Are you a sucker for a sweet treat? Always reaching for the cookie jar or lollies when you fancy a snack? If this sounds like you, know that you’re not alone. In fact, craving sugary sweet foods isn’t your fault at all – it’s in your DNA to prefer either sweet or savoury flavours1.
But what can you do to avoid being at the mercy of these sugar cravings, or avoid them altogether? And if you are diabetic, how should you deal with them, as this adds a whole extra layer of complexity to your eating habits.
While you can’t blame your genes entirely for your food choices, the good news is there are some simple switches that you can make to help stave off these occasionally unhealthy hankerings.
Here are five ways to beat your sugar cravings, saving you from the blood sugar spikes that go with them.
1. Grab a shake
Sometimes only a sweet treat will do. But there are more sensible options than picking up a doughnut or chocolate bar. Especially if you are an adult with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, as you’ll need to keep an eye on your sugar cravings in order to prevent your blood sugar from spiking.
Making a shake such as IsoWhey will help you feel fuller for longer, as well as manage your blood sugar and give you other nutritional benefits.
IsoWhey Clinical Nutrition Diabetic Formula is a delicious high protein snack or meal replacement, designed to support sugar metabolism. Its tasty chocolate or vanilla flavours hit the mark when it comes to satisfying your sweet cravings, too.
It’s available at Chemist Warehouse and at isowhey.com.au
2. Boost your nutrients
Cravings could be trying to tell you something about your overall health, as craving specific foods can be an indication that you are deficient in certain nutrients. For example, if you are craving chocolate, it might be because you are low in magnesium. Adding in a magnesium supplement could help with this.
And if you really must satisfy that chocolate craving, make sure you reach for the dark chocolate (look for 70% cacao content or higher) instead of the milk. Dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants that can give extra health benefits.
3. Quench your thirst
You may find you are looking for the lolly bag when what you really need is a glass of water (or six). Thirst can often feel like hunger or a food craving, so making sure you drink enough each day can be an easy way to fix this.
If you often get to the end of the day and find you ‘forget’ to drink enough water, there are a few tricks you can use to remind yourself. You could try setting an alarm each hour that prompts you to get up and grab a glass of water. Keeping a bright, colourful water bottle on your desk or with you at work means the water is in your sight, which is easy encouragement. You could even add pieces of lemon or mint leaves to your water to give it a refreshing, tasty kick.
4. Sort out your stress
Stress can cause sugar cravings. Who hasn’t binged on cake and muffins after a particularly bad day?
Studies2 show that chronic stress has a significant and direct effect on food cravings. And it can be a vicious cycle – you feel stressed, which makes you crave a sugary snack, which can throw your blood sugar out of whack, which increases stress, and so it continues…
While the causes of stress may be harder to combat, make effectively dealing with stress a part of your daily routine.
Proven stress busters to try include meditation – there are so many apps to help you make a start if you are a newbie – and exercise. Going for a run or a brisk walk distances you from the food you’re craving, and it will help release endorphins or ‘feel good’ chemicals in your brain to banish the craving.
5. Fix your sleep routine
It sounds so simple, and it’s true. Getting more sleep – good quality sleep – can reduce food cravings. If you don’t get enough rest, you’re more likely to make unhealthy food choices.
The first step to combating a lack of sleep is to fix your sleep routine and improve your sleep hygiene. You can do this by making sure your bedroom is quiet and dark, relaxing and a comfortable temperature. Remove all electronic devices from the bedroom, and avoid large meals, caffeine and alcohol in the hours before you go to bed.
Brought to you by IsoWhey.
1 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-30187-w
2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9362746
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