What we see in today’s modern world is the uninhibited want for sugar. Sugar is popularly known as one of the greatest flavors for our taste buds. Its seen though our everyday choices as many of us find ourselves in a situation of options of cookies, cereal, lettuce, or an apple. Plenty of us would instantly choose the sweet tastes of cookies or some cereal because it tastes better than an apple or lettuce.
Sugar is delicious and gives one a sense of pleasure. The concern appears when there is an uncontrolled want for sugar. Sugar ends up being harmful to our bodies when there is an excessive amount of intake. Added sugar in processed foods is one of the most harmful way to consume sugar because it is found everywhere.
Loads of added sugar is consumed without even knowing. To be alert and aware of such consumption of sugar one needs to start by looking at the fundamental problem of addictiveness, learn about the different kinds of effects on added sugar, find ways to minimize bad sugar intake of added sugar and find healthier ways to consume sugar. In the article, “Why We Have Sugar Cravings,” published in 2014, by Stephanie Small, a nutritionist and social worker states, “The desire for the taste of sweet is natural, and common among humans” (Small, 2014). Sugar is part of nature, Small implicates that the love of sweets is biologically programmed within us. Enjoying sweet flavors is not an issue since the taste signals us its energy and safeness. Small says, it becomes a problem when one starts craving; up to the point of one’s mood being negatively impacted when sugar is not consumed. She continues to add, there are many possible reasons why people crave sugar, it starts from a psychological, nutritional, lifestyle and emotional impact. Small goes to detail about how sugar is a physiological reason for feeling frantically addicted to the sugary taste in foods.
Refined sugars create issues in the body as it reacts chaotic and uneven, resulting to confusion and leading to a wider appetite. Small indicates, when the body doesn’t know what to do, neurotransmitters are released known as opioids and dopamine. The reactions create a sugar high and forms cravings. Other problems in the body, Small says, such as medical conditions, overtaxed adrenals, or hormone imbalance can increase the feeling of wanting sugar. She suggests, instead of removing sugar from our lives one can use natural sweeteners, that won’t affect the body in such harmful physiological ways. From the article, “Why We Have Sugar Cravings,” Small recognizes, “My clients are always surprised when I explain that there are ways of eating that can trigger sugar cravings and ways of eating that can mitigate sugar cravings” (Small, 2014). She continues to reveal that a busy lifestyle can sometimes prevent one from making healthy food choices because there is no focus on what is consumed. When blood sugar is low it causes a strike to fill the urge with sweets.
Small suggest, keeping up with nutrition will help keep blood balanced and prevent overeating by having protein and regular meals. She notes, fats are required for the body to function appropriately, adding fats into our meals will prevent one from feeling hungry. Drinking water will also avert dehydration and help the body to work properly, Matt Reddy, in Colorado at Denver Sports Recovery as a naturopathic physician explains in other words, little water in the system can be mistaken as hunger. Small implicates, when one does not consume nutrient-dense foods, an individual will eat more in order to reach the satisfaction of vitamins and minerals the body urges for. Taking all the nutrients and water the body needs will make an individual satisfied and full. Therefore, one won’t have such cravings.
The article, “Why We Have Sugar Cravings,” persists to follow that, “The three major lifestyle reasons for sugar cravings are lack of sleep, lack of exercise and stress” (Small, 2014). Small mentions, stress and inadequate sleep cause cortisol and blood sugar to rise. One consumes sugar to medicate the levels of stress, she says. Small reveals, blood sugar spikes from the consumption of sugar, sooner or later energy levels drop. The cycle continues to happen since one wants to feel relieved from stress. Daily exercise regulates blood sugar and will prevent cortisol to rise as high, Small indicates, having a healthy lifestyle will be beneficial for one. Small’s last awareness in the article, “Why We Have Sugar Cravings,” looks at emotional eating being a cause for sugar cravings.
She implies, emotional eating happens when an individual medicates with sugar to heal miserable feeling. Small comments, one must start to focus on their personal feelings to resolve the problem of emotional eating. Ignoring feeling will eventually lead to other ways of releasing those emotions. Throughout the article, Small has given tactics to help resolve mild-sugar cravings, but if one has tried the various strategies and still showed no improvement; Small suggest it has to do with emotional eating. She recommends that one must learn how to determine and cultivate emotions. A way to begin is by starting to meditate.
When meditating, breathe and don’t think. Small asserts that one should feel those emotions run through their body. If an individual can accomplish meditating, all their unheard emotions will be heard. Small also advocates one to seek out for a therapist.
