Do you find yourself reaching for the sweet stuff more and more?
This is a very common experience for many women and one that can be tricky to break free from due to the addictive quality of sugar!
There are a number of reasons you may be experiencing sugar cravings such as nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, fatigue, stress or emotional issues.
There are also a number of reasons why you may want to limit sugar consumption including an increase in insulin resistance and risk of diabetes, ageing, weight, inflammation, triglycerides and blood pressure (an indicator of heart disease risk - which more women than men die from!).
Sugar also reduces skin quality, sleep quality, energy and can cause an imbalance in other hormones, including ghrelin and leptin which regulate your appetite and satiety.
While our bodies are designed to handle 1-2 pieces of fruit per day, they are not able to deal with a daily onslaught of added sugars!
Here are my 5 top tips to help reduce sugar cravings -
1. Include adequate protein and fat at each meal - this helps to keep your energy and blood sugar levels more stable. Focus on eating a variety of vegetables along with some protein and fat - free range eggs, grass fed animal products, butter/ghee, wild fish, avocado, olive oil, coconut products, nuts and seeds.
2. Have some low sugar snacks handy - tamari almonds, unsweetened yoghurt and berries, cheese and olives, hummus and veg sticks, apple slices with tahini or nut butter.
3. Try some herbal tea - cinnamon is great for blood sugar and licorice gives a sweet taste to any herbal tea. You could also try some kombucha or soda and lime.
4. Take notice of any underlying reasons that are contributing to your sugar cravings - fatigue, stress, boredom, loneliness. Sweet food can offer us a quick and easy fix to however we're feeling - but unfortunately this is only temporary and doesn't offer us any real solution. Be kind to yourself as you become aware of any of these and work on changing your habits to ones that truly make you feel good - both now and in the future.
5. Take a good quality Magnesium and B vitamin powder - these nutrients are important in regulating blood sugar and insulin, and are also great for energy production and stress. Chromium and Gymnema are also great - a couple of drops of gymnema on the tongue will make anything sweet taste like cardboard!
If you'd like to investigate any of these underlying issues, or would like some support in reducing your sugar addiction, I'd love to help you.
Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances and thyroid issues. The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype. You can contact Marion here.