Sugar: How To Crave Less

This month we focus on sugar consumption: which to eat, which to avoid, and how to change your own cravings for the better!

People say to me, “Well, I eat sweets BECAUSE I have a sweet tooth.” But this is actually, exactly, opposite from the truth. People have a sweet tooth BECAUSE they eat sweets.

Your body responds to what you put in it, even for something as fundamental as the sensitivity of your taste receptors. In other words, as you consume more sugar, your body takes that level as the “new normal” and will expect that level more and more over time.

• Here’s the bad news: your body adapts your taste buds based on the amount you put in.
• Now here’s the good news: your body adapts your taste buds based on the amount you put in.

If your craving for sugar can be turned up, they can also be turned down. This is great news, because it means that you can pull your sweet tooth and stop craving the overly sweetened foods that feed overweight, obesity, and chronic disease conditions such as diabetes.

How Do I Pull My Sweet Tooth? 

First of all, remove sugars from any pre-made foods you consume. That is, any product with an ingredients list should be reviewed for sugars, including all their many synonyms: syrup, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, etc. Cut out all these added sweeteners from your diet for two weeks.

For sugars that you add to foods and drinks that you prepare at home, you don’t have to eliminate them. Just cut them by 1/2. In your tea or coffee for example, reduce the amount of added sugar by half and you’ll find that they taste a bit bitter at first. But you will also be amazed over the next few days how your tastes normalize to this level of sweetness. Depending on your tastes, you can create new healthier cravings in just a few days!

During these two weeks, you can still consume foods that naturally contain sugars such as carrots, dairy, and fruits. Again, be sure to read labels. Products that claim to be healthy, and especially those that trumpet the “Low Fat” label such as yogurt, can be loaded in additive sugars.

This is activity will reset your tastes, so the things you crave will be healthier for you. In fact, after these two weeks, if you taste something with sugar that you used to enjoy you’ll find that it is now too sweet for you! And in the end, you will know that you took control of your own cravings so that the foods you want to eat are foods that are healthier for you.