Sugar is a dieting demon for many. One bite or sip of its sweet deliciousness can leave you binging for hours on all kinds of bad foods and drinks. According to The Telegraph, “the average Briton consumes 238 teaspoons of sugar each week” without even realising it. That’s almost 1kg, or the equivalent to more than 40 cans of coke.
And as we all know, sugar does bad things to the body. It promotes belly fat, damages the heart and can even decrease your life expectancy. Only problem is it’s insanely addictive.
According to the Health Sciences Academy, researchers from the University of Bordeaux found that sugar is more addictive than certain drugs, with “refined sugar proving 4 times more addictive than cocaine!”
Needless to say, it’s hard cutting out sugar completely – you find it in almost everything. But there are ways you can lessen the need to reach for another chocolate bar.
Scared of going cold turkey? Try these 6 sugar-satisfying ways to beat cravings!
Snack On Cinnamon
Who knew this spice held the answer to our sugar woes? Research made by the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center discovered that eating cinnamon helps control blood glucose levels, and in turn, curb cravings. Its “naturally occurring compounds” are proven to improve insulin sensitivity, thus minimising insulin spikes after meals. This means that you’re more satisfied after your meal and less likely to eat more sugar.
Some suggest taking cinnamon supplements, but we recommend incorporating it into your everyday cooking. Why not try a tasty banana cinnamon smoothie? This heart-warming mixture is great for revving up the metabolism.
Snaffle Some Raw Cacao
One for the chocoholics (kind of) is raw cacao. Unlike a bar of chocolate, raw cacao beans hold amazing health benefits and aren’t laden with preservatives. It’s rich in essential minerals: iron, potassium, calcium, zinc and importantly, magnesium, which The American Diabetes Association recently discovered can help “lower diabetes risk and decrease inflammation.” Raw cacao even releases the feel good hormone we get from eating chocolate, phenylethylamine.
And on top of all that, it curbs sugar cravings too. Raw cacao contains high levels of chromium: a mineral proven to help improve blood sugar control. To include it in your diet, try mixing raw cacao powder in with breakfast meals – but be careful, heating the powder can diminish its nutrient quality. Use it to top up your favourite cereal or rustle up a superfood smoothie. Deliciously Ella loves it, and we do to!
Try Fasting
The 5:2 Fast Diet has become incredibly popular over recent years. Drawing on age-old dieting techniques, medical journalist Michael Mosley took a fresh approach to weight loss through ‘intermittent fasting.’ And whilst massively cutting down your calorie intake on certain days doesn’t sound overly healthy; done in a controlled manner, it can work wonders for your waistline and sugar cravings.
Fasting reboots the body, normalising sugar levels and insulin sensitivity. As Live Trading Newsexplains, excessive sugar consumption can cause “insulin/leptin resistance” which can potentially lead to other health complications and chronic diseases. Fast diets help retrain the body into using fat as its primary fuel, rather than relying on sugar-highs as a source of energy.
Make A Brew
One way to beat sugar cravings is by sticking the kettle on and making a brew, but not of the builder variety. If you rely on caffeine for an energy kick – espressos, lattes and sugar-filled teas; then you could be making yourself more susceptible to sugar cravings.
According to paediatrician and TV personality, Dr Sears “caffeine can trigger a drop in blood sugar” which in turn encourages you to reach for sugary foods when you don’t need them. Instead, brew up a caffeine-free herbal tea. They’re rich in antioxidants, and stop cravings. Try ginseng – it helps the body to naturally cope with stress, curbing what Livestrong describes as “emotional overeating and unhealthy blood sugar fluctuations.”
Chew Some Fenugreek
If you’re feeling herbal, try chewing fenugreek seeds. Popular in Indian cuisine, these small yellow seeds are said to curb cravings through their bitter, burnt sugar flavour. But rather than cooking them, simply chew until your desire for something sugary has disappeared.
The National Center For Complementary and Integrative Health agrees, “small studies have found that fenugreek may help lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.” It’s the perfect way to satisfy a sweet tooth.
Crack Open The Coconut Oil
Everyone raves about the amazing effects of coconut oil, but is it really worth the hype? In a word, yes – especially when it comes to sugar cravings. Author of best selling book I Quit Sugar, Sarah Wilson thinks there’s nothing better than coconut oil for satisfying mid-afternoon munchies. Made up of medium-chain fatty acids, coconut oil is packed with health benefits – it helps burn fat, reduces your risk of heart disease and acts as a natural moisturiser. But importantly, it also fuels the body with energy without causing insulin spikes. Wilson’s tip is to eat one tablespoon straight after lunch, sometimes mixing it with raw cacao for extra flavour. It fills you up immediately – bye bye sugar crashes!
