Is Sugar Addictive and How to Overcome Sugar Cravings

When a food is whole, it has all the vitamins, minerals, macronutrients, fiber, water and phytonutrients. We need to properly digest, absorb, and assimilate the goodness from our food by preparing a healthy meal plan.



a. When cane/beet juice is refined into white sugar, all the bits and pieces except the glucose form of carbohydrate, has been removed. Minerals especially are lost, which help to break down and use the sugar. We are now in a deficit. This causes our body to go on a hunt for the missing minerals – in the form of cravings. Of what kind - sugar of course. So we eat more sugar. But oh wait, we refined them out of this sugar too. So now more of a deficit. Maybe in the next piece of cake, can of soda, candy bar, I’ll be able to find the missing minerals. The more we search in these refined forms of a food, the more in deficit we become, and the more we crave what we are missing. Indulging in these cravings is not going to help us to lose weight either.



b. Sugar also affects our blood sugar. In the form of a whole carbohydrate, cane juice comes complete with all its bits and pieces, including fiber. One of fiber’s roles is to slow down the release of the glucose or other sugar into the blood stream. When it arrives slowly, we can keep blood sugar levels constant, which keeps our energy levels constant. When refined and without the fiber, the glucose sugar is very easily digested and enters the blood stream rapidly. This causes a spike in blood sugar (and energy level); this excess sugar must be removed as to not cause a coma or unconsciousness. Excess sugar is removed with the aid of insulin, and moved into tissue cells, where it can be burned as energy or stored as fat. Our blood sugar levels plummet with the removal of too much sugar, and now the blood sugar levels are low. When it is too low, a stress response ensues – signaling sugar is needed fast. The fastest way to get sugar in is to eat more refined sugar foods, so the brain sends craving signals for more sugar. Up and down, this constant spiking and crashing can cause severe cravings that act just like an addiction in your body.



Tips for overcoming sugar cravings



i. When a craving hits, reach for mineral-rich foods like kale, broccoli, and other colorful vegetables. Fruit is also a great way to get some sugar energy with its minerals intact.

ii. Choose whole foods more often – this supplies your body with everything it needs. When your body is properly satisfied it has no need to crave what it is missing. So, you can maintain an ideal weight.

iii. Have a greens drink daily, and as needed when a craving hits. These drinks of dehydrated superfoods like algae and broccoli will relieve the sugar cravings.

iv. What to eat (incorporate these when you are preparing a meal plan)



a. Avoid – Read all labels. Avoid items that contain sugar, glucose, glucose-fructose, brown sugar, caramel, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, dextran, dextrose, fructose, glucose solids, golden sugar, invert sugar. These inhibit weight loss.

b. Use natural sugars instead – honey, maple syrup, agave syrup, dehydrated cane sugar, apple sauce, stevia.

c. Also important to avoid other refined carbohydrates as well – white bread, white pasta, refined rice and white flour. These all act the same as white sugar in the body.

d. Eating complex carbs/proteins/fats with each meal or snack will keep your blood sugar constant for a longer period of time, avoiding peaks and crashes and cravings. Eat fruit and nuts, veggies and hummus, oatmeal with hemp seeds for a balanced intake.

e. Lots of fruits and vegetables – provide lots of minerals and nutrients that our bodies need. Eating more of these helps in weight loss.

f. Avoid refined white flour, pasta, bread, and rice as well. These also contribute to sugar addictions. They act as a barrier for weight loss. Upgrade these foods to whole grain or sprouted bread, brown and wild rice, whole grain pastas and flours.



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