How To Stop Sugar Cravings With Nutritional Supplements?

Ever just get up and feel like gulping down a dozen or so donuts? And then you actually follow through with the plan? You don’t end up eating all if the 12 donuts, and you want to know How to stop sugar cravings with nutritional supplements? but the reason behind it stays the same; you craved some sugar, and for you, sugar equals donuts so here we go to the bakery.

To deal with these cravings, which are medically relevant, there are several consumables that are considered sugar carving supplements; that is, either they work to remove the deficiency that causes sugar cravings, or help you get your sweet tooth fixed without getting you fat. So, in this passage, we will be discussing what deficiency causes sugar cravings, and what are some of the supplements that curb sugar cravings.

You might think that sugar craving is something that your body uses as a way to inform you of the diminishing glucose stores of the body, but as we will later on discover, surprisingly, that isn’t the reason. The real reason is way more scientific and well-connected, which makes us all marvel at the way our bodies work.

With that being said, our main focus form here onwards would be on ‘how to stop sugar cravings with nutritional supplements’, and along the way we will take a look at some popular sugar craving supplements; supplements that curb sugar cravings and which deficiencies cause sugar cravings. Now without any further ado, lets get into discussing sugar cravings. 

What is Sugar Craving?

As the name implies, when you have a sudden, unexplainable urge to shove your mouth full of sweets, chocolates and whatnot, the situation would be called ‘sugar craving’. It is only after your fourth chocolate or second donut that you realise you were on a diet and this impulsiveness is exactly what your trainer forbade you from caving in to. A sugar craving is basically the mind telling the body that it needs sugar, which will then be converted into glucose, providing quick energy to the body. The last part is actually a big reason as to why people face sugar cravings regularly. Let’s take a look now at the various causes of sugar cravings. 

What Causes Sugar Cravings?

There are several reasons as to what causes these sugar cravings; some of them relate to the psychology of eating sweets and our association of certain flavours with certain moods, whereas the rest of them have nutritional reasons; as such, these can always be mitigated and/ or worked around to prevent yourself from eating too much and getting way too much fat.

The first reason alludes to the fact that water plays an important part in converting glycogen into glucose, which is the main provider of energy for the body. What happens is, when your body is low on water, it cannot efficiently process glycogen into glucose; causing it to look for quick energy in the form of carbohydrates found in sugar and other sweets. So, essentially, what could be just your body asking for water is actually taken as a sign of sugar craving.

Secondly, one of the major reasons why some people experience sugar cravings is either an absence of non-carbohydrate macronutrients or an increase in carbohydrate intake. Both of these situations cause your energy levels to decline, causing your body to try and compensate it with demand for quick energy from glucose provided by sweets and sugar. As such, you should look into some quick energy provided by foods which are glucose rich, like candies or a milkshake, which delivers instant energy and instead of you getting fat, you just get the required energy, nothing more. 

There are some psychological reasons as well, but they aren’t as much significant as the ones described above. These include things like association of sweets with good memories and stuff like that. Not important. 

How To Deal With Sugar Cravings?

Well, you can either suck it up, be a big boy or girl, and not cave in to the demands of your body (which aren’t very much real, as proved in the causes section). Or you can use sugar craving supplements, which help at the base of the issue, and resolve the deficiencies that cause sugar cravings. These supplements are not to be confused with artificial sweeteners; they do more damage than benefit as they can only increase your brain’s tendency to actually follow through with that sugar craving. 

The other way of dealing with sugar cravings is by conditioning your mind to not follow through with purchasing sweets after you have a sugar craving; many people do this by eating just a toffee and staying put afterwards; this way, you do not feel the need to go for more sweets or more donuts. You feel satiated after just one toffee, and with that, you start busying yourself with other things to distract your mind from it.

Another way of dealing with sugar cravings is by changing aspects of your diet. For instance, as we mentioned before, taking too much carbs or too-less non-carbohydrate macronutrients, which in turn, robs the body of its ability to synthesize glucose from glycogen, making it lethargic and low on energy.

On the other hand, oftentimes, when the body has low reserves of water, it cannot effectively process glucose out of glycogen, which means that the energy reserves will get depleted, which can be easily corrected by just drinking water. Instead, since it is getting low on energy, you will experience sugar cravings as the body’s counteract of trying to keep the energy reserves up. So, here’s a tip; if you feel tired or lethargic, try drinking a glass of water. It’ll save you the additional calories and you’ll feel much better afterwards. 

Also Read: The Best Supplements For Lung Cancer

How to stop sugar cravings with nutritional supplements?

Let’s start off with some supplements that should help you deal with sugar cravings. Most of them are readily available, and even if not, these are all supplements that you can get from household kitchen products (like spices or herbs), so, without any further ado, let’s get into it.

Glutamine:

Stabilising blood sugars is the one function that most of these supplements will do, and at the top of the list is glutamine, which is an amino acid (basic protein component) and according to research, does wonders for the blood sugar levels. People experience sugar cravings whenever their blood sugar drops to a critical level; glutamine regulates it by allowing more release of glucose in the bloodstream to allow for blood sugar levels to get back to their normal levels, thereby allowing the body to continue energising itself, and making the sugar craving fade away. Glutamine can be obtained from various different proteins, and supplements are also available at drug stores. 

Chromium:

Chromium also works like glutamine, only it is much better in the process of regulating blood sugar level than glutamine or any other compound, for that matter. Plus it is also more readily available in pharmacies and drugstores as multi-vitamin tablets and its assimilation into the body is also very good, so it is a much better supplement to curb sugar cravings. What’s more, it also lowers down the brain’s demand for excess sugar when the body is low in energy or you’re feeling lethargic, allowing for the endocrine system to also lower quantities of bad cholesterol in the body upon its intake. 

Lipase:

Absence of lipase is something that you will find in common in all obese people; lipase is the enzyme that breaks down fat and burns it for fuel, contributing in a major part the process of getting rid of fats. This allows the body to tap into resources of energy derived from fats, foregoing the need for glucose, thereby allowing for less consumption of sugars (from where the body usually derives its glucose from). Taking a supplement of lipase with fat-rich meals of the day (like breakfast or dinner) can help you remain more energetic all the while requiring less sugars and sweet foods. 

Fish oil:

Fish oil works a little bit differently than the other supplements mentioned so far. It works by enhancing the insulin sensitivity of the body; allowing for lesser episodes of sugar cravings as the body regulates its insulin and sugar levels itself. This is very helpful as it will allow for a reduction in sugar consumption on a basic level. Plus, fish oils are very readily available in the market, as they can be found commonly in supermarkets. 

Vitamin B complex (B vitamins):

Enhanced assimilation and metabolization of carbohydrates allow for better glucose retention and advanced energy synthesisation, which is exactly what Vitamin B complex or B vitamins do. This is very helpful; carbohydrate conversion into glucose is something that provides the human body with the requisite energy; and the more optimal this process is, the more energy you’ll get out of it. Which is a big priority here. 

Flaxseed oil:

Similar to fish oil, flaxseed oil also helps with insulin resistance, thereby allowing the body to regulate levels of blood sugar; this helps with sugar consumption, and you’ll have fewer sugar cravings as a result altogether. Flaxseed oil is not as common as some of the other supplements on this list, so you can easily substitute it with fish oil.

FAQ

People regularly ask questions related to the sugar Cravings