we cause less tryptophan to reach the brain. We become irritable, lethargic, and our brain is looking for a way to balance serotonin levels at all costs. So he craves sweetness. – Generally, the problem is not with the sweets themselves, but with their overuse. Let’s eat them, but rarely and in reasonable amounts. It is best, for example, in the form of fresh or dried fruit that provide us with fiber, vitamins and minerals at the same time, says Konrad Gaca, nutritional specialist, originator and expert of the nationwide campaign “Chudniesz – You Win Health”.
In fact, our body can also cope with occasional greed. Even a large piece of cake from time to time will not cause havoc in our body. The worst that we can treat him is a constant, systematic supply of simple sugars with lots of trans fats. So everyday snacking: cookies, cookies, bars, gingerbread, chocolates or candies.
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What are the stages of breaking the addiction of eating sweets?
– explains psychologist Maria Rotkiel.
The first stage is realizing that we have a problem. It is difficult because many people do not admit that they have no control over something. The next step is to understand the important role that sweets play in our lives. What do we eat them for, what do they give us? Paradoxically, we need to consider the benefits of eating sweets. The third stage is realizing the consequences of overeating with sweets: I have gained 15 kg, my complexion has deteriorated, my teeth deteriorate, I spend too much money on sweets. The longer we create the list, the better, because it creates the basis for building the motivation to quit smoking. The fourth step is to imagine what our life will be like after we quit: we are thin, we feel better, etc.
The next step is to develop a plan to eliminate sweets, but not immediate, just a gradual one. A psychologist can help here – instead of sweets, a new gratification should appear, e.g. I ate only a square of chocolate today, so I deserve a reward – a relaxing bath. The next step will be to consolidate your new habits. The process must be gradual, because if we quit the addiction suddenly, after some time a mental and physical rebellion of the body and a breakdown, i.e. a return to addiction, may appear. The therapist will also make sure that the old addiction is not replaced by a new one, e.g. shopaholism (if we will reward ourselves with shopping for refusing something sweet) or alcoholism (this may happen if we calm down or relax with drinks instead of a candy bar).
How to break free from a sweet addiction?
– advises Konrad Gaca, nutritional specialist, originator and expert of the nationwide campaign “Chudniesz – You Win Health”.
– Let’s do basic laboratory tests (urine, blood) to find out if the excessive appetite for sweets is not caused by the disease. Let’s check if we are not lacking magnesium or chromium.
– Let’s eat often. Five meals a day at more or less constant intervals is really conducive to weight loss. A constant supply of food prevents fluctuations in sugar levels, and thus also prevents hunger pangs.
– Let’s get enough sleep and rest as much as we need. Not getting enough sleep disrupts the functioning of ghrelin, a hormone responsible for the intensity of appetite.
– Let’s start practicing. Physical activity will make the pancreas function more efficiently.
– If only our diet allows it, include pickles and pickles (beetroots, pears or mushrooms in vinegar, sauerkraut, cucumbers) in the menu. Silage slightly inhibits the absorption of glucose, which causes the sugar level to rise more slowly.
– Let’s have dried fruit, nuts or seeds with us. Let’s eat a few in the afternoon before the craving for something sweet becomes overwhelming.
– At a party, avoid sitting next to a cake plate, in a restaurant, do not go through the dessert menu. Let’s not go out with friends in a cafe, but for a walk.
Text: Lena Miś
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