In practice, I’ve found that a lot of patients suffer from “food weaknesses.”  These are unhealthy foods that people are emotionally attached to, because they provide comfort and make the patient feel good.  The food is usually something salty (potato chips) or something sweet (SUGAR!).  Today, let’s focus on sugar.

WHY WE CRAVE SUGAR
Have you ever taken a breathe of fresh air and immediately felt wonderful?  This is because the nutrients in the air are stimulating a signal in your brain the tells it, “HEY, YOU SMELL THAT?  THAT’S AWESOME!  IT’S TIME TO FEEL GOOD FEEL GOOD FEEL GOOD!”  This happens so fast that many times we don’t even realize what’s going on.  For instance, if there’s a dear on the road your brain will send a signal that tells you “EMERGENCY!! HIT THE BRAKES BEFORE YOU HIT BAMBI!!”  Often times you’ll hit the brakes and stop before you’ve even started to realize what’s going on.  A similar reaction takes place when we’re eating.  Have you ever started to eat a cookie one moment, and then the next moment you look down and realize you’ve eaten half the bag??  This happens because we have signals that take place in the brain when we’re anxious, stressed, and in need of nourishment…and these signals tell us “I’M GETTING ANTSY…GIVE ME WHAT I NEED!”  And so we grab what we’ve trained our brain to think is the cure for our need. (CHOCOLATE!  OREOS!  SUGAR!)  You know what’s amazing?  We can train our brain to crave something else to fulfill this need.  Something that is good for us (such as a good organic meal or working out).  Unfortunately, many of us have trained our brains to crave something that is not good for our health, such as sugar.

HOW TO FIX YOUR SWEET TOOTH CRAVINGS
It’s as simple as training the brain to crave what’s good for it.  You can do this by finding alternatives.  I know finding sugar alternatives can seem difficult (I often here things like “I can’t give up my Coca-Cola!!  PLEASE…don’t take away my fruity pebbles!!) but finding great tasting alternatives is a lot simpler (and pleasant) than you’d think.  My patients have done it and you can too.  In as little as one week, the brain will begin to enjoy substitutes that fulfill its cravings the same way that sugar does.  When this happens, our cravings for those jelly filled donuts and snicker doodle cookies will go away.

GOOD SUGAR ALTERNATIVES
Here is a list of some suggested sugar alternatives:

• Stevia.  Stevia is an herb.  Although it comes from a plant (and is actually healthy) it is really, really sweet.  I recommend Stevia sodas to patients that crave Coke, Pepsi, Root Beer, Sprite, etc.  To find a list of tasty stevia sodas, check out the links I added on the Hot List page.
• Organic Agave Nectar.  It comes from the cactus plant (but doesn’t taste like cactus, trust me!) and it does not spike your blood sugar levels as highly as sugar does (the more you spike your blood sugar, the more fat you’ll store around your gut).  It’s a great sugar alternative for baking.  Find it at your local co-op.
• Good tasting organic foods.  A good meal can have the same stimulating effect on the brain as sugar.
• Exercise.  It has been proven: working out gives you the same euphoric feeling as sugar, cocaine, and sex.  Why wouldn’t you wanna work out??
• High-Quality Nutrition Supplements.  Quality nutrition supplements (recommended here) can satisfy the brain and normalize its function, getting your cravings under control.  This is an essential part of the recipe for success that is too often overlooked.

If you put forth the effort needed by implementing these strategies, you too can fix your sugar cravings!

For more information on overcoming your addiction to sugar, please read Dr. Mark Hyman’s article found here.