Why is there an addiction to sweets? What healthy sweets can be eaten? What sweets are not harmful to your body?
How difficult it can be not to eat sweets when you slim down. And it is especially unbearable when there is only joy in sweets. But there is nothing impossible in the world, and it is quite real to give up sweets painlessly. The main thing is to find the cause of the pathological craving for sweets.
Causes of Sugar Addiction
Sugar addiction occurs because of an improper lifestyle and diet. Sleeping after 12 pm and less than 8 hours, work without rest, constant gambling at a casino, inadequate nutrition lead to the fact that the person becomes caffeine- and sugar-dependent.
Insomnia, weight gain and headaches are signs of a lack of energy in the body. An easy way to boost energy is to drink coffee and eat a yummy treat. After that, insulin (the pancreatic hormone that regulates blood sugar levels) rises and then drops dramatically. After such a spike, the body demands another “sugar” dose, and we look for something tasty again. The vicious circle closes, and it is very difficult to get out of it.
How to Replenish the Energy Balance
The first thing to do is to rest, preferably with a good night’s sleep.
The second thing is to change your diet.
Many people who lose weight begin to limit their carbohydrates. This leads to a lack of energy. The body has enough carbohydrates for 48 hours. Then the body looks for other sources of energy, such as proteins and fats.
Slimming people try to burn fat in the body by reducing carbohydrates. And the body breaks down the more energy-consuming part, the muscle, which contains protein. Plus, tryptophan levels decrease due to the lack of carbohydrates. It is necessary for the formation of the pleasure hormone. Because of this there will be no sleep and therefore no rest.
A good source of energy are complex carbohydrates, which do not give sharp spikes in blood sugar. These assistants in weight loss just reduce sugar dependence. Therefore, an excellent substitute for sweets will be whole-grain bread and cereal porridge (buckwheat, brown rice, barley) for lunch, cooked until al dente. You can also eat fruit: 1-2 pieces per day. Fats also markedly reduce sugar spikes, so they should be added to every meal (these are nuts, cheese and other products).
Imbalances in the Intestines
There are yeast fungi in our intestines. Candida, for example, is a “sugar lover.” With an excess of sweets and flour, the yeast fungi begin to multiply and become a major resident of the gut. And they constantly ask for food. A person has a strong craving for sweets because of this.
What to do about dysbiosis? Work with the diet. A complete diet with complex carbohydrates, fats and proteins, the rejection of sweet foods will save the situation.
We begin to populate the intestines with beneficial microflora – eat dairy products (homemade yogurt, fermented foods). After inhabiting the beneficial bacteria, feed them with fiber. Replace sweets with vegetables and greens.
Hormones Are Wobbly
The main hormones that regulate the female cycle are estrogen and progesterone. Lack of progesterone may cause cravings for sweets. The stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline can deplete the adrenal glands and also cause sugar cravings.
Include complex carbs in your diet and don’t skip meals. Try to establish 5 meals a day.
Deficiencies in the Body
Sometimes chromium picolinate is prescribed for sugar cravings. Chromium helps the absorption of glucose and is involved in fat metabolism. Deficiency of this element occurs due to refined foods, excess glucose in food (for example, eating a lot of pasta and white bread) and stress. Food sources of this element are legumes, liver, meat, fish, mushrooms, and whole-grain bread.
Magnesium also affects cravings for sweets. It’s needed for insulin receptor function. And even simple deficiencies of protein, fat lead to a desire for quick energy in the form of sweets. To avoid deficiencies, you need to eat a varied and nutritious diet.
Dopamine Addiction
Eat a sweet and enjoy it. With each bite of the sweet, the neurotransmitter dopamine is produced. Then its level drops, and the body looks for reinforcement. This is where you have to trade the sweet for another joy.
There’s a practice called the Joy List. On a piece of paper, you write out the things that give you pleasure other than food. And as soon as you get depressed and want to eat a sweet, you need to look at the list of joys and fulfill one of the items.
Our Taste Buds Can’t Taste
When we eat a lot of sweets and junk, our taste buds do not feel the pleasure of the familiar food. To do this, you need to clean your taste buds with a special tongue brush in the morning. It is also good to add bitters to your diet to reduce cravings for sweets.
If you’ve found the cause of your addiction and know how to fix it, sweets don’t tempt you so much anymore.