By Dr. Michael E. Rosenbaum, MD
If you have great intentions of eating healthy—but get sidetracked by sweets—you’re not alone!
According to Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, author of Beat Sugar Cravings Now!, the average American eats about 150 pounds of added sugar each year in processed foods and drinks. That’s more than seven times the amount Americans ate in 1820—two centuries ago!
Sugar is in just about everything we eat from salad dressings, to cold cuts, to pasta sauce. Even if we avoid cookies, we may be getting too much of this sweet stuff unbeknownst to us.
And this isn’t sweet news for our health…
Sugar weakens immune cells, and sugar can cause the body to age prematurely. It binds with proteins in our body through a process called glycation, which damages our body’s tissues, robbing us of vitality and health. Excess sugar can lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and even attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It also may be as addictive as major drugs like heroin.[1]
Now, to be fair, craving sweetness is not always a bad thing. Our simian ancestors depended on sweet fruits for easy energy.
The real problem is that our craving for sweets is too easily catered to in this day and age. Where natural scarcity put some limits to our sugar consumption in earlier generations, these days we can eat sugar to our heart’s content. It’s so easy to get!
Fortunately there are some tactics you can use to keep your sweet tooth in check and crush sugar cravings:
Sugar Cravings Crushing Tactic #1: Eat high-protein meals frequently.
Sugar cravings often can be due to dips in blood sugar levels. Slowly digested proteins help stabilize the level of sugar in your blood, quelling the urge to get some sugar in you.
This is particularly critical in the morning, when you serve up breakfast. After a long fast while you were sleeping, your body reacts more dramatically to any sugar you feed it. Remake your breakfast to focus on proteins, vegetables, healthy fats and whole grain carbs, like a scrambled egg, spinach and avocado sandwich, and you’ll get your day off to a great start.
Sugar Cravings Crushing Tactic #2: Eat fruits to get some sweetness.
While fruits can contain a lot of sugar, their fiber helps slow down your body’s absorption of sugar so you are less prone to sugar highs and lows.
But just to be clear, fruit juices don’t cut it. Don’t get deceived by packaged juices and/or the juicing fad. With juices you lose out on most of the fiber in fruits, leaving your body vulnerable to a sugar overload. If you prefer to slurp your fruit, make use of the whole fruit and try a smoothie. Add some sugar-moderating veggies and proteins, and the sweetness in your fruit will go down even slower.
Sugar Cravings Crushing Tactic #3: Invite some bacteria inside.
Thanks to overuse of antibiotics and germ-killing soaps, we’ve done serious damage to our internal ecosystem, the helpful probiotic bacteria that are a part of our digestive system. As these bacteria dwindle, often the yeast candida takes, and it is notorious for causing us to crave sugar—its favorite food.
To bring your bacteria count back to a healthy number, consider taking a probiotic supplement. And feed these bacteria well with their favorite food: prebiotics. Chlorella is a terrific probiotic-boosting prebiotic.
Sugar Cravings Crushing Tactic #4: Attend to your hormones.
In women, sugar cravings can sometimes be linked to hormonal fluctuations. By mediating these shifts with some hormone balancers, like licorice root tea, eleuthero or raspberry leaf, women can help their bodies recover hormonal balance and reduce cravings for sweets.
Sugar Cravings Crushing Tactic #5: Get proper exercise and sleep.
We turn to sugar instinctively when we need an energy hit. Unfortunately, while sugar can give you a temporary lift, it drops you hard soon after. Instead of turning to sugar to wake up, get moving. Exercise is one of the best energizers, along with clean, pure water. And finally, get proactive about feeling tired. If you’re craving sweets, check yourself to see if you really need an earlier bedtime or a nap instead.
Crush Your Sugar Cravings And Charge Ahead!
All these tactics work. But bottom line, they all work better when you shift your perspective in one fundamental way: Don’t see cutting down on sugar as deprivation. See it as a gift to yourself. And this gift includes more energy, a sharper mind, a better mood, a slimmer you, stronger immunity and better health overall. You’ll be amazed at how much sweeter life can be when you cut down on the sugar. Remember, reducing sugar intake is one of the best things you can do for your body.
Dr. Michael E. Rosenbaum is a 35-year veteran and widely recognized pioneer in the field of nutritional medicine, alternative healthcare and medical acupuncture. As one of America’s most respected experts in natural health and healing, Dr. Rosenbaum has been a frequent lecturer to professional medical groups and has participated in numerous television and radio talk shows. He is also an esteemed member of the Sun Chlorella Advisory Board, which helps guide the medical innovation behind Sun Chlorella products. Visit his website at drmichaelrosenbaum.com. You also can download a free copy of “Why Didn’t My Doctor Tell Me This?” at sunchlorellausa.com/why-didnt-my-doctor-tell-me-about In this eye-opening report, five pioneering natural health experts reveal nutritional secrets that can change your life.
Sources:
[1] Avena NM. Examining the addictive-like properties of binge eating using an animal model of sugar dependence. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007 Oct;15(5):481-91.