What to do if you want sweets, what is missing in your body, and how to deal with it?

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Many sweet tooth lovers probably sometimes wonder why they so desperately want to finish a hearty lunch with dessert, or what is the reason for nightly trips to the refrigerator for the last piece of cake? At the same time, those with a sweet tooth understand and are aware of the harm of excess sugar consumption, but they cannot deny themselves this pleasure. Most often, the desire to eat sweets lies in habit; behind tasty food there are pleasant feelings of pleasure and peace. But representatives of a healthy lifestyle, excluding sweets from their diet, also succumb to the temptation to treat themselves to harmful glucose. Are there internal reasons for this desire, is it worth fighting against?

Reasons for wanting to eat sweets

The answer to the question should be sought both at the physiological and psychological levels.

Physiological reasons are due to:

• Impaired blood supply. This pathology leads to a lack of glucose in the brain, which begins to sound the alarm and demand an increase in sugar levels; the causes of this phenomenon may be a concussion, hypotension or osteochondrosis.
• Lack of adequate nutrition. When you are very busy at work, there is no talk of three nutritious and varied meals a day; the brain tries to get energy faster, forcing the body to eat something sweet - a source of fast carbohydrates.
• Lack of microelements. An uncontrollable desire to eat sweets indicates a lack of substances such as chromium and magnesium. Chromium simultaneously helps control blood sugar levels, transport glucose to the body's cells and promotes their rapid absorption. Repeated consumption of sweets washes away this microelement, it becomes less, and the desire to eat candy increases even more. Chromium deficiency is also indicated by chronic fatigue, profuse sweating and a constant feeling of hunger. A lack of magnesium can be judged by a special craving for chocolates, as well as constant fatigue, nervousness, headaches and sleep disturbances.

You don't sleep enough

If a person does not get enough sleep S. Frank, K. Gonzalez, L. Lee-Ang, MC 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 Sleep 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.

Psychological factor of craving for sweets

The reason lies in the lack of serotonin (the hormone of joy), which is especially evident in stressful situations for a person. During stress, cortisol is released, opposite neurotransmitters that reduce the stress hormone are dopamine and serotonin. Eating tasty food, especially sweet food, increases the level of happiness hormones, thereby helping to relieve stress. The subconscious begins to actively dream about a piece of sweet delicacy.

But eating stress with sweets is not the way to improve your condition. Frequent consumption of sweets when you want to relax and calm down in the future simply creates a habit, and the body begins to react accordingly: stress provokes the desire to eat it. However, the state of euphoria and calm does not last long, the effect decreases within a few hours.

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 when 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.

The way to get rid of sweet addiction

Many nutritionists agree that it is quite possible to overcome sugar addiction; to do this, you need to clearly define your motivation and be patient. It is quite possible that the first time will be difficult, since giving up sweets can manifest itself in decreased performance, irritability and drowsiness. However, if you follow certain rules, the result will not take long to arrive.

1. First you need to determine the reasons for this phenomenon. In this case, you can contact a specialist who will help identify possible deficiencies of vitamins, minerals, and other disorders in the body and offer the necessary way out of the situation.
2. Adjust your diet. It should include three full meals a day with small portions that include healthy fats, proteins and carbohydrates. To replenish the missing chromium, you need to eat more beets, broccoli, fish and liver; if you lack magnesium, you can include sea fish, nuts, seeds, cabbage, greens and avocados. On the recommendation of a doctor, you can take vitamin and mineral complexes.
3. Increase physical activity to reduce stress hormone levels and increase serotonin. This is perfect for a vacation with family or friends, sports, a massage, or just a walk in the fresh air. It is necessary to establish a sleep schedule and, if possible, diversify your leisure time.

Important! If you really want sweets, you need to remember that this, first of all, indicates a lack of energy in the body. You can replenish energy by eating the right foods, giving preference to nutritious foods rich in proteins and slow carbohydrates.

Sugar addiction

Sugar is addictive. Nutritionists and nutritionists around the world say this. Excessive consumption of sweet products provokes not only obesity, but also the development of caries, pathologies of the circulatory and endocrine systems and a host of other health problems. It is very difficult to fight sweet cravings, but it can and should be done. Try these five simple ways.

Eat more protein

Cravings for sweets often occur with poor and irregular nutrition. The daily diet should be balanced so that the body has enough strength and energy.

Meat, poultry, cheese, legumes - all these foods are rich in protein, which is the basis for the growth and restoration of body cells. They keep you feeling full for a long time, so eating enough protein per day will help curb sugar cravings.

Eat the right snacks

During the day, the need for additional nutrition still arises. Snacking is normal; even healthy lifestyle experts emphasize this. Only “extra-hour” meals should be correct and healthy.

Instead of a candy bar and soda, cake, roll or any other sweet, eat a handful of nuts and dried fruit. Any fruit or vegetable, as well as a portion of fresh berries, will also be an excellent snack option.

Don't starve

Prolonged hunger during the day provokes a strong appetite in the evening. And at this moment there is a desire to eat something sweet, and as much as possible. The reason for this is a sharp drop in blood glucose levels, and it is this substance that is responsible for energy metabolism in our body. Don't let your sugar concentration drop, otherwise your cravings for sweets will only increase.

It is not for nothing that in dietetics there is the concept of fractional nutrition. This means that you need to eat food in small portions, but often. In this way, you can not only get rid of cravings for sweets, but also generally reduce your appetite.

If you want something sweet, drink it!

Very often we confuse the feeling of thirst with hunger. When the body does not have enough water, it gives a signal that we cannot interpret correctly and we often binge on sweets.

Drink a glass of water or unsweetened tea before meals. If after 15-20 minutes hunger does not make itself felt, it means you are thirsty. The longer you practice this technique, the less you will be drawn to sweets.

Workout instead of food

Sweets, especially chocolate, contribute to the production of so-called “happiness hormones”. That is, they stimulate brain activity, improve mood, and increase performance.

There is a more useful way to help cheer up and lift your spirits - physical activity. Walking, jogging, working out in the gym, swimming in the pool or cycling - any kind of sports, even the most basic exercises also increase the production of “happiness hormones”.

Avoiding excessive sugar consumption is beneficial not so much for your figure as for the health of the body as a whole. If, despite all your efforts, you cannot get rid of your “sweet” addiction, seek help from a specialist.

Healthy sweet substitutes

Some parents often buy sweets for their children, especially before tests and exams, they are strictly convinced that this increases the level of intellectual activity. However, here the question arises: is this really so, and if so, can they be replaced with something more useful?

Today, there is a wide alternative to sweets and sweet cookies in the form of natural sweets:

• berries and fruits;
• honey;
• dried fruits;
• paste;
• fruit chips;
• candied fruit;
• marmalade;
• marshmallows

Do you have diabetes?

This disease is accompanied by 3 Reasons You Crave Sweet or Salty Foods / Cleveland Clinic a constant and intense feeling of hunger, and some people binge on sweets. Sometimes this is a sign of high or low glucose levels.

What to do

If, in addition to sweets, you constantly want to drink and urinate a lot, you need to see a therapist. He will order a blood glucose test. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, the doctor will give recommendations on what to eat and what medications to take.

And those who have long been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus need to discuss treatment with an endocrinologist and, perhaps, change something in it.

Seek healthy rewards

Instead of treating yourself to sweets, reward yourself with more valuable pleasures. Sugar cravings often occur when you are bored or lonely. Make your list of sugar-free rewards and keep it handy for when you're feeling down. Think about what you could do in those 10-20 minutes while you are waiting for the next piece of cake in a coffee shop: listen to your favorite music, make a sketch, call a friend, scratch the cat, take a nap...

The main rule is that rewards must be non-food in nature.

Identify sweet traps

Analyze your day and determine what times and places you are most susceptible to sweet temptations. Perhaps your office has unlimited access to cookies? Sorry. Read this article to your colleagues and suggest replacing sweets with fruits. Perhaps you can't resist buying chocolate bars from the supermarket after a hard day at work? Today, give in to temptation one last time, but buy an extra pack of nuts and put them in your bag. Tomorrow, before you go to the store, kill the worm.

olgamanukyan/Depositphotos.com

Develop your taste

In continuation of the previous point, the following advice: develop your taste and learn to enjoy products.

svariophoto/Depositphotos.com

Sliced ​​tomato with fresh basil leaves, drizzled with flaxseed oil, lightly salted and peppered avocado, a cheese plate of course! Personally, I am delighted with such dishes. Although just three years ago, the first thing I thought about when I wanted to eat was chocolate or ice cream. It's a matter of habit.

Experiment with spices: cinnamon and ginger suppress sugar cravings. Delight your taste buds with more sophisticated additions than mayonnaise and ketchup—at least try balsamic vinegar and try different vegetable oils. Think about it: Is coffee with milk really not sweet enough? Lactose is not called milk sugar for nothing.

Weekly meal plan to cleanse your body of sugar

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

As you can see, it's not all that complicated. It will become even easier if you add other healthy dishes in the same proportions. Now let's talk about the benefits of cleansing the body of sugar.

How much sugar do we need per day to avoid gaining weight?

• We don't need sugar to survive. We can do without it. There is now even a carnivore diet that eliminates sugar completely. We DO NOT need sugar. 4 grams of sugar per day is enough for us. But this depends on the state of health and existing problems.
• We are all very different, we metabolize sugar differently, but as for carbohydrates in cereals, root vegetables, fruits, this is a normal reaction in children, for example. I ate it and it doesn’t make me sleepy, it absorbs it normally, this is a healthy carbohydrate metabolism.
• It is better not to use unhealthy products that contain various syrups, maltose, dextrose. This is also sugar.
• Some doctors call sugar a toxic product.

Identify what's really bothering you

Cravings for sweets are strongly associated with emotional discomfort. You may have developed a sweet tooth as a teenager when you were unable to cope with feelings of alienation or resentment. But now you have already matured! Find an outlet for negative emotions, rather than eating them with candy. Yes, it is not easy to change a reflex that you have maintained for years. But probably. The next time you feel irritated and reach for a chocolate bar, stop for a moment, close your eyes, become aware of your sensations, focus on your breathing and relax. Now it will be a little easier to resist another portion of sweets.

Lack of physical activity

Previously, in the USSR and in many modern companies in Japan and Korea, daily exercise in the workplace was or is mandatory. If you do not disperse the stress hormone, cortisol, which was mentioned above, this leads to increased fatigue (even though the body has not experienced any real stress) and a desire to eat stress. We are genetically wired to experience physical activity, which the body rewards with bursts of endorphins after the first 20 minutes of activity. Many studies show that people who get at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day are less likely to overconsume sugar-containing foods.

Why is sugar considered a drug?

You may be craving sweets if you lack endorphins. Endorphin is a simplified name for endogenous morphine (morphine is the basis of heroin). The word "endogenous" means that it is naturally synthesized in the body. This hormone, when interacting with several neurotransmitters, puts a person in a state of euphoria, uplifting the mood and adding strength.

Endorphins are polypeptide chemical compounds similar to opiates. Morphine and its derivative heroin are opiate drugs that block physical and emotional pain. Endorphins are also called endogenous opiates.

Sucrose acts in the same way as an opiate drug. It does not affect as strongly, but according to the same pattern. On the surface of brain cells there are tiny molecular structures called opiate receptors. Taste buds in the mouth, detecting sweetness on the tongue, send impulses to the cerebral cortex. Next, the dopamine system of the pleasure center of the brain is activated, and endorphins are released, which relieve physical and psychological pain. This is where problems arise for those who eat.

Food manufacturers and marketers are not asleep! After a series of experiments, it was discovered that the narcotic effect of fast carbohydrates is twice as strong if you mix it with fat. This mixture produces an even more significant opiate effect. You don’t have to go far: in 80% of cases we eat away our problems with chocolate, which is a carbohydrate mixed with fat. For the human body, sugar is a kind of psychoactive substance. And sometimes dependence on it is instilled in us in the womb. Any addiction has such a component as withdrawal syndrome, in simple terms – “withdrawal”. Information belongs to the site REW)(MED