Chronic fatigue, apathy, lack of energy, weakness are the first negative signs that provoke a person to eat sweets. We rarely think about why we want sweets, and while you shyly call yourself a “sweet tooth,” processes that are harmful to your health may be occurring in your body. Let's figure out what objective reasons make us addicted to sugar.
Why you always want sweets - reasons
There are two types of reasons for constantly craving sweets: physiological and psychological. Let's look at them in detail.
Physiological reasons
The main physiological reason why you want sweets is an unhealthy diet, skipping important meals, poor nutrition, and endless snacking. If you are used to not eating anything in the morning or limiting yourself to a cup of tea with a small sandwich, then after a few hours you will feel the need for sweets.
What other factors may influence the desire to eat cake or candy:
- regular lack of sleep, chronic fatigue;
- lack of B vitamins, carbon, chromium;
- mental overwork (the brain does not have enough glucose, and if you are constantly engaged in mental work, then this shortage will be regular);
- lack of slow carbohydrates, low-calorie diets;
- changes in physical activity;
- taking medications;
- abuse of alcohol, cigarettes or coffee;
- sudden withdrawal from nicotine;
Psychological reasons
Most often it comes from childhood. When something doesn’t work out for a child, he is offended, sad or upset, those around him try to console him with chocolate, cake or other sweets. A strong cause-and-effect relationship is formed, strengthening over the years.
As an adult, a person subconsciously craves sweets in the following cases:
- low self-esteem;
- tension, stressful situations, anxiety;
- lack of attention;
- feeling undervalued;
- lack of positive events, pleasure from life;
- subconscious or explicit desire to reward oneself;
What is missing in the body
Analyze what exactly sweets you want and find out what your body lacks:
- Chocolate is a magnesium (Mg) deficiency.
- Bananas – lack of potassium (K).
- Dried apricots – lack of vitamin A.
- Flour – deficiency of fats, nitrogen (N).
Constantly craving something sweet? Test your blood for glucose tolerance and sugar. Are the indicators normal? Donate blood to determine the level of biochemical elements and vitamins. Once problems are identified, the therapist will determine the next steps of treatment.
Balance your diet - the body should be saturated with different nutrients, without experiencing a lack of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Foods high in micro/macroelements can reduce cravings for sweets.
Eat more, but not sweets
If you want something sweet, you don’t need to stick to a strict diet – saturate your body with vitamins. You will even have to increase the amount of food consumed, but one should be beneficial.
Focus on high-protein foods to avoid blood sugar spikes. Excellent choice: boiled turkey or chicken fillet, fish, eggs, nuts, beans.
Fruits containing natural sugar are beneficial. Firm pears and unsweetened apples contain the optimal amount of sugar. Eat berries, greens, drink fruit and vegetable smoothies. Until day 12, you can give preference to very sweet fruits.
Remember natural probiotics: cottage cheese, homemade yogurt, sauerkraut. Consume carbohydrates in combination with protein foods. What combinations are possible? Apple with cottage cheese, bread with hummus and so on.
Don't forget about healthy vegetable oils: avocado, flaxseed, sesame, pumpkin. Seeds and nuts added to salads prevent cravings for sweets. Lemons, herbal tea, and ginger are useful for thinning the blood. Avoid black tea and coffee.
Be attentive to the process of food consumption, absorb dishes slowly. The body's craving for sugar can be satisfied without regular sweets: just slowly chew carbohydrates: nuts, cereals, bread, etc. In the oral cavity, they will be broken down into simple sugars, and the body will be given the necessary signal that something sweet has arrived. Do not exclude walks in the fresh air from everyday events - this will give your brain enough oxygen. Your mood will improve, and you won’t need to stimulate it with sweets.
Learn to relax after a hard day by listening to music, meeting with friends, watching episodes of your favorite TV series. As a snack, keep fresh fruits, nuts, and dried fruits on hand. Cultivate the habit of eating right so that you don’t crave sweets even in stressful situations, which are the first provocateurs of the desire to snack on cake or chocolate.
Active brain work and fatigue
In the process of active brain activity, the body spends a lot of energy. Deadlines, sessions, urgent projects - all this makes us throw ourselves into work and forget about the needs of the body. On such days, the caloric content of the diet is quite justified, but it is important to ensure that you do not consume too much sweets.
To avoid eating away stress at work or school with donuts and chocolate, try to follow a proper diet. Nutritionists recommend making breakfasts from complex carbohydrates and grains. They release energy much more slowly and maintain a feeling of fullness for a long time.
Why are women attracted to sweets?
It is known that women crave sweets more often, and this is especially pronounced during certain periods.
Before and after menstruation
Premenstrual syndrome is an increasing number of symptoms shortly before menstruation, including the need for sugar. According to doctors, this is usually due to disturbances in the levels of prostaglandins and progesterone, hormones that have a serious impact on well-being.
Throughout the month, the levels of progesterone and estrogen fluctuate. There are more of them at the beginning, and during the period of ovulation the level of hormones rapidly decreases. In the process of their decrease, women experience migraines, anxiety, and rapid heartbeat. The ovulation period ends, and the level of progesterone and estrogen increases, the symptoms disappear. But the woman experiences a difficult period of ovulation itself, and at this time she craves sweets. The lack of progesterone, which causes cravings for sweets, is to blame for this. During the first few hours, a “dose” of sweets may help, but then the sugar level drops again and anxiety increases.
Pregnancy and lactation
During pregnancy and lactation, the female body needs a large amount of macro- and microelements, vitamins, and this is one of the reasons why you want sweets, caused by a deficiency of carbon, phosphorus, chromium, and sulfur.
How to normalize the situation and stop abusing sweets?
- The deficiency of chromium is compensated for by unrefined animal and vegetable fats: beef, milk, tuna, pollock, herring, chicken, grapes, beets, grapes, hazelnuts.
- High carbon content is also present in animal and vegetable fats: lentils, potatoes, beets, rice, celery root, legumes, wheat cereals.
- Products containing magnesium: melons, grapefruits, bananas, pumpkin, brown rice, buckwheat, dark chocolate, dried apricots, sea fish, sweet almonds, various dried fruits, garden herbs, seeds.
- Replenish the lack of sulfur with poultry meat, beef, pork, fish, eggs, dairy products, and nuts.
- High phosphorus content is found in garden greens, cereals, vegetables, meat, various types of fish, milk, eggs, and fresh vegetables.
- Tryptophan, which is necessary for pregnant women, is present in dairy products, fish, meat, mushrooms, walnuts, oatmeal, dates, and bananas.
You have compulsive overeating
This is the name for an eating disorder in which a person cannot control food intake. He eats a lot of Binge eating disorder / US National Library of Medicine high-calorie foods (usually sweets and fatty foods), even if he is not hungry. He often does this secretly because he feels remorse.
What to do
If you have compulsive overeating, you should consult a psychotherapist. The doctor will prescribe medications that reduce anxiety and eliminate depressive disorder. Various methods of psychotherapy also help.
What to do if you always want sweets
Simple methods to help fight sugar cravings:
- Avoid “seizing” problems. Got some trouble? Soothe yourself not with a cake, but with a meeting with a loved one, a trip to the spa, ice skating or something else that you like and brings pleasure. You can reward yourself in a more useful way: by purchasing a book that you have long dreamed of or by attending an interesting master class. Go to exhibitions, to the cinema, walk in the park.
- We prevent the occurrence of physiological causes by establishing a diet and healthy sleep. Sleep for at least eight hours, plan your lunch and dinner in advance, and eat a balanced diet. Give up the attitude that sweet means tasty. Healthier foods can also be tasty.
- Support your body. An excellent solution would be to take a course of multivitamins that are suitable for you. Give preference to chromium-rich seafood, avoiding alcohol and coffee.
- Are you quitting smoking and have candy become a substitute for a cigarette? This habit is not much healthier. Come up with something different. Ideally, replace smoking by eating your favorite fruits - this is better than cakes and pastries. Don't pick up a new bad habit.
Harm from sweets
It is important to realize the degree of damage that sweets cause to the body. Many people find it difficult to give up sweets, but their abundance causes great harm. Candies and donuts can energize you for a couple of hours, but the result is a state of apathy and sadness. A person feels worse than before consuming sugar. The level of irritability increases, a state of hopelessness appears.
Eating desserts is one of the simplest methods of increasing serotonin in the body and subsequently improving mood. Confectionery products contain simple carbohydrates, which easily increase hormone levels. The danger is that the effect that occurs after consuming a high-calorie dessert quickly disappears, and there is a need to increase the dose of serotonin. Gradually, a person acquires a steady dependence on sweets, harming his health, becoming overweight, skin rashes, and “orange peel.”
To avoid this, replace simple carbohydrates with complex sugar. This category includes polysaccharides (starch, glycogen, cellulose). Can't resist buying a confectionery product? Carefully study the label on the box of cake or pastries - give preference to a product containing a polysaccharide.
Remember that simple sugar is carbohydrates (monosaccharides) that are quickly digested by the body. Introduce complex carbohydrates into your diet, which will take longer to digest and provide the body with the necessary dose of fiber, minerals, proteins, and nutrients. Simple sugar harms not only diabetics, but also healthy people, gradually leading to fluctuations in blood sugar.
The benefits of sweets
Despite the obvious harm from most desserts, not all sweets are harmful. Pay attention to honey if it’s really hard to do without sweets. It contains many vitamins and can bring real benefits. The human body cannot live completely without sugar, and doctors recommend simply not exceeding the daily allowance - about 70-80 grams. If the recommended limits are not exceeded, then sugar will become an excellent source of energy. Do not deny sweets to children either - they need it, but the main thing is not to forget about the permissible doses mentioned above. Follow the recommendations in the article, and you won’t have problems with excess sugar.
You don't sleep enough
If a person does not get enough sleep S. Frank, K. Gonzalez, L. Lee-Ang, M. C. Young, M. Tamez, J. Mattei. Diet and Sleep Physiology: Public Health and Clinical Implications / Frontiers in Neurology, it, like stress, increases ghrelin levels. At the same time, the concentration of leptin decreases, which increases the risk of developing obesity.
What to do
Need to get enough sleep. If that doesn't work, try these rulesSleep tips: 6 steps to better sleep / Mayo Clinic:
- Go to bed at the same time every day. This will reinforce the sleep-wake cycle.
- Don't sleep during the day. Otherwise, it will be more difficult to fall asleep in the evening. If you really want to lie down after lunch, limit yourself to 30 minutes.
- Exercise regularly. This way you will release energy.
- Fall asleep in a calm environment. The room should be dark, quiet and slightly cool. Maybe a bath or other method of relaxation will help someone relax before bed.
- Don't use 5 ways to sleep more soundly / Mayo Clinic gadgets in the evening. They make it difficult to relax.
- Don't go to bed feeling hungry or with a full stomach. This is additional discomfort.
