Easy Ways To Overcome Sugar Cravings

Stress induced sugar cravings are a common problem. The current pandemic has left many people feeling anxious, stressed, alone and uncertain. Normal routines have been disrupted and no one knows what next week will bring. If you are working from home you may find yourself snacking throughout the day. Food is close by and your day no longer has the same structure. Sugar and carbs are very addictive for some people, and once they start they find it hard to stop.

Coping with cravings

Here are some suggestions for making it easier to cope with cravings:

• Make sure you’re eating 3 substantial meals each day. The meals should be comprised of adequate protein and healthy fats. These are what help to keep you feeling satiated. It is important to make the time to eat and enjoy 3 meals a day. Nibbling all day or skipping meals is not the route to losing weight. You will probably end up eating too much in the end, and feel overly full by the evening. You might need to add a little more fat than usual to your meals for the next few days as healthy fats are wonderful for reducing sugar cravings. Examples of healthy fats to include in your diet are olive oil, avocados, coconut oil, oily fish, ghee, nuts and seeds and the fat from grass fed meat. It is also important to eat adequate protein, as this will stabilize your blood sugar. Examples of good protein sources are seafood, poultry, eggs, red meat and whey protein.
• Drink plenty of water. It’s very important to stay well hydrated. Sugar and carbohydrate increase the production of hunger hormones; therefore you are likely to feel more hungry than usual for the next few days. Drinking water helps to reduce hunger. Squeezing a little lemon or lime juice into the water can help to fight sugar cravings. The acid isn’t brilliant for your tooth enamel, so you may want to drink through a straw to minimize contact of the acid with your teeth.
• Keep healthy snacks on hand. If you are suddenly struck with strong cravings for something you know you shouldn’t be eating, it really helps to have a healthy alternative on hand. Having a healthy snack in the mid afternoon may prevent you from eating the whole kitchen when you return home in the evening. Examples of healthy snacks include nuts and seeds, a protein powder smoothie, hummus or guacamole with vegetable sticks or a boiled egg.
• Don’t skimp on sleep. Plenty of research has been done showing that people who don’t sleep enough have higher levels of hunger hormones in their body and are more likely to overeat or eat unhealthy foods. It is so much easier to prepare healthy meals, exercise regularly and generally look after yourself when you’ve had enough sleep and it has been good, refreshing sleep. If you struggle with being able to get to sleep  or stay asleep, magnesium may help you because it relaxes your muscles and nervous system. Magnesium also helps your brain produce the neurotransmitter GABA, which quietens down internal chatter.
• Bad gut bugs or Candida could be the problem. Having too many bad bugs in your bowel can drive sugar cravings. Candida overgrowth in your intestines can make you feel tired, irritable and give you a foggy head and poor concentration. It can also cause intense carbohydrate cravings. It’s a catch 22 – eating sugar promotes the growth of intestinal yeast and having too much yeast in your gut makes you crave sugar. Candida is a type of yeast that is naturally present in everyone’s digestive tract; however, if your immune system is weak and your digestion is poor, Candida levels can get out of control. Because it is a yeast, it needs sugar in order to grow. Treating Candida overgrowth can be tough because many different foods we eat are digested into sugar eventually, and can potentially feed this yeast. Symptoms of excess Candida in the digestive tract include digestive discomfort (gas, bloating, diarrhea), fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, blocked sinuses, sugar cravings, recurrent vaginal yeast infections, recurrent urinary tract infections, depression, foggy head and poor concentration, food and chemical sensitivities and sleep problems. Diet modifications and BactoClear capsules help to eradicate Candida and bad bacteria.
• Take a supplement to stabilize your blood sugar. Chromium, gymnema, bitter melon, carnitine and other nutrients are combined together in Glicemic Balance capsules. All these nutrients help to reduce hunger and cravings and reduce your blood insulin level if it is elevated. That means your body will be more efficient at burning fat.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.