A Tool Bag for Dealing With Sugar Cravings

Halloween is approaching. Come November 1^st, either your home is filled with candy or your work place is overflowing with everyone’s Halloween leftovers brought in by your co-workers in the hope that someone else (you!) eats it instead of them.

If you are concerned about how to moderate your sugar intake, here are some steps to help:

Evaluating Diet:

Incorporate more complex carbohydrates into your diet: Craving something sweet is natural. The sugars that give us the sweet flavor also provide us with energy. Complex carbohydrates will provide the sugars needed for the body without an extreme drop in blood sugar levels. By preventing our blood sugar dipping too low, we can reduce or eliminate the cravings for simple sugars. Beans, grains, nuts, vegetables and fruits can all contain sugars as well as being rich in other nutrients.

Eat Sweet Vegetables: Sweet vegetables in our diet are one of the most helpful tools in eliminating sweet cravings. Incorporating the sweet flavor into our nutritious meals, will lessen the urge for additional  sweetness when the meal is done. Furthermore, if you think about a root vegetable, the direction in which it grows is downward, deeper into the earth. Energetically, roots are very grounding. While sugar can often leave us feeling spacey, sweet vegetables provide the body with sweetness while still maintaining ground.

Vegetables with a deep sweet flavor: corn, carrots, onions, beets, winter squash, sweet potatoes and yams.  Some semi sweet veggies include turnips, parsnips and rutabagas. These are very easy to boil or bake until desired tenderness- the softer these vegetables get, the sweeter they become.

Fruits: They are sweet, healthy, and delicious. If you suffer from yeast infections or high triglyceride levels, sugar and fruits should be avoided.

Incorporate mostly whole foods into your diet: Remember that processed carbohydrates will affect blood sugar levels just as simple sugars do and can cause sugar cravings. Enjoy brown rice instead of white and have an orange instead of Tropicana.

Drink water!!! Sweet cravings are often a sign of dehydration. If experiencing a craving, have a glass of water and wait a few minutes to see what happens.

Caution: soft drinks are now America’s number one source of added sugar.

Reduce or eliminate caffeine: If sugar is a craving you tend to always have, consider that the ups and downs of caffeine include dehydration and blood sugar swings, causing sugar cravings to be more frequent.

Use gentle sweets: Forget about the chemical artificial sweeteners. These are the worst sweetener for your health. Use gentle sweeteners like maple syrup, brown rice syrup, raw honey, dried fruit, stevia, or raw agave nectar.

Forget about sugar in your tea and use a natural sweetener instead. If you enjoy baked goods, substitute the sugar in your baking recipes with natural sweeteners. If shopping for cookies, look for ones made from whole grain flours and sweetened with fruit juice or other natural sweeteners. 

Evaluate your protein intake: Eating too much or too little protein can lead to cravings for sweets. Figuring out the right amount as well as the right type of protein for you will depend on your individual body and lifestyle.

Read the labels on fat-free or low-fat foods: These foods most often contain high quantities of sugar that are sure to spike your blood sugar levels.  

Get the highest quality: If it is chocolate you crave, get yourself a high quality dark chocolate and take a moment to savor the experience of its flavor. It is quite a different experience in comparison to half consciously consuming an entire packet of Hershey’s. Dark chocolate contains a high percent of cocoa and will take a much smaller amount to satisfy your craving. Common chocolates contain little cocoa and more sweeteners and artificial flavors.

Products always list ingredients beginning with the highest amount and working down to the lowest. If sugar is listed before cocoa, it is not really a dark chocolate. There should be at least 51% cocoa in a dark chocolate bar. 

Knock out the sweet tooth: Sometimes you can eliminate a sugar craving by eating the opposite flavor to what you are craving. Try something sour like sauerkraut...

It works!

Evaluating Lifestyle:

Move your body: Physical activity will help balance your blood sugar levels and reduce tension. Start with simple activities, to be sure that you don’t overwhelm yourself. Add some walking into your day or incorporate simple stretching. Soon enough the body will wake up and crave more movement.

If you fight with yourself to go to the gym, it is time to think of other activities you might cenjoy. Try yoga, dancing, martial arts, sports, rock climbing or anything that will be fun for you. Rather than thinking of it as exercise, find an activity that feels therapeutic in movement.  

Get more sleep and relaxation: When you are tired or stressed, your body will crave energy. Since sugar is the quickest form of energy, the body will crave it.  Find ten minutes to close your eyes at the end of the work day, stop your “to do” list at a reasonable hour, and shut off the TV earlier at night. 

Sweeten your days: If you are reaching for sugar in search of comfort, temporarily sedating the craving with sugar will only make things more uncomfortable in the long run. Spend time with friends, enjoy the outdoors and treat yourself to regular acupuncture or massage treatments. When life is as sweet as sugar, no substitutes are needed.

Make a Nourishment List: If sugar is your way of soothing or energizing yourself and you are experiencing a craving, it is difficult to think of a healthier choice that will meet your needs. Take some time to write all the activities you can think of that energize and sooth you. This way, you have access to a list of ideas for you to choose from at a time of need. Keep adding things to the list over time: A walk outside, 10 deep breaths, a few stretches, a few minutes of rest with elevated legs, calling a friend, a bubble bath, etc.

Manage Your “To Do” List: Make  a point of first addressing the bigger tasks that you want to avoid  so that you don’t expend your time and energy on the smaller tasks, ending the day feeling less accomplished. List all the things that zap your energy and all the things that give you energy; then balance out your ‘To Do’s with both.