Millions of Americans are dieting every year, and one their biggest obstacles to losing weight is that they’re craving for sugar.
People find different ways to get their sugar fix, whether it’s through donuts, soda, bread, or various candy bars that can be found at the front of super markets. While some of these habits seem to run on automatic, there is a way to explain why these sugar cravings.
Defense Mechanisms Causes Sugar Cravings
To understand what triggers cravings, you have to first understand the biological process that gets someone to eat in the first place and how craving reinforces it.
When someone is hungry, a hormone called ghrelin is released. This hormone works with the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that works with commands. When ghrelin and the hypothalamus work together, we begin to feel hungry. This is when we start to feel that it’s time to eat.
The feelings of hunger also happen to be very strong. Dr. Leigh Gibson is a psychologist and reader in Biopsychology at Roehampton University. Dr. Gibson says, “Those who are starving will eat literally anything – even foods they do not enjoy – to stay alive.”
When we experience something for the first time, dopamine and opioids are released. These chemicals give us feel good feelings that trigger us to do something again. In our case, dopamines and opioids are released when we first encounter sweets for the first time and we’re hungry.
Feelings of cravings are really a defense mechanism built up by evolution. When we’re hungry, chemicals send out signals to grab foods. When we have these foods, feel good chemicals are released that tell us it’s good for us and encourages us to do it again.
Dr. Gibson further says “Today, we still have the same chemical reactions to these so-called hyper-palatable foods, causing an unignorable desire – despite there being less of a nutritional need for them.
How Modern Living Clashes With Brain Signals
When the body experiences stress, a hormone called cortisol is released into the body.
Cortisol increases the sugar levels in the blood. The sugar released is to be used up for energy. At the same time, leptin and insulin is released, which causes us to be hungry. This is a biological reaction. After surviving an emergency situation, the body is telling us to eat in order to replenish energy we used up.
Emergency situations, before modern times, might have been life or death situations that used up a lot of energy. For example, situations that required us to “fight or flee.” However, modern times don’t have many of these emergency situations. Instead, stress from taking care of a household or paying debt can be what triggers our biological responses for more energy. This in turn causes us to get hungry and to crave fats and sweets.
Many people living a modern life experience stress numerous times during the day, along with the body’s demands to refuel on energy. In modern times, our bodies have been trained to refuel on fatty and sugary foods.
How to Stop Sugar Cravings
In order to stop sugar cravings, the main thing is to eat less sugar and reduce contact with them as much as possible. Less sugar means less insulin released, which leads to less cravings.
Some people eat sweets after a meal. One thing that can be done is to skip eating dessert in order to break this trained habit. After eating, try brushing your teeth or having some sugar free mints. Mint has been shown to reduce sugar craving.
Start finding some sugar free or low sugar alternatives for snacks. Eating fruit is also helpful because it has a great nutritional value, and still tastes sweet.
Sources:
What Causes Sugar Cravings: Biological Response
How to Stop Sugar Cravings: Helpful Tips
