We are all Chemistry Sets

 How to Stop Sugar Cravings and Boost Your Mood

By Tanya Hvilivitzky

Excess sugar is lurking in much of our processed food today, tricking our brains into a false emotional reward with addictive effects that sabotage our mood and stability.

Our brain is hardwired to like sweet-tasting things. Evolutionary experts point to our primate ancestors, who preferred ripe fruit for its higher sugar content that resulted in more energy and stored fat. It was a survival mechanism that also protected us from eating toxic foods.

Today, this impulse works against us when we’re feeling depressed, anxious, or stressed. Our craving sets in for a quick fix, an emotional comfort through feel-good, sweet treats, only to end up leaving us feeling worse. Yet, with the right tools, we can get off the sugar roller coaster and improve body, brain, and mood.

How Our Brain Tricks Us

Sugar stimulates the “feel-good” release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that activates the brain’s reward system, creating a chemical reaction similar to that of addictive drugs or nicotine. This dopamine rush leads to craving more sugar.

At the same time, sugar triggers serotonin, a mood-regulating neurotransmitter, but in far higher quantities than our brain needs. So, when we reach for a sweet treat as emotional comfort, this satisfaction is short-lived because these elevated serotonin levels crash, then depression and anxiety set in—it’s a vicious cycle.

Chronic sugar consumption also dulls the brain’s oxytocin system, which is responsible for telling us to stop eating. This is why we overconsume and then reach for late-night snacks.

The Benefits of Curbing Our Sweet Tooth

A diet high in added sugar reduces the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a brain chemical that helps us form new memories. Low BDNF levels have been linked to dementia and depression.

Also, with excess sugar, the pancreas has to pump out insulin; eventually, an overworked pancreas will break down and blood sugar levels will rise, laying the foundation for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Type 2 diabetes accelerates brain aging, which affects memory networks and cognitive function.

Sugar also causes inflammation, a root cause of many chronic health conditions, including joint pain, and a potential cause of aging skin. Ultimately, when we reduce sugar in our diet, problems with cognition and mood improve, our body is less inflamed, and we look younger.

Learn Where Sugar Lurks

Highly processed foods are actually engineered to be addictive. Added sugar is hiding in 74 percent of packaged foods. Sugar is lurking in most processed food, even ketchup, tomato sauce, and crackers. And what we may believe is healthy—yogurt, multigrain bread, salad dressing, and sports drinks—are hiding spots for too much added sugar.

When looking at labels, search the ingredient list for these common nicknames: molasses, cane sugar, fruit juice concentrate, corn syrup, honey, and any word ending in “-ose”—dextrose, lactose, fructose, sucrose, etc.

Find Alternatives to Sugar

When craving something sweet, instead of chocolate or ice cream, we can reach for fruits, like berries, since they have a high fiber content and are lower in sugar. Or choose what makes us feel full but also gives us a small hit of serotonin, such as brown rice, nuts, and sweet potato. Protein-rich options like meat, fish, or eggs provide tryptophan, an essential amino acid that is converted into serotonin. And dark chocolate (70–80 percent cocoa) contains healthy plant compounds called polyphenols that provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

We should watch out for sugar substitutes, as it’s been shown that individuals with mood disorders are particularly sensitive to the neurological effects of aspartame, and some artificial sweeteners worsen insulin sensitivity and exacerbate weight gain. When possible, we should choose alternatives like xylitol or stevia.

Keep Hunger in Check

Remember that carbohydrates like bread and pasta are highly refined and act just like sugars in our body. Adding more protein and good fats into our diet can help. High-quality fats will keep us full for hours and provide a steady stream of brain-supporting energy. We can try to eat more avocado or salmon or replace our sugar-laden yogurt with higher-fat plain yogurt, sweetened only with fresh or frozen fruit.

Always having healthy snacks, like almonds or seeds, in the kitchen or on hand can curb cravings in a healthier way. And we’ve heard this before, but it’s worth repeating: never go to the grocery store hungry!

Work on Limiting Stress

Added stress in our lives—especially in times like these—can make it more challenging to kick our sugar habit to the curb. Wherever possible, we should try to lessen extra stressors. Mindful meditation, yoga, running, and dancing can help to reduce cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress and that increases our cravings for comfort foods.

Also, exercise promotes feel-good chemicals, so instead of thinking of it as a burden, we can approach our workouts as something that will help us function at our best—better brain, better body. Keep in mind, too, that sleep is vital to mood regulation—and when our moods are stable, we’re less likely to feel the urge to bury our emotions by overindulging in food, especially with a sugary snack.

Find Other Emotional Rewards

With 15 percent of the US population considering themselves “food addicts,” it is common for us to turn to sugar, or highly palatable foods, when seeking a particular emotional state. In part because emotional and physical hunger can be easily confused. But when we eat to banish negative emotions, it often leaves us feeling worse than before, adding in guilt and shame.

Discover other ways to cope with stress and emotional challenges, like finding some personal rewards unrelated to food when you need a pick-me-up. This could be an hour relaxing with a book, a bubble bath, or a nice chat with a friend. If food addiction feels too challenging to control, speak with your therapist or health professional about how to address emotional eating.

Creative Ways to Curb the Urge

Some people have found that taking a hot bath or shower provides relief when an intense yearning for sugar hits. Dehydration is often mistaken for food cravings, so if our sweet tooth is hard to resist, we can drink a large glass of water—plain or carbonated—then wait 20 minutes.

Experiment with creative ways to flavor water or add a splash of fruit juice to seltzer. Unsweetened dessert teas, like citrus or cinnamon, can come in handy, too. Adding a couple of tablespoons of either lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to our water each day has been shown to reduce rising blood sugar levels, which helps to quell cravings. Also helpful is enlisting a friend or joining a Facebook group to share progress and roadblocks and swap sugar-free recipes.

Limit Triggers and Temptation

One of the best ways to resist temptation is to remove the offending lure and replace it with a nutritious, yet desirable, alternative. If there are healthy options nearby when we have a sugar craving, we are less likely to drive or walk to the corner store for a sweet treat. When out, we can try to avoid passing by the donut shop and turn down requests from friends to stop at a fast-food joint.

Many individuals find they’re more successful when they plan their meals and snacks for the following day or upcoming week. This reduces the need to make decisions when in the throes of hunger. Also, avoiding distractions while eating, like dining in front of the television or computer, allows us to mindfully and slowly eat our meal.

Make Incremental Changes

While for some, a cold-turkey approach is more suitable, it may be more realistic to adopt a slow-and-steady reduction of sugar in your diet. In this approach, we start gradually reducing the amount of sugar we consume and swapping processed foods with whole foods and fresh or frozen fruit. In as little as a week, we can begin to train our taste buds to stop the cravings for sugar and carbohydrate-rich foods.

As our energy and mood improve, they fuel our new way of eating. It’s also important to pay attention to our self-talk—to keep it positive and to steer clear of a denial mindset that catastrophizes and envisions never having sugar again.

Tracking Our Progress

Being aware of—even documenting—what happens to our mental and physical state when we eat sugary treats can be eye-opening. Sometimes, we can notice effects immediately; other times, we might wake up the following day with a low mood, a headache, a bloated belly, and so on. When we can adequately associate what we eat with how we feel and think, it can be easier to make the necessary changes.

Online or smartphone apps like MyFitnessPal can help us to track what we are eating and may even provide quick access to the nutritional value, such as macronutrients, of our food choices.