Sugar Cravings: 6 Major Reasons And Ways To Deal With It

Every person has come across this: you sit down to work, and all thoughts are only about the cake. Or he goes to bed, but unable to sleep because he madly wants sweets. The body cannot concentrate on anything; it signals only one thing: I want sweets! 

What is this phenomenon? A harbinger of an upcoming bout of compulsive overeating? A symptom of a lack of some substances? Diet threat? Let’s figure out why you constantly want sweets, what the body lacks, and what to do about it.

Why Do You Crave Sweets?

Here are some most common reasons for craving sweets.

1. Banal Hunger

Acute cravings for sweets can be a response to hunger. Especially if the day before you went on a strict diet, the body does not adjust to the new regimen. Maybe you didn’t have time to have a full breakfast, and by noon at a working meeting, you saw a pack of chocolates.

Our body is smart; it knows well what a quick boost of energy will give it – simple carbohydrates and sugars. They instantly give a feeling of fullness. Picked up by this impulse, the body does not think that the quickly received carbohydrates will be processed just as quickly, and you will want to eat again. But a thinking person must stop himself and eat sensibly.

2. Alcohol Addiction

Some of the alcoholic beverages also have a high content of sugar in them. Thus, when an addict does not get the daily dose of alcohol, he starts craving sweets. If not controlled, this habit will lead to obesity in no time.

Thus, if your child has alcohol addiction, convince him or her to get alcoholism treatment. Note that your child may experience cravings for sweets after alcohol withdrawal too. But by the end of the treatment, he will get better.

What To Do?

Cravings for sweets are provoked due to alcohol addiction. If your child does not get convinced to get the treatment, you can force him or her. Yes, you can find involuntary rehab centers in different locations of the USA that allow admitting a child under 18 without his or her consent. However, if your child is above 18, an intervention may help. Take these actions timely as the future of your child depends on it.

3. Carbohydrate Addiction

Salt is a white poison, while sugar is a sweet poison. It has long been established that sugar can be addictive, akin to a drug. Especially if you have a family history of diabetes and a predisposition to addiction, you are at higher risk. Loading yourself with fast carbohydrates, you may raise your blood sugar and feel energized. 

When the sugar level drops, you feel exhausted and weak. So you need to raise the sugar level again, you want sweets again, and so the cycle continues. Sugar addiction is just like any other. If you are already accustomed to sweets, and you physically cannot do without them, this is already an addiction that you need to fight.

What To Do?

Eat right and get rid of foods that provoke the use of sweets, at least for a while. You need to add more proteins to the diet, which gives a long feeling of satiety. This alone is often enough to reduce the risk of addiction outbreaks. Make sure that there is always some kind of healthy snack nearby, which contains both protein and fiber.

4. Intense Exercise

During intense training, a person rapidly consumes energy, metabolism accelerates. At the same time, the body creates a load of microtrauma to the muscles, where the body will continue to build up new fibers. This is the essence of training. In order for the body to recover, it needs energy. 

Therefore, often 10-20 minutes after a workout, an athlete feels not just hungry but ready to eat everything he sees! Why do you want sweets? Because your body, again, perfectly understands that it will receive an instant surge of strength from sweets.

What To Do?

Those who have been in sports for a long time know what to do to prevent sweets cravings. Before training, you need to eat about an hour in advance, so your body gets full. And with really intense workouts, you should take a set of essential BCAA acids. It normalizes protein levels in the body, relieves fatigue, and helps alleviate post-workout hunger.

5. Overwork

The brain needs sweets for normal operations. The fact is that for composure, concentration, and quick decision-making, the brain needs a lot of energy. After all, it not only thinks but alone controls millions of body processes at a time. 

What is the easiest way to get it? That’s right, for this you need to eat a product with fast carbohydrates: sweet or flour. Lack of sleep, overwork, and certain medications increase the feeling of fatigue – in all these cases, you can desperately crave sweets.

What To Do?

Do not bring yourself to such fatigue that if you don’t eat a chocolate bar, you feel like dying. No matter how busy you are, it is beneficial for you not to skip meals. You must give rest and energy not only to the body but also to the brain. And you can add dark chocolate to snacks – it is low in sugar in case you crave sweets a lot.

Take Away

Analyze nutrition – how correct is it. Do you eat foods that contain minerals and substances that suppress cravings for sweets? If you do not have serious health problems and depression, a balanced diet in a few weeks will help to cope with painful cravings for sweets.

What To Do?

If you need further assistance, it’s best to consult a medical professional. A quick search for terms like “dietician in new york” or “dentist near me lafayette la” should already pull up a list of experts that you can check out.