Some time ago, Jill from Sacramento asked us how we can get to grips with intense sugar cravings, especially when willpower alone doesn’t seem to work.
For a variety of both biological and historical reasons, sugar has taken the world – and our diets – by storm, despite the well-known chronic disease risks of consuming too much of it. And in the wake of Valentine’s Day, the siren calls of clearance-rack confections become ever-louder and even more alluring. While it’s quite tough to limit its power using willpower alone, there are many habits that you can adopt to nurture a healthier relationship with sugar. Keep reading to find out how!
Is it a true sugar “addiction” or just a little sweet tooth?
In recent years, several “pop science” articles comparing added sugars to other substances like alcohol, nicotine, and even morphine and cocaine have cropped up across the internet. While these headlines about “sugar addiction” are eye-catching and often feel true to lived experience (it definitely feels true to mine!), there’s a lot of conflicting evidence on whether sugar addiction is actually “a thing” – and whether it’s accurate, safe, or useful to liken our affinity for sugar to a substance disorder. While some sources [archived link] suggest that the social and emotional responses surrounding sugar consumption strongly resemble the social and emotional conditions that lead people to use drugs (for example, the notorious study [archived link] that administered doses of both sugar and cocaine to rats), some research has found [archived link] that intense sugar cravings “likely arise from intermittent access to sweet tasting or highly palatable foods, not the neurochemical effects of sugar”. In other words, added sugars do not really have the same effect on your brain as other drugs; instead, their power lies in how often – and in how many endless forms – we encounter it on any given day. This same study also emphasizes that lots more investigation is needed to truly figure out whether certain sweet foods are directly or indirectly linked to food addiction.
Our constant exposure to sugar is backed by the data: The average American (adult AND child) consumes about 17 teaspoons of added sugar a day . That’s about 270 calories or 13.5% of the average adult’s daily recommended calorie intake. If the idea of putting 17 spoonfuls of sugar in your body sounds unreal, then consider this: a single, 12-oz can of coke has 10 teaspoons of sugar all on its own! And if you’re in the habit of hustling through the drive-thru on your commute to work to grab one of those elaborate drinks that have more whipped cream and syrup than coffee, then chances are that you’re close to hitting this daily average before your lunch break. This is all to say that even if “addiction” is too strong of a word to describe our fondness for the sweet things in life, it’s still a very real phenomenon that is very much worth addressing. It’s clear that almost everyone gets a sweet tooth on occasion, but if you ever find that you’re…
🎭 Eating sugar to cope with strong emotions or boredom;
🫠 Experiencing a low mood and other “withdrawal” symptoms when you’re not eating sugar;
🍽️ Eating sugar compulsively, even when you’re not hungry;
🙈 Eating so much sugar that your taste buds have become “blind” to sweet foods, or
🤫 Eating sugary foods in private out of personal shame or fear of judgment
…Then you may have an unhealthy relationship with sugar. It’s okay if you can’t manage this relationship on your own; your healthcare providers are there to support you in developing a more balanced and enjoyable relationship to sugary foods. Sugar comes in so many forms and is virtually unavoidable, but learning to eat sugar mindfully (rather than emotionally) and in moderation will work wonders for your mental health and significantly reduce your risks of various chronic diseases across the life course.
➡️ Nerd Alert!: The rat study mentioned above was an internet sensation for some time, but one key fact was conveniently left out of many interpretations of the findings: While sugar and cocaine both cause the brain to release dopamine – the chemical messenger in the brain associated with rewards and pleasure – cocaine causes you to release anywhere from 300% to 900% of your baseline level of dopamine after metabolizing (being processed and converted into energy) after several hours. Sugar, on the other hand, metabolizes much quicker, but it only releases around 120% of your baseline dopamine level before fizzling out entirely. This “fizzling out” explains why children who eat cake and punch at a birthday party will run absolutely wild for around an hour before crashing out in the car on the way home – and it also explains why sugar and cocaine are not the same.
Now that the semantics are out of the way, what are some habits we can build to curb intense sugar cravings?
🙅🏾♀️ For starters, don’t try to skip meals, do a “sugar detox”, or completely remove sugar from your diet. Rather than reducing how much food you eat in a day to avoid eating too much sugar, try replacing sweet staples with equally tasty alternatives. For instance, if you find yourself reaching for a sugary granola bar to power through the rest of the workday, consider reaching instead for raw veggies, a handful of nuts, or a piece of whole fruit for a similar crunch sensation with an added nutrient boost.
🍯 Begin swapping out added sugars with natural sugars. Remember when I said that sugar is literally all around us? It’s also heavily featured in nature! Most of our daily sugar intake comes from added sugars in our drinks and snacks, but the natural sugars found in fruits, honey, and plant-based drink sweeteners are much healthier and fine to use in moderation. Natural sugars are metabolized by our bodies the exact same way that added sugars are, but since they often come as part of a “package” deal – for example, many fruits are also loaded with fiber and essential vitamins and minerals – they’re a far more reliable and useful energy source than added sugars. Studies have also shown that natural sugars do not significantly increase the risk of chronic disease in the same way that added and artificial sugars do.
⚖️ 😇/😈 HEALTH EQUITY ALERT!: While it’s easy to dismiss natural sugars as “good” sugars and added sugars as “bad”, it’s important to highlight that many “bad” sugars are more affordable, physically accessible, and overall convenient for many people. Several researchers have shown [archived link] that low-income people, racial and ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities are more likely to “live in communities with high availability of energy-dense foods [rather than nutrient-dense foods] and limited availability of healthy food options”. Food insecurity is an ongoing reality for so many marginalized communities, and I think that anyone who has ever worked a late-night or early-morning shift knows how much easier it can be to reach for sugar-sweetened beverages, snacks, or ultra-processed foods to make it through the workday or quickly place food on the table. Only when our social, economic, and food systems change, will “bad” sugars become the less universal, less convenient option. While there are simple ways to replace added sugars with natural ones, always remember to give yourself grace and make these dietary changes at the pace that’s most reasonable for you.
📝 Identify (and practice using) non-food-oriented activities to cope with your emotions. Do you find that you crave more sugar when you’re sad? Happy? Bored? Pensive? Try keeping a journal or running list of the emotions, times of day, places, and social situations that often trigger your sugar cravings. Once you’re able to more intuitively identify these triggers, you can begin to channel that pent-up energy into “alternate behaviors” that don’t involve eating. If you’re feeling down, you can take a walk. If you’re extra excited about some good news you’ve received, consider having a solo (or group) dance party before breaking out the cake. And if you’re feeling bored, it might be a good time to call that friend who’s been on your mind for months. Surrounding yourself with a supportive and accountable community will allow you to tap into your brain’s reward system – and release some dopamine – in healthier and more creative ways than turning into sugar.
💦🥱 Stay hydrated, and build a healthy sleep schedule. Mild dehydration and fatigue are sometimes misinterpreted as hunger cues because they cause similar symptoms to low blood sugar – and this is especially true for people with (or at increased risk of) diabetes. We know what you’re thinking: “drink some water and go to bed” is one of social media’s favorite catch-all solutions to hunger; it’s like the human equivalent of “Have you tried turning off your phone then turning it back on again?” But sometimes, we think we’re in need of something sweet when our bodies are truly just begging us to drink some water and go to bed!
🧑🏻⚕️ Finally, if you find that individual willpower and social engagement aren’t quite enough to keep sugar off your mind, then there’s absolutely no shame in talking to your healthcare provider. Some medications are proven to enhance sugar cravings. Systemic corticosteroids (often used to fight allergies, inflammation, and autoimmune conditions) and some types of antidepressants are common examples. Talking to your prescriber about strategies to combat these cravings can make your experience with these needed medications much more positive. There’s also a chance that your cravings are due to elevated blood sugar, so if you find that your sugar cravings simply won’t budge, you can always ask your clinician to order a blood test and support your journey accordingly. Fortunately, these tests are currently covered by Medicare Part B [archived link] and many private insurance options.
The Bottom Line: While calling sugar an “addictive drug” is a pop-media-fueled exaggeration, it’s true that our bodies and brains respond to sugar in ways that can lead to intense cravings and urges to consume excessive amounts. There’s a high possibility that our affinity to sugar is programmed into us as human beings. However, by identifying our social and emotional triggers, surrounding ourselves with the necessary community and clinical support, exploring new and creative ways to satisfy our bodies, and advocating for better food systems for everyone, we can loosen the grip that sugar seems to have on our society – and on our health.
Stay safe, stay well, and stay strong in the face of sugary temptation. We’ve got this!
Those Nerdy Girls
🍭 Additional Resources:
American Heart Association: How much sugar is too much?
British Heart Foundation: Can I be addicted to sugar?
The impact of sugar consumption on stress-driven, emotional and addictive behaviors [archived link]
Cleveland Clinic: Candy Crush: Why you’re craving sweets and how to stop
