It’s no secret that consuming too much sugar hurts your health. Sugary diets have been linked to everything from weight gain and cavities to serious problems like diabetes, heart disease and stroke. A recent study published in the British Medical Journal found 45 negative health effects from sugar, including increased risk of asthma, depression, dementia and death from several cancers, but when a craving for the sweet stuff strikes, it can be tough to resist.
Food cravings are normal and can hit you for lots of reasons: hunger, hormonal shifts, habit or even boredom, experts say. More than 90 percent of Americans experience food cravings. It’s not surprising that many of us crave sweets, says Anne Alexander, author of The Sugar Smart Diet. Sugar has a physical effect on the brain, triggering the release of feel-good hormones like serotonin and dopamine. Culturally, we also tend to associate sweet foods with safety, comfort and happiness.
The average American consumes 17 tablespoons of sugar a day — about two to three times the amount the American Heart Association recommends. If you are one of the 90%, who just like me find sugar cravings irresistible at times, here are some strategies that can help us to tame our sweet tooth.
- Eat a balanced diet: Make sure you’re getting enough protein, healthy fats, and fiber in your diet. This will help keep you feeling full and satisfied, which can reduce sugar cravings.
- Avoid processed foods: Processed foods are often high in sugar and can trigger cravings. Stick to whole, nutrient-dense foods instead.
- Stay hydrated: Dehydration can sometimes be mistaken for hunger or sugar cravings. Make sure you’re drinking enough water throughout the day.
- Get enough sleep: Lack of sleep can disrupt hormones that regulate hunger and cravings. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep per night.
- Find healthy alternatives: When you do have a sugar craving, reach for a healthy alternative like fruit or a small piece of dark chocolate.
- Practice mindful eating: Pay attention to your body’s hunger and fullness signals, and try to eat without distractions. This can help prevent overeating and reduce sugar cravings.
- Pinpoint Your Sugar Pitfalls. Try to get to the bottom of what typically triggers your desire for something sweet. Often, it has nothing to do with hunger.
Do you reach for a treat when you are anxious? Lonely? Bored? Some people wolf down a sleeve of cookies when they need a distraction from a hard project at work. Others devour a bowl of ice cream to treat themselves after a hard day. Give yourself a moment to really think about what is driving your cravings.
Once you identify your triggers, make a list of alternative ways to handle those feelings. Maybe it’s listening to music, reading a book, watching a favorite TV show or having a long phone call with a friend. Post the list where you will see it the next time the chocolate chip cookies are calling your name.
- Remove Temptation. It sounds simple, but keeping foods you can’t resist out of the house is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to reduce cravings, I should know, it works for me, and is my favorite strategy. If it’s not in your house, then you can’t eat it, but you can eat fruits, nuts and vegetables. Rather than grab the unhealthy snacks, try munching on some naturally sweet fruits, your body will thank you for it.
- Try Urge Surfing. “Urge surfing” is a mindfulness technique that involves recognizing a craving, accepting it and then riding it out without giving in to it. This technique was first used to help drug and alcohol addicts, and research shows it’s an effective way to resist a craving. To try it, start by taking notice the next time a craving hits and reassure yourself that it’s normal, then, pay attention as the urge gets stronger, crests and start to subside, just like a wave. It may help to talk yourself through it. This method works for me whenever I’m intermittent fasting. While fasting I will get the urge to eat, but I know if I don’t give in to the urge and wait 20 minutes or so, the urge will subside. It also helps to drink water and stay busy.
- Give It A Month. If there’s a food you simply can’t resist, commit to cutting it out of your diet completely for just one month. Although the first week or two will be difficult, if you can last for a month using the strategies above, your brain will adjust and your craving for the food should drop significantly. People imagine the longer you give up something, the harder and harder it will get, but the truth is that once your brain adjusts to the fact that it’s just something you don’t eat, you will probably stop desiring or craving it altogether.
There you have it! 10 Strategies to help you curb your sugar cravings. Which one will you try?
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