Sugar addiction is not as innocent as was once thought. It can be as severe as addiction to cocaine, according to the addictioncenter.com website. Nutritional doctors have described it as the mother of all addictions. People who are addicted to sugar are generally easily addicted to other substances. Yet, many people around the world have way too much sugar in their diet.
Symptoms of Sugar Addiction
Sugar addiction is easy to spot. The main symptom of sugar addiction is consuming large amounts of sugar in food and drinks. Some people describe it as a sweet tooth. You probably know those who will not consume anything that is not very sweet and laden with sugar.
Another symptom of sugar addiction is if a person constantly eats because they are bored or have had an irritating or stressful experience. You are probably familiar with someone going through a divorce or other stressful life experiences who constantly craves a sweet treat like ice cream.
Others indulge in food that mainly comprises simple carbohydrates. Such foods are broken down in the body into sugar. After eating to combat stress or satisfy a craving, the good feeling lasts for a short time before you crash badly and begin to crave for something that will give you a release again.
How People Become Sugar Addicts
As previously stated, sugar is as addictive as cocaine. Eating a sugary treat causes energy levels to rise immediately in the body and you experience an emotional high. Emotional joy comes from the release of dopamine in the body. People, particularly stressed ones, love the dopamine high a lot.
People with a high risk of developing compulsions to take sugar are those experiencing anxiety, low moods, or stress. Others who are at risk of sugar addiction are those who are tired all the time. The high energy they get after a sugar treat can lead to addiction. The person begins to associate sugar with energy, and they become addicted.
Sugar addiction causes a person to experience a burst of energy and positive emotion followed by lows. Again, they crave sugar to pull themselves up from emotional lows, irritability, and other complications. Overindulgence in sugar treats cannot be taken lightly as a victim is exposed to the risk of obesity and diabetes.
Is Sugar Addiction A Problem?
Sugar addiction is indeed a significant problem. According to the World Health Organization, an average adult who consumes 2000 calories daily should not consume more than 25 grams of sugar daily. These figures may seem absurdly low if you consider a single coke contains 44 grams of sugar.
Around the world, but particularly in the United States, people overconsume sugar. Statistics indicate that an average American consumes 71.14 grams of sugar per day. This sugar amount is way too high if you consider the WHO recommendations. Americans take so much sugar because they have numerous sugary food options that can fool even the most health-conscious consumer.
Almost 75% of Americans overeat sugar, and many in this category are addicted. Studies done on animals and published in the Journal of Nutritional Neuroscience showed sugar addiction is as bad as addiction to street drugs. The animals in the study, “Implications of an animal model of sugar addiction, withdrawal and relapse for human health,” exhibited sugar addiction with withdrawal and relapse problems just like with street drugs.
The Sugar Addiction and Some Common Problems
1. Emotional Eating and Sugar Addiction
People who turn to sugar for emotional reasons are more likely to become addicted to sugar. Weight gain and trouble focusing on responsibilities are problems that arise from their sugar addiction. The effects of relying on sugar to balance emotions can result in feelings of hopelessness, damage to self-esteem, and lower feelings of self-worth. This can, in turn, lead to more severe addictions and more sugar consumption.
2. Binge Eating and the Sweet Tooth
Overeating too quickly, followed by feelings of guilt, disgust and shame, is described as binge eating. It can also involve indulging in sweets for the instant emotional fix the person gets. This eating to fix emotional issues can lead to terrible problems down the road. If you or someone you love is seeking solace in food, it is best to seek help early enough and get to the heart of the problem before it gets worse. Other underlying reasons cause binge eating and other eating disorders.
3. Anxiety and Sweets
Eating because one is stressed is an ideal example of the relationship between anxiety and eating disorders. Sugar consumption and stress eating are closely related. The stress hormone cortisol is released when a person experiences anxiety. It can curb appetite in some people but causes others to eat a lot.
After consuming sugar, the brain’s serotonin levels are boosted. But sugar worsens anxiety as the person dips and experiences sugar lows, creating feelings of depression and fatigue.
4. Alcoholism and Sugar Craving
Studies have found a surprising genetic link between parents who abuse alcohol and sugar addiction in their children. Dopamine receptors light up in the brain when a person consumes sugar. These same receptors light up in a person who drinks alcohol.
Studies have shown that alcohol-dependent individuals also have sugar cravings and experience sugar withdrawals. Such individuals pass on their alcohol and sugar cravings to their children.
Symptoms Of Sugar Withdrawal
Persons who are addicted to sugar exhibit withdrawal symptoms such as the following,
- Low energy
- Moodiness
- Fogginess
- Irritability
Those who habitually binge on sugary treats can experience worse withdrawal symptoms.
Hope For Sugar Addiction
You can retrain your taste buds to enjoy non-sugary treats which do not keep you in an emotional roller coaster. You do not need as much sugar as your body at times leads you to believe.
- You can drop sugar addiction by dropping one sugary treat from your list every week. You can replace it with something wholesome like protein or wholegrain foods without added sugar.
- For instance, in the first week, you can reduce the sugar in your coffee and other beverages. In the second week, you can bypass sweet desserts. Remember that deep-fried foods such as French fries are very quickly converted to sugar in the body.
- You do not have to give up the sweet taste, but you can get it from other wholesome sources. For instance, fruits are healthy because they have fiber, a complex carbohydrate that keeps you from crashing when you consume some.
- If your sugar addiction is associated with other problems, such as compulsive binge eating and anxiety, seek professional help.
Your Sugar Addiction Can Pass
Do you have a sugar addiction? I once did. I could only eat sweet things. I would put so much sugar in my tea that soon after breakfast, I would crash. My sugar lows were so low that I sought help for depression.
When I discovered sugar was the culprit, I got the strength to cut sugar from my diet. I started by giving up the sugar I added to my beverages. I then gave up the cookies and cakes. Promptly, my sugar lows disappeared. I then did a sugar detox in which I cut out sugar from my diet completely for a number of weeks.
What are your sugar addiction stories? Let’s hear them in the comments.
FAQ
- What are the symptoms of sugar addiction?
Signs of sugar addiction include the following: lethargy or feeling tired, bloating, headaches, cravings, nausea, muscle pain, and even insomnia
2. How do I break my sugar addiction?
Steps to take to break the addiction include the following,
- Eat breakfast
- Avoid foods with hidden sugars
- Sweeten foods yourself and avoid sweetened foods. Eat foods such as plain yogurt, unsweetened iced tea, and unflavored oatmeal
- Please avoid sugary foods and do not stock them in your house.
3. How long does it take to break a sugar addiction?
It takes about three to four weeks to break cravings for sugar and begin to crave healthier treats.
4. What deficiency causes sugar cravings?
Deficiencies of zinc, chromium, iron, calcium, and magnesium can all lead to sugar cravings. Magnesium deficiency is particularly worth paying attention to.
5. Why can’t I stop eating sugar?
Because of withdrawal effects such as difficulty focusing, forgetfulness, and craving other foods such as starches and pasta.
6. What supplement is suitable for sugar cravings?
Magnesium because it helps with the regulation of dopamine, glucose, and insulin. A magnesium deficiency leads to craving chocolate because it is high in the mineral.
7. Is there a relationship between sugar cravings and diabetes?
There is a link between always wanting something sweet and hyperglycemia or high blood sugar. High blood sugar leads to weight gain.