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Sugar addiction is the sneakiest of addictions. Sugar is a substance with a high addictive potential, just like alcohol.
Indeed, sugar has found its way into many foods, sometimes unsuspected, and has become, in spite of itself, a veritable drug for millions of people.
The fact is, when consumed in excess, sugar can be a real addiction that can be difficult to break. Here are 7 techniques to help you break your sugar addiction.
What are the risks of developing a sugar addiction?
A large consumption of sugar , through fruits, syrups or cakes, triggers great imbalances for your body.
This consumption of sugar is seriously harmful to health: sugar addicts more easily develop various diseases, such as obesity or diabetes.
This addiction to sugar comes at a very high price. The liver no longer manages to burn the sugar to transform it into energy, and it is therefore transformed into fat: this is guaranteed weight gain, coupled with high blood sugar and significant cardiovascular risks.
The skin, under the effect of excess sugar , loses its ability to regenerate and repair itself. Fine lines, wrinkles and other signs of aging may appear.
As for the comfort felt during the consumption of sugar, it is short-lived: if it is obvious that sugar in small quantities can reduce the level of cortisol (the stress hormone), consume in large quantities increases the risk of developing stress.
In short, not only is the risk of developing a sugar addiction high given our way of life and our consumption patterns, but this addiction increases the risk of developing many visible and less visible diseases: sugar addiction is a plague.
The problem is that sugar is everywhere and avoiding it is very complicated. In addition, it has a comforting character, which can in certain situations (blues, fatigue, festive moments, etc.), encourage you to turn to sweet foods.
Naturally present in fruits, it is also present in ultra-processed foods, but also in pasta, bread, and all basic food products. In these circumstances, the risks of developing a sugar addiction are therefore very high and it seems difficult, today, to adopt a sugar-free diet .
The most effective solution is therefore to reduce consumption by performing withdrawal, as if it were an addiction to cigarettes or alcohol , in order to get rid of an addiction to sugar .
How to free yourself from sugar and no longer be addicted?
To wean yourself off sugar, it is essential to go little by little and above all not to feel guilty if you ever encounter difficulties during your weaning process.
First, you have to recognize your addiction, then put in place techniques that will allow you to get rid of it:
- Recognize the hidden signs of your sugar addiction
- Identify the foods responsible for sugar addiction
- Avoid refined sugar
- Treating the Psychological Causes of Sugar Addiction
- Consider natural methods: acupuncture for sugar addiction
- Consult a dietitian
- Using homeopathy to suppress sugar cravings
Technique 1: Recognize the hidden signs of your sugar addiction
To treat your addiction to sugar , it is essential to become aware of it by identifying the signs that prove the addiction. These are often physical.
If you are addicted to sugar, conscious or not, you probably have:
Dental caries
Sugar is notorious for damaging teeth . It favors the acid produced by the bacteria responsible for the destruction of tooth enamel.
If you have many cavities when no other health problem can explain it, you have good dental hygiene (brushing your teeth after each meal, dental floss) and you develop cavities, it is most certainly because you have an excessive consumption of sugar.
Overweight or obesity
It's no longer a secret for you, you know that excessive sugar consumption promotes weight gain and obesity .
Some people, who are more athletic or have a high pace of life, however, find themselves with high blood sugar and excess stored fat in the thighs and stomach.
It is possible that this excess fat in some places is the result of above-average sugar consumption.
Dietary deficiencies and diseases
If you have a sugar addiction, chances are your blood work will indicate high blood sugar , pre-diabetes, or dietary deficiencies.
A feeling of hunger that comes back too often, too quickly
You consume two to three meals a day, in suitable quantities, and yet: you are always hungry.
It is likely that your excessive sugar consumption is the cause.
The feeling of hunger is not a complex process: when you are hungry, it is because your brain receives small signals indicating that your stomach is empty, and it then stimulates your appetite. When your stomach is full after a meal, the signals tell you to stop eating, so the feeling of hunger disappears.
When you eat meals high in sugar, normal functioning is challenged and your hormones are turned upside down. It is for this reason that you continue to feel hungry even after meals.
skin problems
If you have skin problems, know that sugar should be avoided as much as possible because it is an unsuspected enemy of the skin.
When you eat too much sugar, your glycemic index is high, and your insulin levels shoot up. This chain reaction causes a hormonal imbalance, especially at the level of androgen hormones, responsible for stimulating your sebaceous glands.
Simply put, your sebum production, responsible for oily skin and pimples, goes into overdrive.
Sugar also has an inflammatory effect on skin cells. So, if your skin problems are resistant to drug treatments and all home remedies, take a serious look at your diet and sugar intake.
Unexplained tiredness
If eating sugar immediately gives an energy surge, this is quickly followed by a sharp drop. Indeed, it has been found that sugar addiction blocks the action of a brain hormone responsible for the feeling of arousal.
You're often tired or sleepy, you feel like you're dragging yourself all day, and yet…your life isn't so exhausting that you sleep every afternoon after a meal.
If you feel very tired on a daily basis without being able to explain it by another factor, it is likely a sign of excessive sugar consumption or sugar addiction .
Technique 2: Identify the foods responsible for sugar addiction
Certain salty foods are sometimes responsible for your sugar addiction. And consuming them creates a phenomenon of compensation.
These foods, although sometimes unsweetened, are a real call for sugar consumption, and it is essential to know them to naturally and effortlessly reduce your sugar consumption .
- Foods that weaken the liver such as white bread (flour) or alcohol
- Gluten
- Very salty foods such as cheese, vinegar, salt, which will make you crave sugar to compensate
- Sugar cubes or added sugars in caffeinated drinks: sugar begs sugar
Technique 3: Avoid refined sugar and prefer natural sugars
To stop being addicted to sugar , you can also reduce your consumption by choosing to include natural sugars in your diet that are less addictive.
Refined sugar is the darling of the food industries: it is called processed sugar. It can be found everywhere: in chocolates, sodas, sweets, cakes, but also in all industrially prepared dishes such as pasta or sauces.
- Ban ultra-processed foods: by observing more closely the composition of these foods, you will become aware of a sugar level extremely higher than the recommended daily average.
- Do not take “no added sugar” foods for granted, check that the sugar present is a natural sugar from fruits and not a sweetener (like aspartame) which could promote the onset of diabetes and unbalance your intestinal balance.
- Turn to whole grains like wholemeal bread.
- Adopt alternatives to refined sugar: honey, maple syrup, whole cane sugar, fruit fructose...
All of these foods won't keep you from eating sweet or trigger frustration, yet they cut your sugar intake in half and allow you to notice positive changes, both physical and psychological.
Technique 4: Treat the psychological causes of sugar addiction
To get rid of a sugar addiction, it is important to identify its causes and treat them.
You have noticed that you consume a lot of sugar. You like to eat sweets, and even worse, you feel the need to dip a big spoon in your jar of chocolate spread after each day of work.
What if your sugar addiction was linked to a psychological cause?
The sweet food compulsion could allow you to comfort yourself in the face of negative emotions. If you have trouble managing anger or even sadness, which are completely normal emotions, it is possible that you have “chosen” sugar as your decompression chamber.
This food compulsion quickly becomes uncontrollable, because it is your only means of bringing a solution to these emotions, it is the beginning of the addiction.
Sugar stimulates the production of endorphin and serotonin, the two neurotransmitters that have a positive influence on mood. It is therefore quite natural to turn to sugar when you feel the need to find a feeling of relaxation, well-being, better-being.
This stimulation is the point of addiction: as for an alcoholic or a person addicted to tobacco, weaning from sugar is difficult .
A sugar addict who suddenly stops his consumption of sugar no longer has any means of relieving his stress, his tensions and his emotions.
If you think that your excessive sugar consumption is a response to your stress, appropriate care will require comprehensive care , with your doctor and/or your dietitian, but especially with a psychologist.
The psychologist will first check that these food compulsions are not linked to other psychological disorders or to an eating disorder such as bulimia or hyperphagia.
He can then set up a therapy that will help you prevent the situations and contexts that trigger your sweet food compulsions. The psychologist can also study your daily life and your relationships to understand what triggers stress and act on the root causes.
Technique 5: Consider natural methods: acupuncture for sugar addiction
Acupuncture is often used to end a sugar addiction .
However, if each person finds alternative treatments according to their needs, acupuncture alone cannot solve a real addiction to sugar.
But it is a recognized and very effective technique in addition to monitoring. The role of acupuncture is rather to help you progress in this fight against sugar addiction.
Technique 6: consult a dietitian
If you have tried to reduce your sugar consumption, if you have changed your eating habits or your lifestyle, if you have the feeling that you continue to eat sweets despite all your efforts, it is important to consult a dietician who can help assess your meals and set up a diet based on your lifestyle.
The dietitian can help you work around your feelings and your frustrations by adapting the diet he suggests. It is possible to reduce your sugar consumption while having fun.
Many people make the mistake of starting drastic diets or depriving themselves of meals to lose weight or reduce their sugar consumption.
It's not a good idea. Not only depriving yourself of food, sugar, or eating less is not effective in losing weight, but it will produce the opposite effect: you will have unbearable peaks during the day, pushing you to consume as quickly as possible what you find in your closet.
Technique 7: Use homeopathy to suppress sugar cravings
Finally, sugar addiction can be treated with natural treatments, naturopathy or even homeopathy.
Before consuming a treatment, however natural it may be, always consult your doctor's advice. For homeopathy, here are some products recommended to suppress sugar cravings :
- Argentum nitricum: Argentum nitricum helps suppress sugar cravings. It is a homeopathic treatment based on silver nitrate.
- Eugenia jambolana 4 CH: This homeopathic treatment is used on people whose blood sugar is very high (diabetes). Eugenia jambolana contains galactose, lactose sucrose and fructose. It helps to get rid of sugar cravings.
Not always well identified, sugar is present in all prepared dishes and in many foods on our plates, including those with a rather salty taste, where the sugar is imperceptible. It calls itself sucrose, fructose, dextrose, maltose on labels and can lead to real addiction.
Bottom line
In order to avoid major health problems and limit the risks of this food addiction, it is important to get rid of sugar quickly.
Identification of the signs, treatment of the causes, preference for natural sugars, natural methods... there are many tips and techniques that can help overcome a sugar addiction.
In some cases where obesity and/or diabetes sets in, this addiction is experienced as suffering.
Also, if you feel the need to be accompanied in your weaning process, do not hesitate to contact a psychologist specialized in nutrition as well as a nutritionist who can help you effectively to put an end to your addiction.
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