15 Powerful Ways To Fight A Sugar Addiction

15 Powerful Ways To Fight A Sugar Addiction

1.      Eliminate processed foods-Sugars are added to processed foods to enhance their flavor. Even the ones that you wouldn’t expect to be a sugar snack are often loaded with it. Make sure to read the labels and try to eliminate all processed and junk food from your diet.

2.      Eat regularly-If you wait too long in between meals your blood sugar drops and you are more likely to binge on sugary, fatty foods to satisfy your hunger. Opt for 3 healthy meals and 2 snacks or 5 smaller meals at regular time intervals. Choose fresh, whole foods high in protein and fiber like whole grains, seeds, nuts, fruit, and veggies.

3.      Fruit and Veggie Detox-When you feel up for it, do a whole food fruit and veggie detox. Eliminating all sugars for 5 to 10 days often decreases the need for sugar and will stop sugar cravings.

4.      Emotional Eating-When we feel down, bored, stressed or worried we tend to eat sugary snacks to find some comfort. Be aware of this emotional connection to food and sugar. Try to find another way to get your emotions under control. Go for a walk, meet up with a friend, listen to music, practice yoga or do something you love instead of binging on ice cream or candy bars.

5.      Mineral Deficiencies-Deficiencies in certain trace minerals can intensify sugar cravings, as some of those are involved in glucose metabolism and insulin production. Make sure to eat enough healthy foods to meet your body’s needs. Here’s a list of minerals you should pay attention to.

Chromium: whole grains, asparagus, sweet potatoes, apples, organic eggs, tomatoes, and broccoli. Magnesium: spinach, quinoa, cashews, pumpkin seeds, beans, Swiss chard, almonds, raw cacao and mackerel. to learn more about magnesium deficiencies. Vanadium: mushrooms, parsley, whole grains, dill, and shellfish, carrots, cabbage, olive oil, garlic, and onions. Zinc: seafood, chickpeas, almonds, oatmeal, yogurt (unsweetened), raw cacao, cashews, and spinach

6.      Get Enough Sleep-Fatigue or a lack of sleep is what makes your body crave for sugar to give an instant energy boost. People who don’t sleep enough tend to eat more calories, much of them being sugary or fatty foods.

7.      Don’t Keep Sugary Foods At Your Home-For me this is the most important rule. I was a sugar addict and cookie monster in the past. When we had cookies or candy in the house, I ate them all. This simply stopped when I stopped buying these tempting comfort foods. We often buy cookies, candy, or ice cream for unexpected visitors or for the kids, but at the end it is always you who eats them….Am I right?

8.      Reach For Fruit-When you crave sugar have a piece of your favorite fruit instead of grabbing a candy bar. Fruits are packed with fibers and sweetness that will fill you up and curb your cravings.

9.      Take A Walk-When your craving hits, get on your feet and take a walk (or run) around the block or building. This will also increase endorphins or feel-good hormones and may help to turn your cravings off.

10.  Eat More Veggies-Instead of having bread, pasta or other refined carbs eat more veggies instead. Simple carbs like bread are easily converted into sugar compared to the complex carbs found in leafy greens and other vegetables. These complex carbs take longer to digest and keep your cravings at bay. Cut vegetables are the perfect snack in between meals, and can be taken to work in a small container or Ziploc bag. So no excuses there…

11.  Drink More Water-Swap fizzy drinks and sugar-laden tea or coffee for water. If this is too boring for your try 

 instead to make things more interesting. Water makes you feel full and helps to flush more toxins and sugar out of your body.

12.  Sweeten Things Up With Cinnamon-Cinnamon reduces sugar cravings and keeps your blood sugar levels in check. Works well in hot beverages or plain unsweetened yogurt or coconut yogurt.

13.  Coconut oil-Coconut oil’s medium chained fatty acids are directly send to your liver as an instant source of energy, just as sugar and simple carbs, but without causing sugar spikes. 1 to 2 tablespoons right after lunch will fill you up and you won’t be hungry for the coming 4 hours. I often scoop coconut oil in my morning smoothie to keep me full until lunch. Not too fond of the taste of pure coconut oil? Try and mix it with a little raw cacao powder to enhance the taste.

14.  Raw Cacao-Just as cinnamon, raw cacao is an excellent way to sweeten things up without the need to add sugar. I love avocado chocolate mousse.

15.  L-glutamine-Although I’m not a huge fan of supplements, as they are processed and all nutrients can be found in a balanced whole food diet, some people have shown some great results from taking to get off sugar. L-glutamine is an amino acid (building block of proteins) known to ease sugar cravings. It can be used as an energy source for the brain, instead of glucose, and keeps blood sugar levels stable. It may take a month to get off the sugar with L-glutamine, but after that you will not need it any longer.