HOW TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SUGAR CRAVINGS
I am so that girl that will choose dessert over chips & salsas any day. But my cravings for sweets is nowhere where it use to be before I started studying nutrition and learning about gut health. Poor gut health suppresses our immune system, effs with our mood and amplifies pain and inflammation in the body. The bad bacteria in your gut also loves sugar and the more bad gut bacteria you have, the harder those sugar cravings hit. The more sugar in your diet, the harder it is from your body to prioritize absorbing nutrients from the “good” food in your diet because your body is working too hard to digest the sugar. Your body then wants to eat more food because it’s craving nutrients (but most people just go for more sugar). It’s a vicious cycle. If your cravings are intense, your bad gut bacteria is the one making your food choices at this point. But there are things you can do to balance your gut health and not feel like a victim to those damn cravings.
Take a probiotic daily, like the Silver Fern brand ultimate probiotic daily. Continued use of the ultimate probiotic will replace the bad bacteria in your gut with good bacteria, stopping the sugar cravings all while helping your body to more effectively break down and absorb nutrients. Better nutrient absorption means your body will be satisfied with much less food. Use code ALECTREFFS for 15% off all Silver Fern brand products.
Add fermented foods to your diet like kefir, cultured greek yogurt, sauerkraut and apple cider vinegar.
Add variety to your diet, with fruits and veggies especially. This will increase the variety of microbiota in your gut that will keep the bad gut bacteria from dominating.
Aim for at least 7 hours of sleep. When you are sleep deprived it triggers certain hormones to crave a “pick me up,” usually in the form of sugar so you get that instant high.
Get protein in at every meal. The his will keep you full longer and make it easier to manage your blood sugar levels. When those levels spike, and then drop – that’s when your body craves sugar and can lead to more negative long term effects.
Pair a healthy fat with refined carbs. Reality is, you’re going to go for that white bread, pasta, chips or candy sometimes still – but pairing it with a healthy fat (and protein) will slow down the absorption of glucose in the bloodstream, preventing dramatic sugar spikes (and drops) and curb sugar cravings. For example, instead of jam on your toast (which is double sugar essentially), go for avocado toast.
Eat more fiber-rich veggies and fruit. Your microbiota can change within 2-4 days of eating healthier and thus will help you in craving more nutritious options.
Choose natural sugar over refined sugar. Note that I am and will always be an advocate for honoring your craving for a real donut every so often, but enjoying one every day is not good for your health. If you’re someone who craves something sweet at the end of every meal, try to choose fruit instead. I am not going to lie and say it will curb your craving right away, but the idea is that with making that swap consistent for days/weeks, you’re going to build up healthier microbiota in your gut and you will begin to naturally crave the fruit and will find that even when you do enjoy something with refined sugar in it, you are more sensitive to it and probably won’t need as much of it as you did in the past to curb that craving. Another thing with fruit - it has fiber and the fiber slows digestion and enables the natural sugar to be more easily digestible by the body resulting in no major blood sugar spikes.
Start buying unsweetened versions of staples like yogurt, nut butters, nut milk, dressings and marinades. You want to look for “added sugars” on the nutrition label and see a “0” there for these kinds of staples. If you want to add some sweetness to your food, opt for honey, maple syrup, or (real) fruit.
Sugar cravings are a real thing, I get it. But there is no reason they should be in control of your life. Adopting these tips into your routine can help you feel in control of those cravings and in turn give you more energy, boost your mood, decrease inflammation in the body and give you a more clear skin complexion - one with less acne, one less prone to early onset aging and one void of that haven’t-gotten-decent-sleep-in-a-week look.
