Dear Mark: Sugar Cravings
Dear Mark,
I do pretty well in the fitness department, love my veggies and get plenty of protein. My problem is that I can’t seem to shake my sugar cravings. Suggestions?
I get some version of this question on a fairly regular basis. A common theory says that we evolved to crave sweet tastes in order to seek out healthy fruits to diversify our diets. The problem comes in the current age when our inclination is bombarded with the likes of Coco Puffs, Snickers and pudding packs.
Research has found (surprise, surprise) that sugar has addictive properties complete with a serotonin rise and crash as well as some cranky withdrawal symptoms. And high fructose corn syrup? I could write a monolithic rant on the stuff. Though it’s multiple times sweeter than processed sugar, high fructose corn syrup doesn’t trip the satiety signal in our brains like sugar does. It’s the bottomless pit of sugars.
The goal, then, is to feed your body’s real needs. We did a piece on hunger a few weeks ago that talked about the body’s physical instinct to fulfill all its five tastes, sweet being one. Try working in some fruit (preferably a low glycemic option like berries) with each meal. Additionally, use spices like cinnamon, coriander or nutmeg as well as splashes of lemon, lime or pomegranate juices to add naturally sweet flavor to your foods. Additionally, cinnamon, nuts and a chromium picolinate supplement all help stabilize blood sugar, which can help keep those dip-related cravings at bay.
Keep in mind also that sugar cravings can signal that you aren’t feeding your body properly in other ways. Lack of sleep, stress, dehydration, caffeine crashes and plain hunger go hand in hand with sugar cravings. Research has even shown that a deficiency in alpha-linolenic acid (those handy little omega-3s) can dull a person’s perception of sweetness, encouraging him/her to crave more sugar to satisfy the natural taste. You gotta love those ALAs!
Another suggestion I have for battling the sugar beast: learn to enjoy your food more. Cravings often have psychological dimensions. Just two familiar words: comfort food. Step up your game a bit to make your meals even more flavorful and satisfying, and don’t eat on the run. Also, come up with some healthy indulgences like a great tasting herbal tea around midmorning or some strawberries with mascarpone cheese to get you through an afternoon slump.
In addition to plenty of rest, hydration and solid nutrition, exercise is absolutely essential in combating serious and chronic cravings. As I mentioned above, sugar raises serotonin levels, and that boost can easily figure into cravings. But guess what? Exercise raises serotonin as well. If you can, plan your workouts around the time of day when cravings tend to hit. If the cravings descend in the middle of the afternoon (as is common for many people) and can’t get away from work, find an excuse to step away and run up a few flight of stairs for your mission (real or concocted).
Uwe Hermann Flickr Photo (CC)
Further Reading:
The Best Low Carb Fruits (and Worst)
DietHack: How to Manage Your Food Cravings
Sponsor note:
This post was brought to you by the Damage Control Master Formula, independently proven as the most comprehensive high-potency antioxidant multivitamin available anywhere. With the highest antioxidant per dollar value and a complete anti-aging, stress, and cognition profile, the Master Formula is truly the only multivitamin supplement you will ever need. Toss out the drawers full of dozens of different supplements with questionable potency and efficacy and experience the proven Damage Control difference!
Subscribe to Mark’s Daily Apple feeds
Posted By: Mark Sisson
The addictive substance is fructose. Cut it out and the cravings will stop.
Sugar is made of sucrose. Sucrose once ingested readily breaks up to exactly half glucose and half fructose. Cut sugar out and you are on a good track.
Glucose is not addictive and it is the energy fuel for the body. You can eat it and not crave it. Fructose is addictive and it also gets very quickly metabolised to fat in the liver.
Glucose is not as sweet as fructose to the addicted. However, use it or something like stevia sweetener to help with the withdrawal symptoms & cravings you will get as soon as you stop eating fructose.
Hi Mark,
That link that you have about the addictiveness on sugar is linking to a paper on dietary fatty acid. The only mention of sugar is in reference to subjects that had ALA deficiency, who required more sugar to perceive the same sweetness. Is this an error?
Mark,
I’ve seen a lot of articles in regard to people’s sweet tooth issues. I was wondering what your thoughts on breast milk and the cause of the human want for sweet treats. Breast milk is sickening sweet, so sweet that I’ve only added cocoa to make popsicles for my young ones.
I myself crave more savory items when I want to snack and very few sweets. My background is Asian and White. My husband is white and he has a tremendous sweet tooth.
We are currently trying your 21-day transformation, which, I was already eating very similarly to your plan anyway. I’ve been having a hard time losing fat on your diet. I’ve lost a lot of muscle with the downgrade of workout intensity. I normally do about 30 mins of calisthenics with plyometrics 3-5 days a week and an intense cardio session of 30 mins as well.
My husband on the other hand has lost about 7-8lbs in 12 days of the program.
Any suggestions?
I have also broken out in an intensely itchy rash just under my nose that blisters up,crusts over, then peels away leaving the skin bright red and stinging which quickly turns to the intense itchy as the cycle starts again. I had this in my early 20′s and thought it was due to green coffee dust. I was tested for green coffee dust allergy with was positive, but roasted coffee I was not allergic to. It finally cleared and at 35 its the first appearance it’s had and it’s at least 10 times worse.
Thank you so much for this website and the support you and education you give people to live a healthier and more satisfying life.