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Jul 31, 2024 · Registered dietitians explain what it can mean when you're hit with a sugar craving, and how to stop cravings from creeping up in the first place.
- You're exhausted. "During times of fatigue or exhaustion, the first thing we crave is sugar," says Maya Feller, R.D., a Brooklyn-based registered dietitian nutritionist and author of the upcoming book, Eating From Our Roots.
- You're stressed. "Past research has found that when primates were under stress, they sought out carbohydrates3—primarily in the form of fruit," says Steven Gundry, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon and author of Unlocking the Keto Code.
- Your gut isn't getting what it needs. Gundry says one of the theories around what makes humans hungry is the Gut Flora-Centric Theory of Hunger. "This is a theory that says our hunger is controlled by how much our gut bacteria is being fed the foods they need," he says.
- You're consuming too many artificial sweeteners. "Artificial sweeteners have messed with our system when it comes to detecting sugar," says Gundry. "That's because we don't have sugar receptors in our tongue; we have sweet receptors.
- Behavioral Theory
- Is It All in Your head?
- The Serotonin Theory
- More on Chocolate Cravings
- Hormones and Food Cravings
Research has also shown that cravings can also be driven by memories rather than bodily cues. Sweets and decadent meals are often associated with vivid memories of food at social gatherings, such as holidays, parties, and family get-togethers. If you find yourself thinking about your Grandma’s molasses cookies or your mom’s famous apple pie, you ma...
It might sound like cravings are “all in your head,” but that doesn’t mean you're imagining them. In fact, they're most often rooted in biology. In a 2011 study, researchers found that when the prefrontal cortex of the brain was activated, it temporarily decreased food cravings, particularly for sweet foods and carbohydrates. Another area of the br...
One theory about food cravings involves serotonin, a neurotransmitter needed for mood regulation. Researchers believe that having an imbalance of serotonin in the brain contributes to the development of depression. When you're craving carbs, you're usually drawn to foods that encourage serotonin production. In a sense, reaching for sugary, carbohyd...
Researchers have isolated certain alkaloids in chocolate that may raise the levels of serotonin in the brain.These studies have speculated that cravings for chocolate (so-called "chocoholism") may have a biological basis, with serotonin deficiency being only one factor. In some cases, feeling like you need chocolate might indicate you’re not gettin...
Research shows that hormone fluctuations impact food cravings. For women, it can depend on the different phases of the menstrual cycle as well as pregnancy. For example, women tend to crave sweets and carbs right before and during their period due to fluctuating levels of estrogen and progesterone. 1. These sex hormones cause a temporary drop in se...
- Nancy Schimelpfening
- Brittany Gibson
- Force of Habit. As it turns out, sugar cravings are often the result of conditioning over time. In other words, it's a habit. "You've got a stimulus, a behavior, and a reward," says Dr. Crupain.
- Gut Health and Gastrointestinal Issues. According to Hartman, poor gut health, gut inflammation, and other G.I. tract issues might be another cause of sugar cravings.
- Hunger Hormones. Another reason you might be constantly hankering for dessert could have to do with the hunger hormone ghrelin. “Research has shown that ghrelin levels increase in response to sugar intake and may contribute to the development of sugar cravings,” Dr. Ungerleider says.
- Low Serotonin Levels. If you've ever wondered why you might feel like you need to indulge in ice cream after a tough day, that might have something to do with your serotonin levels.
- Force of habit. Interestingly, one of the most common reasons for sugar cravings is habit formation. While it would be nice to believe that nutrient deficiencies or hormones are solely to blame for sweet cravings, our environment, rituals, and habits have more to do with cravings than anything else.
- Emotional response. To no surprise, sugar can affect your mood. In the short term, sugar impacts the body’s “feel good” neurotransmitters, serotonin and dopamine, that boost our energy and enhance our mood (8).
- Undereating. Not eating enough is a common cause of sugar cravings. Calories are essential to human life and consuming adequate calories is important for providing the body with the energy and nutrients it needs to perform optimally.
- Insufficient protein intake. Protein is the most satiating nutrient, and it plays an important role in our insulin and blood sugar regulation (9, 10, 11).
Aug 29, 2023 · If you're concerned about sugar cravings, the first step is to identify what factors are at play in your life. Then, plan to address them, including stress management, therapy, sleep regimen improvement, and eating more regularly.
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1. Sugar Craving Cause: You didn’t eat enough, or you ate the wrong things. (Image: Shutterstock) When you don’t eat enough calories (or satiating calories from the right sources), your body starts looking for fast fuel as a way to catch up. So what happens? You crave sugar!
