Most people know a high-sugar diet isn’t healthy — it’s linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, cavities, and many other health problems. But that doesn’t make eating less sugar any easier. We’re wired to crave the sugary, hyperpatable treats, so eliminating sugar is hard.
While we can’t rewire our brains to stop craving sugar altogether, we can lower the volume on those cravings. It helps to understand the root causes and triggers, and then let that psychology plus a little science inform the environmental, habitual, and diet changes we can make to reduce the cravings.
The Details of a Whole Foods Diet
As we evolved, sugar cravings were useful to encourage our ancestors to eat sugary foods (like fruit) and fatten up for times of famine. Humans even evolved a “mutation” that helped them store sugar as fat, which provided a survival advantage, so now every human being is born with it!
While our genes haven’t changed much since Paleolithic times, our lifestyles and environments have shifted dramatically. We’re now surrounded by sugar-laden foods and drinks, allowing us to constantly indulge sugar cravings and store fat reserves many of us won’t ever need to tap into.
Let’s look at four physiological and psychological mechanisms make us crave and overeat sugar.
#1: Dopamine
Dopamine is a chemical that gives you a pleasurable feeling. Your brain releases it as a reward to reinforce (and motivate) “positive” actions and behaviors. The body rewards us with a high dose of dopamine when we consume sugar, motivating us to keep eating sugar and store up for leaner times.
#2: Blood sugar spikes and dips
Consuming refined carbs and sugar spikes blood sugar, and what goes up must come down. “Carb cravings” and “sugar cravings” are not exactly the same thing, but they’re close. Sugar is a type of carb, and it’s processed in the body quickly, leading to those blood sugar spikes. Other refined carbs like pasta, white rice, and bagels can cause similar blood sugar fluctuations and cravings, so a lot of this article applies to those “traditional” carb cravings as well. More complex carbs like fruits and vegetables contain fiber that decreases the blood sugar effects and reduces cravings.
#3: Hyperpalatability
Sugar is one of three ingredients (along with fat and salt) that makes a food hyperpalatable, or super-stimulating to our tastebuds. We’re wired to crave hyperpalatable foods (again, to stock up on the calories), so we overeat them.
Sugar’s hyperpalatability is why food manufacturers put sugar in everything: soups, sauces, dressings, sugar-sweetened beverages, and more. The more we’re driven to eat these processed foods, the more we’ll buy. In fact, sugary drinks alone may be the single most significant driver of the obesity crisis.
It’s also worth noting that sugar calories don’t fill you up. People who eat sugar before a meal consume the same amount of calories afterward as folks who ate a zero-calorie snack before — leading to eating more calories overall.
#4: Habit
Rituals dictate our eating patterns. If you eat a cookie every night at the same time, the force of habit will stimulate cravings as the clock approaches the appointed hour. The more you consume a flavor or taste (especially a something sweet), the more you crave it.
6 Ways to Eat Less Sugar
Understanding the roots of sugar cravings helps you take steps to reduce them. The first tip below is the most difficult to implement, but also the most essential.
#1: Stop the influx of sugar
Getting off the wheel of sugar intake breaks the dependency. Eliminating sugar won’t necessarily be easy because sugar-withdrawal symptoms are a real thing. But don’t give up – give it a day or two, and stay hydrated with water and electrolytes to ensure dehydration or electrolyte deficiencies aren’t causing your symptoms.
#2: Eat less carbs
Carbohydrates (especially sugar) are quick energy. When carbs are available, your body preferentially burns them over fat. Eating a low-carb diet trains the body to burn fat for fuel, reducing your body’s reliance on carbs.
#3: Get enough protein
Speaking of hunger, protein is the most satiating macronutrient (calorie for calorie). It triggers hormones that make you feel full and stay full. As such, high-protein diets are well-documented to reduce overall calorie intake and promote weight loss. As protein intake rises, sugar cravings should fall.
#4: Better sleep habits
If you aren’t sleeping well, sugar will be irresistible. Why? Short sleep increases hunger and impairs impulse control. Aim for 7-9 hours per night and your body will thank you.
#5: Mind your environment
Proximity and convenience matters. If you’re surrounded by sugar, you’ll eat sugar. If you’re not, you won’t. Ideally, keep sugary foods out of the house so that it requires effort and intention to go get it.
#6: Ride it out
It’s a universal truth that no system, organism, or process stays stable over time. This insight applies to life, emotions, aches, pains, and food cravings. They ebb, flow, and stabilize throughout the day — even when you don’t eat!
Researchers have found 36-hour and 12-hour fasts affect levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin, roughly equally. In other words, hunger doesn’t increase infinitely. So, if you’re craving carbs, hang in there, and don’t fuel the urge by eating more sugar, as the intensity will subside.
Get Support for Sustainable Lifestyle Changes
The Bottom Line: Eating less sugar will have positive effects on your overall health and well-being. If you need help making these sustainable lifestyle changes, we are here to help! At Wellness Academy USA, you can come stay a day, a week, or a month with us on beautiful Coronado Island in sunny San Diego, California to learn how to create new habits that will support health and happiness in your life!