BEATING THE SUGAR CRAVINGS

Craving sugar is one of the most common symptoms that presents to me in clinic. It generally isn’t what people come to see me for as such, but as we get talking craving sugar is something that pops up time and time again.

Before we can get to treating the sugar cravings we need to work out why your body is responding this way. A number of reasons can cause sugar cravings, and it will more than likely be different for everyone. So remember, what works for one person doesn't always work for the next.

Possible causes for sugar cravings:

Slight blood sugar imbalance ‘

High stress/high cortisol

Low magnesium

Low progesterone

Excess bad bacteria/yeasts in the gut.

So how can we beat these sugar cravings? Apart from addressing any of the points above that may be applicable for you there are some simple things that you can do today to help balance the cravings out.

Increase protein

Not having enough protein in your diet will make you feel hungry very easily. Increasing your protein in every meal that you eat will help to stabilise your blood sugar levels, and in turn help to stabilise your energy levels and prevent cravings. You should be eating 1g of protein per every kg of body weight. Eg if you weigh 50kg you should be eating 50g of protein.

Besides meat, other sources of protein include eggs, yogurt, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils.

Increasing your protein levels will help to stabilise your blood sugar levels by sort of acting as a buffer. For example if you have some dried fruit ( which is natural high in sugar) pair the fruit with some nuts and this will help to reduce the Glyceamic index of the dried fruit. This means that instead of getting a quick hit of energy from the sugar, you will get a slow release of energy.

Magnesium supplementation

Numerous studies have demonstrated the link between low magnesium levels and an increased level of insulin resistance. Low magnesium is also associated with sweet ravings, in particular chocolate, so maintaining good magnesium levels is a great way to reduce the cravings for the sweets, as well as reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Chromium supplementation

This lovely mineral is used to increase the bodies insulin sensitivity, making it much more effective in reducing the bodies blood sugar levels. A simple chromium supplement can help to balance your blood sugar naturally and even enhance the effectiveness of anti diabetic medications, so a lower dose may be needed. For this reason if you are on anti diabetic medication, you should only use chromium under the guidance of a healthcare professional.

Exercise

Exercise increases the bodies sensitivity to insulin, meaning that it helps to regulate blood sugar levels. Exercise increases the bodies ability to transport glucose into the muscles to be stored for later use, the more glucose being stored in the muscle, the less circulating glucose there is, reducing highs and lows of blood sugar levels.

Besides its effect of exercise on blood sugar levels it also helps to support the bodies stress response, reducing cortisol levels within the body.

Reduce the amount of sugar you are consuming in general

Simple. This is the most important thing to change in order to balance your blood sugar. The consumption of high sugar foods impact a part of the brain which controls impulse. So reducing your overall sugar intake will help to retrain the Cutting the refined sugar doesn't mean that life has to be boring, there are so many yummy alternatives for sweeteners which will still add a little flavour to your life.