Jan 25 2010
How To Break A Sugar Addiction
Photo by joe.oconnell
“I eat way too much sugar and have constant cravings for it that make me feel like I am addicted … do you have any suggestions for cutting back?”
There is still a debate over whether or not sugar is an addictive substance. From the data I’ve seen and people I’ve talked to, I’d guess it probably is.
But whatever the answer, the important question for most of us is how to kill the cravings that have us eating so much sugar in the first place.
Cravings exist in both the body and the mind, and you will have the best luck overcoming them if you address both simultaneously.
The first step is good nutrition. A nourished body is a happy body, and permanently kicking a sugar habit requires healthy food.
Eating balanced meals is essential for getting real satisfaction from what you eat and leaving cravings behind. For most people this means approximately 50% of your meal being vegetables and the rest split between protein (beans, meat or dairy), intact grains and a bit of oil or other fat. However, everyone is a little different and you should experiment to find what works best for you.
Healthy eating will not squelch cravings overnight, but it is essential for permanently cutting sugar because it ensures your body has everything it needs. Once your muscles and organs are taken care of, you can address the cravings in your brain.
The first step in breaking a sugar addiction is making the decision to stop eating it completely for at least 4 days (the longer the better), and sticking to it. While I usually recommend making dietary changes gradually, sugar has the unique ability to inspire cravings which are refueled every time you give into them.
The only way to break the cycle is to stop feeding the fire.
Once your sugar tolerance has normalized you can reintroduce it in small amounts, so long as you are sure you are eating for pleasure and not from habit.
Quitting sugar cold turkey is not entirely easy, however, even if you know the break is temporary. Cravings can be incredibly intense and make sticking to your resolution very difficult. If you hope to get through it, you must have a strategy for diverting yourself from temptation.
Start by removing all sweets (especially your weakness) from the house. Do a full sweep, no secret stashes can stay. If you do not want to throw things out, try giving them away at work or even sealing them up and putting them somewhere you can’t get to them. Making it impossible to cheat will greatly increase your probability of success. Don’t rely on willpower.
Once you have removed your most likely pitfalls you need a strategy for dealing with cravings. For this it is important to understand clearly why you want to avoid sugar, what you are making the effort for.
If you aren’t sure why limiting sugar is necessary I recommend spending some time educating yourself on the subject. If you’re a visual learner, check out this video about the evils of fructose by Dr. Lustig. If you’d like all the gory scientific details, check out Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.
Being completely convinced you want to change your habits makes following through on your resolution much easier.
The next step is deciding on alternative behaviors to divert yourself from cravings–they will pass eventually so all you need to do is distract yourself for a bit while they are strongest.
What works for you will depend a lot on your own personality and needs. For many people, sugar snacking is triggered by certain environmental cues such as location or time of day. In these situations, diversions should be planned in advance to avoid slipping into habitual behavior.
Planned distractions from habitual eating can include taking different routes between locations (to avoid walking by that bakery), substituting behaviors (there are no cookies at the gym) or choosing different foods or beverages during certain activities (mint tea instead of ice cream?).
Experiment with different alternatives and figure out what works best for you. Foods with oil and protein tend to be satisfying and quench cravings, if hunger is a problem for you. Exercise is the golden ticket for others. For me personally, sugar cravings are best satisfied by fresh fruit, especially those with a lot of fiber like apples and oranges.
Make sure your alternative foods and activities are things you enjoy. If they aren’t you will eventually abandon them for your old habits. Ideally these avoidance behaviors will completely replace your sugar habit and become your new healthstyle.
As you cut sugar out of your diet, also be sure to avoid hidden sources. Stay away from sauces and condiments that are really desserts in disguise, e.g. honey mustard, teriyaki, etc. Added sugar is very common in restaurant sauces (especially mid-range chain restaurants), so you might want to avoid eating out all together for a few days if you can swing it.
When you have completed your 4 day sugar fast, your cravings should have subsided substantially (the first 2 days are the worst). Continue to keep sugar minimal and actively avoid situations that cue you to eat sweets. Integrate your new behaviors into your healthstyle until the new habits replace the old ones. This process takes 6-8 weeks.
During this time get in the practice of asking yourself why you are eating sugar before you put it into your mouth. Are you eating from habit? Because of circumstance? For a special occasion? Because everyone else is?
The purpose of this exericse is not necessarily to stop yourself from eating, but to understand the reasons behind your behavior. The goal is to find a way to allow sugar into your life as a treat and not a necessity.
As you ween yourself off sugar, your tastes can change dramatically. All my life I had a sweet tooth, but over the past several years my taste for sugar has diminished and most desserts are now far too sweet for me. Consequently limiting sugar is not something I need to think much about, except during holidays and special occasions. Even then I don’t give it much thought, it happens naturally.
Besides eating more vegetables, cutting your sugar intake way down is probably the single best thing you can do to improve your health. If sugar is a problem for you, eating less of it should be one of your highest priorities.
Have you had success cutting back on sugar?
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Tags: addiction, brain, Dr. Lustig, fructose, Good Calories Bad Calories, restaurants, sugar, The End of Overeating
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In an effort to lose weight several years ago, cutting back on sugar was one of my main strategies, but instead of cold turkey, I weaned myself off it slowly and that has worked for me. First I gave up sodas (regular and diet). Then I removed additive sugars like sugar in my coffee or iced tea. After that, I just started resisting sweets as best as possible. Now I can satisfy an occasional sweet tooth after dinner by sharing a dessert with four rather than consuming one all by myself. Its amazing that just a couple bites will be all that I need.
After drastically reducing my sugar intake, its amazing how much those added sugars masked the real taste of food. I think I am better able to taste all the subtleties of quality food now that my taste buds are no longer desensitized by the quantity of sugar I used to ingest. Also, if I am going to eat a sugary food now, I want it to be of the best quality, not just some processed box cookie, although I am still a sucker for a warm gooey oatmeal cookie.
The only way to really overcome any addictive substance is to not have cravings for it. I don’t just mean overcoming cravings, but getting to a physiological state in which they do not arise. Fruit is a better alternative, but the sweetness of fruit still has a tendency to perpetuate cravings in those with a legitimate sugar problem. Fruit is still sweet enough to induce a big spike in beta endorphin, which is what creates closed receptors and perpetuates and intensifies the addiction. Kathleen DesMaisons is an excellent source of information on the subject, and the dynamics of how addiction works. I’ve written my fair share on it as well.
http://180degreehealth.blogspot.com/2009/11/addiction-article.html
One of the early books I read in my initial quest for health was Sugar Blues by William Dufty. What an eyeopener! Anyone who can read the intro and not be convinced of the need to get off sugar and change your whole dietary life is truly a lost cause.
At any rate, after reading the book I cleared my home of all sugar (and white flour), and not so surprisingly very little was left on my shelf. But the cravings were quickly gone, and since that day in my early twenties I have never looked back.
Sugar IS a VERY addictive substance. That addiction stems mainly from the fact that sugar is added to EVERYTHING (other than home-cooked meals, of course)! I mean, it literally took me WEEKS to find dried cranberries that didn’t contain added sugar…even the ones from healthy grocery stores, like Whole Foods, had a ton of added sugar. I ended up having to pay $22 for a 1-pound bag of organic dried cranberries with no added sugar from a food Web site. And what amazes me is, dried cranberries without added sugar are still extremely sweet and taste SO MUCH better than cranberries with added sugar.
And while you made many good points about how to “cure” sugar addiction… I have to add that it’s not always about the food you eat. Sometimes your “sugar” craving comes from a basic need that’s not being met. If after you’ve tried the stuff Darya listed in this post, you still find yourself craving sugar, take a step back and look at your life.
Ask yourself–Am I feeling fulfilled in my relationships? Do I have enough sweet things happening in my life? Sometimes a craving for sugar is merely an internal craving for love and affection.
Great point, Jennifer. People often eat for emotional reasons.
“The first step is good nutrition. A nourished body is a happy body, and permanently kicking a sugar habit requires healthy food.”
uhm no? why would that be?
i would have to disagree. i didn’t eat any sugar, eat only healthy food for 20 weeks. ate a single chocolate and bang, started eating chocolate every day from that day forward. guess i should have stuck with AA.
” For me personally, sugar cravings are best satisfied by fresh fruit, especially those with a lot of fiber like apples and oranges.”
sorry, but personally i think if you eat oranges you give in your cravings.
I did not mean to imply that healthy eating is enough to break sugar cravings. It definitely is not enough. However, if your body is lacking some fundamental nutrient then you will have cravings based on basic physiology. That way you are battling both your body and your brain. I just think healthy eating optimizes your chances. The best analogy I can think of is the cravings experienced by pregnant women. These needs are not imaginary, the body has new demands so wants specific foods to meet them.
It’s hard for me to think of fruit as cheating on sugar
It’s just enough for me to get over it.
ok, but that is taking the addiction to the body level. i am not sure (ie. never read about it) that healthy eating can combat an addiction like that. and one thing you seem to forget: eating sugary items does not mean you eat unhealthy. i can eat very healthy and do sports (and not the yoga/pilates kinda type) but add 70g of the best chocolate amedei has to offer every day (http://www.amedei.com). so with your theory i shouldn’t have cravings to begin with, because i eat healthy. skip the chocolate and you are good to go? doubt it very much. i agree with Alta on that one (one comment below me, if you don’t censor me or her
i am pretty sure an alcoholic who is drinking vodka shouldn’t switch to beer either
if it is enough to satisfy your cravings and on a body level already, you can only imagine how much sugar the fruit has and the impact of it on your body. or you weren’t addicted enough
Mmm… Amedei.
I think we agree. I am not saying eating healthy fixes anything, I’m just saying it is harder if you are not well nourished. Your cells and tissues don’t need alcohol to function properly, but they need nutrients from food. But yes, sugar addiction can be independent of body health too. I think both are important.
had pierre marcolini today. white chocolate. omg. forget about amedei
do rehab centers focus on nutrition – or is your statement of ‘harder if not well nourished’ only meant for sugar addiction?
I find that I can’t keep sugar in the house without my wanting to eat it. I’m fine all day, but late at night, when I suppose I should be going to bed, I find myself craving the cookies, cakes, etc. So I keep them out of the house as much as possible. I drink herbal teas to try to get my mind off of the sugar until a few days later, when the cravings stop. I eat very healthily, but I think sugar just draws me in.
Hi Darya,
Great post! About a year ago I realized I’d had a sugar addiction since I was a little kid, stealing my cousins’ easter candy and hiding it under my bed. When I decided to go sugar free, I was shocked to learn how many of our every day pre-packaged foods have sugar in them! Do we really need sugar in a can of garbanzo beans? Or in our mustard? So I became a big fan of slow-food and label reading!
I think it’s also worth pointing out that if you want to kick the sugar habit, you need to cut out alcohol and diet drinks and foods.
I’m not the scientist you are, but from the research I did, I learned that your body metabolizes alcohol and sugar exactly the same way. So if you continue to drink alcohol you will continue to crave sugar.
I also learned (and have experienced) that sugar substitutes (like those in diet sodas and diet foods) completey screw up your metabolism. When you consume sugar substitutes your body thinks it’s getting sugar- and when it doesn’t get sugar, it makes you crave it even more..
So when I gave up sugar, I completely cut out alcohol and sugar substitutes and I noticed the cravings subsided and I was eating healthier than I’d ever eaten and I felt great.
-Carolyn
If I get a sweet tooth, I grab some fruit or high-end organic dark chocolate. I find the vast majority of run-of-the-mill sweets like donuts, cake, and candy bars to be wasted empty calories that will make me feel like crap after consuming them. I don’t feel the fruit is cheating, and the chocolate…well, that’s probably bacterial:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3310280/Chocolate-craving-determined-by-bacteria.html
I’ve never really had what I would call a sugar craving. I guess that’s something that’s unique to me, or at least rare, because in all my years I’ve heard people talk about *really wanting* some coffee, sugar, chocolate, or french fries, and honestly I can’t recall ever having the feeling that I *had* to have a particular food.
I also don’t smoke or drink, so I can’t really say I’ve ever had anything that amounts to an addiction. I guess the closest thing has been an internet addiction!
I have, however, noticed that I have had to work hard to regulate my diet of either fat, carbs or protein. For some reason, when I an deficient in one of these areas my body *knows* and just gets plain hungry, and the feeling is the same no matter which of these nutrients is missing, or I’m too dense to read my body signals. Pretty much by experimenting (or remembering what I hadn’t eaten enough of in the last 24 hours) is hour I satisfy the “empty” feeling.
This has made it really hard for me to get my BMI into the “normal” range – I’ve been 1 point outside it into the “overweight” range for almost my entire adult life and I can’t seem to really move my weight one way or another. The few times I’ve gotten it into “normal”, I’ve stayed there for maybe 3-4 weeks before a tremendous hunger takes over and I can’t seem to satisfy it with anything, and slowly my weight creeps back up.
I think we’ve all experienced something like that, but like you most of us are not in tuned with our bodies enough to know what is missing. Paying attention, keeping food journals and always trying to eat balanced meals can make a huge difference in keeping hunger in check.
While trying to eat healthy and lose weight, giving up sugar is quiet a struggle for me, but the advice in this article gives me a guideline on where to begin. Thank you so much!!
I’m so glad to help! Let me know if you have any questions.
Darya, thanks for a great article. I’d like to share some of my experiences.
Last week I started a six week program with some guys in my men’s circle that includes among other things no alcohol, no sugar, daily workouts, and adjusting sleep and bed-time routines to get enough sleep. I’ve noticed a few things…
I really want those couple pieces of dark chocolate after lunch and dinner. As soon as I finish the meal I start thinking about the sweets. That’s a habit I’ve had for years and I don’t yet know if my craving is based on the habitual behavior or if it’s physiological in some way.
I’m noticing a really STRONG correlation between emotions and cravings for sweets and alcohol. Last night I had a challenging conversation with someone close to me and noticed that in my mind I was thinking about pouring myself a glass of wine and looking for the chocolate.
The interesting thing about noticing these thoughts and behaviors is that I was not aware of them before giving things up. I only noticed because I could not have them. I remember when I quit smoking years ago that, even after my body was no longer craving the nicotine, I would want a smoke whenever I had a strong emotion. The cigarette seemed to be an emotional lubricant for the uncomfortable moments in my day. I’m noticing the same things with sugar and alcohol.
So, with this new knowledge, my job is to find a way to work through the uncomfortable times in a more productive way, or just be present with the discomfort and realize that it will pass and I don’t need to DO anything about it. Simple, though not as easy as opening the candy drawer.
Wow, great insights! I absolutely agree about the tie to emotions. It turns out that sugar induces the release of serotonin, which improves mood temporarily. So in many ways when we eat we are self-medicating for a mild, temporary depression. This sounds like the making of a future post…
One thing I’ll add is that the picture at the top of this post sure is inducing some sugar cravings for me…
LOL, I totally did that on purpose. Surprised you’re the first one to comment on it
Perhaps I am more suggestible than the rest of your readership.
There’s a great video on sugar that talks the science behind sugar/fructose:
http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2010/01/11/the-hazards-of-sugar-complete-lecture-video/
It’s a bit lacking however, because it doesn’t go over how sugar alcohols, and sugar substitutes (stevia, sucralose, etc) compare. They supposedly don’t raise insulin, so are they healthier? New soft drinks are now using ‘fructose’ (and the inulin polymer) as the sweetener, is this healthier than table sugar, or only better than HFCS (high fructose corn syrup)?
It’s a long video, but bottom line is that fructose gets treated in the body like alcohol. It’s bad for the liver, and is the real cause of all obesity (not fats, carbs, etc.)
One point though, I’m not sure if there a difference between fructose and high fructose corn syrup.. I normally use a juicer to make fresh carrot/beet/mango juice (I get plenty of fiber with the rest of my diet… but could my fresh fructose juicing be that unhealthy????
Hi ben,
We’ve discussed that video before here at Summer Tomato http://summertomato.com/for-the-love-of-food-30/ Dr. Lustig is actually here at UCSF.
As for artificial sweeteners, no they technically should not raise insulin (I’m not convinced). However there has been multiple trials asking if they are beneficial in controlling insulin resistance and obesity and the answer is a resounding no. Generally I would stay away from them.
Fresh juice is definitely high in fructose and should be consumed in moderation. However it does have other benefits so it is not as bad as soda. Also, carrots and beets don’t have as much sugar as fruits like mango. That makes a big difference.
Hopefully I answered your questions
dp
Hi Darya,
What a fantastic and so true article! I am 49 years old and have struggled with weight/overeating issues since I was a teenager. I’ve been about 30 lbs heavier (at my worst) than I am today. For the last 10 years or so, I have tried to eat as healthy, whole, and process free as I can. I exercise regularly. This lifestyle has helped me lose and maintain most of my excess weight. HOWEVER, until I read Sugar Shock by Connie Bennett, I did not understand what a physical addiction/craving sugar sets up in your body and why I was constantly wanting to overeat! Until I read that book (and I thought I knew everything), I thought I just had no willpower. Boy, was I wrong. I experimented and cut out almost 100% of the sugar I had been eating (and it really wasn’t even much at that point) and was shocked to find that, for the first time in my life, the sugar/overeating cravings were (almost) gone!!! I had never felt this powerful over my food addiction. Ever. I lost those last few extra pounds quickly, as I had no trouble eating less/not craving more!!! I have maintained my low-to-no sugar eating style and it is a huge relief (no more obsessing!) and not too difficult. The rewards (tight jeans!) are great and my struggle with food is almost non-existent when I eat this way. Thanks for educating your readers Darya. You do a great job.
Wow, great story. Thanks for chiming in Kelly!
Hi Darya – havent time to go through all the replies to check if someone has already submitted this suggestion, so forgive me if I am repeating a previous one! I have found that the amino acid ‘glutamine’ is very helpful in stopping carbohydrate cravings (sugar, alcohol etc) and can help make the withdrawal process relatively painless. I found it in one of Patrick Holford’s books and it has been mentioned in others as well. The role of amino acids and vitamin/mineral supplements in addressing dietary change is one that I think is still evolving, but the use of glutamine on a personal level by me has been very helpful!
That’s interesting. Glutamine is a very common amino acid and should be abundant in most foods that contain a significant amount of protein. Maybe that is one of the mechanisms by which protein suppresses hunger. Generally I am skeptical of supplements, but always interested to hear new ideas.
Thanks!
Hi, Darya!
I can’t help but butt into this discussion. Darya, you offer some very good advice which will help many people. However, I feel that I need to share my experience, which relates somewhat to the posts by Jennifer and Jeff. For years, without understanding why, I ate compulsively, usually in secret. I could eat sweets, salty munchies, bread, popcorn, even dry noodles until I felt sick. I knew I shouldn’t be eating this stuff, I knew I should stop, but I couldn’t– my reaction was akin to that of an alcoholic, who knows he’s had enough, but simply can’t stop. I was pretty good at keeping most of those trigger foods out of my house, so instead I would overeat healthy foods: wholewheat crispbreads, popcorn with olive oil, carrots, grapes, etc. And when I was at work, I’d be gorgeing myself with whatever sweets or fingerfoods colleagues would leave in the staffroom. So keeping trigger foods out of my house really didn’t help much. At the same time, I was interested in healthy foods, and tried to eat healthy– when I wasn’t stuffing myself silly with a lot of junk.
Last year, I was telling a friend about my “bipolar” eating habits, and he suggested I look into Overeaters Anonymous. I did, and it has changed my life. I’ve learned that I have an addiction to certain foods, and that I can’t stop eating them once I start. I’ve also been following a Twelve Step program, which is helping me to deal with a lot of emotions and personal issues, so they don’t get the better of me and bring me back to my old eating habits.
Since I’ve been in OA, I’ve developed a much healthier relationship with food, and I’m discovering that healthy cooking and eating can be a joy.
OA isn’t for everyone, but for those people who truly have an addiction to food, it can be a life-changing experience. I’m including this link to the website, so that anyone interested can quickly figure out if OA is for them or not.
http://www.oa.org/new-to-oa/is-oa-for-you.php
I hope that this can be helpful to a few of your readers. Thanks for posting it, and keep up the good work!
Thanks for sharing your story. I definitely support what you’ve done by finding professional help for your condition, and I’m glad to hear you’re getting it under control. Definitely this site is geared toward people without clinically diagnosed eating disorders, but it is always good to remember that some people need a little more help than others.
Thanks again for chiming I wish you the best in managing your healthstyle
darya
Sorry for posting on an old article, but I find that if I have chocolate in the house it means I eat less of it. Somehow having it there means that I don’t need any, and I shouldn’t eat it today because I might need it tomorrow. It still has this effect long after it’s inedible- I have to periodically clean out my room to get rid of the out-of-date stashes (easter eggs especially: I still have my easter eggs from last year, I’ll have to clean it out soon).
On the other hand, if there’s no chocolate in the house, I go out and get some and I generally eat it before I get home. This only works for chocolate, not biscuits or anything else. Anyone else feel the same way or am I an aberration?
That’s interesting!! Whatever works for you is always best
Hi Darya,
Thanks very much for this article, and also to all the previous posters for their comments. I’m a fairly young guy, slim and relatively healthy, but I’ve been slowly coming to the realisation that I need to cut a drastic amount of sugar out of my diet – and quickly. Three of my grandparents are diabetic and I don’t want to go down that road.
As a kid, I refused to drink water and would only have sugary cordials and soft drinks for fluids. I kicked that habit around 17 and now plain water tastes quite sweet for me (rain water is a revelation!). However, it’s the inocuous sugars in the mayonnaise on my sandwich, in stir fry sauces or in the English muffin for breakfast that continue to slip into my diet.
I think learning to cook and bake would have to be one of the most effective ways to discover just how much sugar goes into many items in the pantry such as biscuits, cakes and pastries. You think twice about going for a cupcake knowing that the frosting is almost pure sugar with a bit of butter and the cake had a cup of sugar poured into the batter before it was baked. Suddenly, it becomes very clear why such foods are rightly regarded as treats. The same goes for condiments such as mayonnaise that perhaps require just a pinch of sugar to balance the tang from the vinegar instead of the many teaspoons that commercial varieties have in their own.
In any event, I’ll stock up on veggies, potatoes, some nice fruit and good meat and give your suggestion of a 4 day sugar fast a go. I kicked cordial before, next on my list is the barbeque sauce and ‘yoghurt’-topped muesli bars!
Great! Thanks for chiming in