Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
973741 tn?1342342773

How to reduce sugar cravings

Me like sugar!  Me like sugar a lot!!  What are ideas to reduce my sugar craving?
4 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
649848 tn?1534633700
I've read that calcium, magnesium, and zinc deficiencies cause sugar cravings.  You can ask your doctor to test your levels of these nutrients or try supplementing.  I've been low in all of them (shown by tests) and almost everything I read says that almost everyone is deficient in magnesium, but it's important to remember that more isn't always better.  

If you get a craving for sugar, first try drinking some water... again, I've read if we crave sugar or salt, we might be dehydrated.  Making sure we drink plenty of water every day might be one way to help control the cravings.

I've also read that low protein causes sugar cravings as well, so I eat apples with peanut butter - that gives me something sweet (apple) and both protein and fat from the peanut butter to help with the craving and to keep from getting hungry again right away. I buy peanut butter in single serving containers to keep from pigging out on the whole jar...  :-)

In addition, typically, if we don't give in to a craving within 10 minutes, it goes away, so you can try going for a walk, folding a load of clothes, sweeping the floor, cleaning a drawer - you get the idea - before you eat something sweet.  Then stop to think if you're really hungry; have you eaten a meal or is it time to eat?  If it's close to mealtime, perhaps you can bump your mealtime up a bit or snack on a small piece of fruit.  If it's between meals, try eating an apple or pear instead of opting for candy, cake, cookies or other sweets.  Dark chocolate (75% cacao) is also supposed to cut cravings.

Last, but not least, avoid replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners.  Artificial sweeteners actually cause worse sugar cravings than real sugar does.   I find that either Stevia or raw honey works best for sweetening if I really have to have my food sweeter, although I'm learning that most food is naturally sweet enough but there are some herbs/spices I use, too that help if needed, including ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, cloves, etc.

Anyway, maybe there's something here that might help...
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
There are a million theories for why some people crave sugar, and all are probably correct for some people and not correct for others.  In Chinese medicine, they believe that a sugar craving, sugar being as yin as you can get outside of using drugs, is corrected by eating more yang foods, and protein foods are one example, though there are many others, such as root veggies, although some of these, such as beets, also are high in sugar, but not in a form that is a real problem.  So there's one theory -- your energy isn't balanced and thus creates a craving.  Eating too much animal food, which is very yang, is said to create sugar cravings to balance it out.  Another theory.  I've never heard of the electrolyte deficiency mentioned above as causing sugar cravings, so there you go, another theory.  The reason, by the way, most people in the US are deficient in magnesium is the overconsumption of calcium, usually in the form of dairy but also the erroneous assumption that bone health is improved by taking in more calcium.  Calcium and magnesium are in electrical balance in the body, so too much of one leaches out the other.  Dairy has almost no magnesium in it, so there's a problem given the gov't and large dairy companies in order to create a large dairy market falsely sold us on its health benefits.  Magnesium, on the other hand, as well as the most assimilable forms of calcium, are found in green leafy veggies, especially the hard parts like the stems, and most Americans don't like them, or at least don't think they like them.  But whether that creates a sugar craving I have no idea.  Another theory, and one that has scientific proof to it, is that we eat sugar for the same reasons we take recreational drugs -- it makes us feel good temporarily.  It's an intense sensory experience.  If we're not getting that kind of experience anywhere else, either due to mental illness that is isolating us or making us avoid the things we truly like or just because our lives are devoted to earning money rather than finding joy and fulfillment or a lack of time exists to have fun with others or we don't do things that are intense experiences such as try to find food in the wild so we don't die, well, this can lead to using sugar as a high.  It's easy to do, and doesn't need anyone else around to do it.  
Avatar universal
Sugarfree fibers/proteins-rich shakes save my life, as well as regular healthy snacks (nuts, dried fruits), drink water.

My best strategy: don't buy the stuff you crave when you're at the grocery store. When the cravings hit you, you won't find anything and you will end up eating fruits instead!
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Well, if you're talking about pulpy fruits, they are also very high in sugar and should also be eaten in moderation.  If you're talking about all fruits, including nuts and seeds and squash, then that's a different story.
188761 tn?1584567620
We're in the same boat, mama.  Since I couldn't give up sugar ever,  I have trained my mind to consume it once a day and in a very limited quantity, I try and eat something sweet at the beginning of the day, I guess they say, it is better off that way!

My wife just bought something called - Cocoa almond cream spread,  it's delicious. I can't tell you about my temptations here. :p

I've created a work around to live with sugar.  I lift heavy and I run 2kms every day post work out.  Works in my favour,  I am guessing.
Helpful - 0
4 Comments
Cocoa almond cream spread . .. . sounds good to me!  I've had Nutella which sounds similar.  Healthy mixed with tasty, can't beat that, right?  I try for the work around of lots of exercise.  And balancing it all out with as more good for me foods and eating than sugar . . .  but it's definitely a challenge.  :>))
Uh, Nutella isn't in any way healthy.  Has a ton of sugar and fat.  I'm not one for austerity, as you all know, you gotta enjoy life, but anyone else reading this shouldn't go out and buy these things if health is your goal.  
Well, it's got some protein Paxiled.  Maybe not as much as peanut butter, but it's better than licking syrup off the spoon, isn't it? I think it was kind of tongue in cheek.  While Nutella isn't really healthy, it is far worse than things I **could** put in my body.  My son had a frozen cookie dough and cinnamon bun sale for his school band. Oh, and chocolate covered frozen cheese cake. bites I mean, seriously. I had to buy some to help him meet his goal but this is NOT what I need in the house.  . . well, the choc. covered cheesecake bites are gone.  
I have little willpower, Mom.  If you put a box of doughnuts in front of me, I'll eat them.  I blame it all on my college girlfriend all those years ago -- she didn't eat much except dessert, and got me on it.  I've never had Nutella, though, believe it or not.  I eat dessert, but I try to just use stuff I buy at the health food store, which is where I buy all the food I have at home.  So to make up for it, I make sure not to use sugar in anything else I eat, only dessert.  But as I say, you gotta enjoy life, right?
Avatar universal
You could try intermittent fasting.
Helpful - 0

You are reading content posted in the Exercise & Fitness Community

Top Healthy Living Answerers
Avatar universal
Arlington, VA
Learn About Top Answerers
Popular Resources
14 super-healthy foods that are worth the hype
Small changes make a big impact with these easy ways to cut hundreds of calories a day.
Forget the fountain of youth – try flossing instead! Here are 11 surprising ways to live longer.
From STD tests to mammograms, find out which screening tests you need - and when to get them.
Tips and moves to ease backaches
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.