Sweet cravings: hormonal causes and ways to overcome sweet cravings

Craving for sweets: do not hide, do not hide!

Craving for sweets over the past decades has become a hot topic not only in everyday life, but also in science. The research data is truly frightening: scientists are increasingly comparing sugar lovers to drug addicts, warning that sweets not only give a fleeting pleasure, but are also addictive, ultimately ruining health.

Meanwhile, the industrial history of sugar is just over two hundred years old. At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, the production of beet sugar was established in Russia, and since then our diet has become sweeter and sweeter.

In the middle of the 17th century, the average European ate only two kilos of pure sugar per year, at the beginning of the 40th century this figure increased to XNUMX kg per year, and by the first years of the new millennium it was already almost XNUMX kg per year per capita. 

Today, there are many types of sugar on the free market, differing in both “pedigree” and appearance. Most often (and, apparently, quite deservedly) “demonized” white refined sugar, which is most widespread both in the food industry and in home cooking.

In fact, store-bought white sugar is pure sucrose – a chemical element refined using filters made from burnt cattle bone. The process of producing white sugar turns it into a sterile product in terms of dietary value, the uncontrolled use of which negatively affects immunity, intestinal microflora, dental health, and the effective assimilation of essential microelements.

Due to its ability to dissolve without residue in various substances and make food more attractive, refined sugar – secretly or openly – becomes a main ingredient in many industrially manufactured food products. These include not only confectionery and baked goods, but also soda, juices, sauces, fermented milk and dairy products, meat and offal, all kinds of semi-finished products. Doctors attribute the current “epidemic” of insulin resistance to the fact that our diet is oversaturated with fast-digesting carbohydrates, of which sucrose is in the first place. Which leads to various heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes.

Sadly, it is not uncommon for the product sold as brown cane sugar to be the same refined sugar, simply covered in molasses, a byproduct of sugar production. Molasses itself has many benefits, including a high copper content, but in this disguised sugar, it only benefits tricky sellers who use eco-brown to add value to the product.

The original unrefined cane sugar, mildly refined or not subjected to industrial refining at all, in addition to sucrose, contains many useful additives such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron. However, its calorie content is as high as that of white, and uncontrolled consumption of “natural” sugar does not insure either from cravings for sweets or from its sad consequences.

Sugar, are you the sweetest in the world?

Sucrose is a disaccharide, a simple carbohydrate. The body competently in just a few minutes decomposes sucrose into glucose and fructose, which enter the bloodstream. Perhaps everyone knows this effect – it is enough to eat a small candy to cheer up and “restart the brain.” Our body runs on glucose, it is a reliable and, in general, an irreplaceable source of energy. The body ultimately gets glucose from any carbohydrates (carbohydrates), including slowly processed ones, but simple carbohydrates are called fast precisely because they cause an immediate rise in blood sugar levels and a powerful release of insulin.

The first recipient of glucose is the brain. Then it “reaches” the muscles, kidneys, and other organs. Insulin helps glucose to “flow” into the cells, while the brain cells “burn” it immediately, receiving the necessary energy, and the cells of other internal organs act in one of the following ways: either convert the supplied glucose into glycogen (short-term reserves, which, if necessary, are consumed first when there is a shortage of energy supply from the outside), or they break it down, spending on processes that are relevant for the cell. In the event that there is too much glucose, the cell does not face any tasks of growth, repair and transformation, and the glycogen depots are clogged, glucose is transformed into fat.

At the end of 2013, the health department of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, came up with an unexpected initiative to place stickers on products containing sugar, similar to those that smokers see on cigarette packs today.

According to Dutch officials, sugar is the most dangerous substance on the planet, and it is up to states to help their citizens come to their senses and think about the dangers to health. Also in the plans of the Amsterdam innovators is the introduction of a state excise tax on sugar in industrial food. They are convinced that such a measure is economically justified, because food manufacturers know that the consumption of sugar whets the appetite and add more and more sucrose to their products so that people eat more!

For people with sugar sensitivity, cravings for sweets turn into a real danger: their self-esteem, performance and mood begin to directly depend on chewed chocolate on time, serving as a bridge of short pleasure between two abysses of despair. However, it is precisely the high amount of sugar that should be avoided with a sugar sensitivity by choosing slow-digesting foods with a low glycemic index that can equalize blood glucose levels and keep them stable throughout the day. A “dose” of endorphins and serotonin will help keep you physically active. It is necessary to take on the correction of the situation at the first suspicion. Otherwise, a person with a heightened sensitivity to blood sugar levels will sit firmly on the “candy needle” and demonstrate all the signs of psychological and physical dependence on sweets.

Sweet tooth goes on a night hunt

Dr. Alexey Kovalkov, whose authorship belongs to the famous Kovalkov diet, writes about an insidious mechanism by which craving for sweets subjugates not only our secret dreams, but also metabolism. In his opinion, the paradox lies precisely in the fact that we are well aware of the harm of sweets, and this is also why we overestimate the joy of meeting him, expecting an imaginary psychological relaxation, waiting after “loading” with sweets or a cake. This attitude is painfully familiar to those who are in constant struggle with excess weight and are trying to strictly limit the composition of their diet or its calorie content. “Right now I’m eating tasty things, and then I’ll sit on rice and water for two weeks,” unfortunately, such a way of thinking often becomes a standard trap, because “last times” follow one after another.

Aleksey Kovalkov draws attention to the following: “sweet binges” become not only a serious psychological trauma (self-confidence collapses), but also disrupt the work of the pancreas, stomach, and liver. The alternation of “pumping sweets” and starvation leads to metabolic disorders and, ultimately, weight gain, despite the formally meager diet.

What to do? There is only one answer: to work on yourself and look at the problem soberly, as soon as the sugar fog dissipates. Dr. Kovalkov is confident that everyone can identify the main causes of breakdowns, their trigger mechanism, and learn to separate physiological hunger from emotional hunger. 

A varied emotional life, not limited to the evening mental “chewing” of work stresses and family grievances, magically extinguishes the need for cookies with icing. And even better, a simple and favorite medicine – sleep – copes with this!

Lack of sleep is a direct path to excess weight. This was reliably found out by the Canadian scientist Mir Kryger. The conclusion of his study, which covered 40 thousand people of different sexes aged 32 to 49 years, is unambiguous – you should sleep at least 7, or even 9 hours a day. Systematic sleep deprivation causes hormonal disturbances that cannot be dealt with with dietary measures alone. The traditional evening lingering on sweets at the end of the working day plays an important role here: sugar activates brain and physical processes, which turns out to be very inappropriate when a healthy schedule calls you to bed.

If you rarely go to bed before midnight, it means that when you are awake, you find yourself in a period of production of the hormone ghrelin, coinciding with a decrease in the production of the hormone leptin. By themselves, these processes are physiological, however, it is assumed that they go while the “host” of the body is sleeping.

Ghrelin increases appetite, leptin decreases it. If the sleep is full, in 8-9 hours hormonal processes go through the stages of natural regulation and in the morning a person is already able to have breakfast quite consciously and build his day accordingly. However, if the level of ghrelin begins to rise, and you are still at the computer or in front of the TV, it is time to expect trouble – that is, a ferocious desire to attack kitchen cabinets and munch on something tasty. This explains the special craving for sweets at night.

The second peak of the attack of sweet addiction among the “night residents” is recorded around 3-4 o’clock in the morning: the time has come for an increase in insulin levels, which entails, respectively, a drop in blood sugar levels and a new attack of irresistible craving for sweets. Fighting the “eternal hormonal call” at night is really extremely difficult.

Therefore, the advice is simple: if you want to get rid of cravings for sweets, sleep it!

7 steps to get rid of sugar addiction

In addition to psychologically working on yourself and controlling stress and rest, the following tricks will help you successfully fight your sugar cravings.

1. Add more protein sources to your diet – its satiating capacity and slow absorption help to cope with bouts of hunger and cravings for something sweet. Of particular benefit will be farmed meat and poultry (raw materials grown in a free environment and not stuffed with hormones) and fish caught in natural ecologically clean waters. Don’t forget about vegetable proteins – legumes and nuts remain their non-toxic, easily digestible resource.

2. Visit an endocrinologist and gynecologist – an obsessive craving for sweets can be one of the symptoms of thyroid dysfunction or infection with candidiasis.

3. Get your doctor’s consent to take B vitamins – they help the nervous system to effectively resist the daily stress of city life. Namely, stress often provokes sugar cravings, including because it condones inadequate production of the hormone cortisol, which is responsible for fat stores and cravings for junk food.

4. Sugar substitutes will not help sweet addictions – studies have shown that, on the contrary, they increase the urge to reach for a tidbit.

5. In order not to fall into the frustration caused by the rejection of your favorite treats, indulge yourself with dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa). The benefits of this delicacy are recognized by many nutritionists – the rich taste allows you to enjoy, the cocoa protein – even a small amount, and the antioxidant properties bring health benefits. The natural sweetness of carob is also a healthy alternative to unhealthy sweets and is free of addictive substances.

6. To get rid of addiction to sweets – do not buy sweets!

7. Avoid low-fat foods – most often banal sugar is added to them to improve the taste, and this, as we already know, is a vicious circle – sugar leads to even more sugar.

Give a pill for sugar cravings, but sweeter!

Of course, taking medications, including dietary supplements, is a measure in overcoming cravings for sweets, which should be approached with extreme caution. However, firstly, there are cases when therapy with drugs becomes the last hope, and secondly, information is never superfluous. Most importantly, don’t take any medications or supplements without your doctor’s knowledge! Be sure to agree on the possibility of appointment, dosage and make sure that there are no side effects and individual intolerance at an in-person visit.

Preparations based on chromium have been used for a long time in the “treatment” of cravings for sweets. Chromium is one of the biogenic substances, that is, it is part of the tissues of various representatives of the living world. In its pure form, chromium is toxic, and hexavalent compounds are also carcinogenic, but the human body constantly needs microscopic inputs of the mineral: it is important for hematopoiesis, fat-carbohydrate metabolism and protein assimilation.

Chromium and sugar in the human body are linked by an inverse relationship: the use of sweets “washes out” chromium, which, in turn, suppresses cravings for sweets.

Products containing chromium: beef liver, seafood (especially shrimp), sea fish (tuna, capelin, mackerel, salmon, catfish), river fish (carp, carp, crucian carp), duck, pearl barley.

Chromium picolinate has a bright scarlet color due to the fact that in its composition the metal is oxidized with picolinic acid, which, according to biochemists, simplifies the process of assimilation of chromium by the human body. It is this substance that is often prescribed to reduce cravings for sweets. 

Another drug used as a medical “crutch” for addiction to sweets is especially well known to athletes and those who, alas, have to follow a special diet for gastritis. L-Glutamine (Glutamine) is a multifunctional amino acid found naturally in animal and plant proteins. The therapeutic effect of glutamine was recognized about 40 years ago, and during this time the drug has been successfully used as an adjuvant in the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract due to its talent for reducing inflammation and accelerating the healing of a wide variety of injuries.

However, gradually, in the course of clinical practice, other beneficial properties of the amino acid, including unexpected ones, were clarified. Glutamine has been successfully tested and is being used to treat alcohol addiction. This effect inspired doctors to try glutamine in “sweet business”, and the result was not long in coming: the amino acid also had a pacifying effect on cells hungry for sweets.

Foods containing glutamine: beef, lamb, chicken and goose, hard cheese, cottage cheese, soy, chicken eggs, sea bass, peas.

Glutamine’s benefits in relieving sugar cravings are also enhanced by its ability to stabilize muscle tissue and cleanse excretory organs of processed fats. In addition, when taken in its pure form, glutamine is a capacious source of available energy from a non-carbohydrate source. This amino acid is involved in the formation of key neurotransmitters, helping the brain and nervous system to lock in a harmonious position with respect to arousal and rest. We can say that glutamine re-teaches the body, exhausted and loosened by stress and addictions, to function as it should, biochemically helping to make a useful and correct decision to get rid of addiction.