By now, anyone who is trying to live a healthy life knows how horrible sugar is for your health. But, letting go of delicious treats when your body craves it, it’s as easy as you’d think. You see, much like the “high” received when using drugs and alcohol, when you consume foods containing sugar, the body releases the chemical known as dopamine. This hormone is a neurotransmitter which sends signals to the brain’s reward center. Essentially, for some people, beating those sugar cravings is harder than vowing to never pick up a chocolate bar again.
If you’ve been struggling to overcome your need for sugar, perhaps the problem is you’re being too hard on yourself. Trying to go cold turkey works for some people, but for others, it simply drives them to want sugar even more. So, it may be best that you try other methods that will reduce your cravings over time.
No Skipping Meals
Trying to cut out some of those calories and lose weight by skipping meals? This may seem like a good plan, but it’s actually very counterproductive. Your body needs the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals found in food and if you’re eating enough, your body doesn’t function properly. As you start to feel drained, you’ll crave the temporary boost you get from a “sugar rush”.
L-Glutamine
The body naturally produces an amino acid known as L-glutamine, a building block of protein that helps the body to maintain healthy blood sugar, digest food properly, and ward off diseases. Adding this supplement to your diet can help to reduce food cravings – particularly sugar. Found in powder form, the product is also great for digestive health and gives a boost to the immune system.
Moderation
Remember, going cold turkey isn’t for everyone. If depriving yourself of everything containing sugar for a few days causes you to binge the days to follow, then moderation is a better approach. Perhaps you won’t eat sugar all day except for dessert.
Natural Sweeteners
Refined sugar isn’t good for you, but there are a ton of natural sweeteners you could try out that taste just as great but pack a lot more health benefits. For instance, honey, maple syrup, agave, and stevia are all examples of natural sweeteners that are better for you. Add them to your tea or water to pacify that craving.
Detox
Sometimes your taste buds just need a bit of adjusting. A great way to try and cut back on your sugar intake would be to do a detox. Drinking smoothies mixed with fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and other health supplements for a course of 2 weeks can help. Your palate is restrained and prime for introducing cleaner eating options.
Giving up sugary treats may seem like the hardest thing in the world to do. Perhaps you even tried on occasion to stop yourself with little success. Yet sometimes the best thing to do is to break the larger goal down a bit. If you can make sure you’re eating 3 meals a day, reducing your intake of sugar daily, introducing artificial sweeteners, and getting assistance from health products like l-glutamine powders, before long those sugar cravings will be a thing of the past.
