The Cure to Sugar Cravings

One of the most life-changing things my doctor ever told me was one simple fact: When you're craving sugar, you're probably dehydrated, so drink some water instead. Doesn't sound like much, but it put me on the track to analyzing why I was craving what I was craving, and that has totally changed the way I eat.

For yes, I am a sugar craver. But no, it had never crossed my mind that one's craving can be caused by an underlying condition (duh!). Especially sugar. I had bought wholesale the idea that craving sugar is an ancient natural adaptation ... that we evolved to crave sweets inside healthy fruits so our diet would be more than meat, leaves and tubers.

Now, when I crave sugar, I have a huge glass of water, and bam. No more craving. And no more fleshy puff mounds in my mid-riff, either.

Actually, it turns out there are several underlying conditions that can cause sugar cravings. As explained on Mark's Daily Apple, a great health and nutrition site, "lack of sleep, stress, dehydration, caffeine crashes and plain hunger go hand in hand with sugar cravings." Also, sugar raises serotonin levels, which you can get from exercise instead. In short, solve the underlying condition that causes sugar cravings, and you can make fewer bare-fisted raids into the Froot Loops box.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons.