Are sugar cravings sabotaging your diet plans? If you just can’t say no to cakes, cookies and candy, you may be addicted to sugar.
Luckily, with a few natural vitamins and minerals, you can overcome your addiction and get your diet back on track.
Sugar Cravings = Addiction
For some people sugar acts just like a drug, and like any other drug, it can be extremely addictive.
Sugar causes our bodies to release a surge of dopamine, a chemical that controls the reward centre of the brain.
Dopamine is vital for concentration, motivation and feelings of reward and this surge of dopamine is partly responsible for the “sugar high” you know so well.
Unfortunately, over time, eating a lot of sugar can cause your brain to become less sensitive to dopamine.
When this happens, you need more dopamine just to feel normal, and without your regular “sugar hit”, you feel tired, sluggish, irritable and moody.
How do you know if you’re addicted to sugar? The answer to this simple question will give you a pretty good idea.
Imagine you’ve just come home from work to find a plate of fresh baked cookies on the table. You ate a big lunch, you’re really not hungry and you’re going out for a nice meal in an hour or so. Would you eat the cookies?
If you’re addicted to sugar, you won’t even have to think about this question.
Your answer will be a definite Yes. You would eat the cookies and you probably wouldn’t stop at one or two. You may even have trouble stopping yourself from eating the whole plate.
So how can you overcome your sugar addiction? One way is to go cold turkey and just stop eating sugar altogether, but that can be every bit as difficult as giving up cigarettes without the aid of nicotine gum or patches.
Withdrawal symptoms can be severe and may include anxiety, depression, headaches, dizziness, trembling, cold sweats and extreme cravings for sugar.
A far easier way is to provide your body with the nutritional support it needs to overcome the sugar cravings before you stop eating sugar. A program of vitamins, minerals and natural amino acids can quickly stabilize blood sugar, eliminate cravings and overcome withdrawal symptoms.
Natural Supplements to Control Sugar Cravings
Chromium is one of the most effective nutrients for overcoming sugar cravings.
Many studies have shown that chromium helps to stabilize blood sugar and directly reduces cravings for sugar. Sugar addiction often combines with chromium deficiency to create a vicious cycle – sugar robs the body of chromium causing chromium deficiency, which causes increased sugar cravings and a higher intake of sugar, further depleting the body of chromium.
Chromium supplements can interrupt this vicious cycle by building up your levels of chromium and eliminating cravings.
L-glutamine is a natural amino acid (a building block of protein) that the brain can use for fuel when blood sugar levels are low.
The next time you feel a craving for sugar, try sprinkling a bit of l-glutamine under your tongue – most people will find their cravings disappear in minutes as the glutamine is absorbed directly into the bloodstream and used immediately by the brain for fuel.
Research has shown that a B vitamin called biotin also helps eliminate cravings and stabilize blood sugar. Several other B vitamins, zinc, omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin E, while less important, can all help maintain blood sugar and reduce cravings.
Once you’ve overcome your cravings, you will find it much easier to stick to your diet.
A healthy diet will help prevent sugar cravings from returning -avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates and eat plenty of protein, fresh vegetables, healthy fats and moderate amounts of complex carbohydrates.
Protein should be eaten at every meal as it helps maintain blood sugar levels, while fresh vegetables provide a good supply of the vitamins and minerals needed to keep blood sugar stable.
