Many individuals feel powerless to sugar cravings, unable to resist the temptation of a sweet, sugary treat or even just a carbohydrate laden item. If this is the case, sugar addiction is likely to blame. While the habit can be hard to kick, a variety of methods and practices can help cut one’s need for sweets and combat the symptoms associated with the addiction.
What is Sugar Addiction?
Research suggests that sugar triggers the dopamine receptors in the brain, which leads to an individual’s overreliance on the substance. Symptoms of sugar addiction include losing control and eating more sugar than planned, feeling bad when skipping a regular sugar fix, being nervous and shaky without sugar and even breaking into a cold sweat.
Home Remedies for Curbing the Sugar Habit
Many individuals try to cut the sugar habit cold turkey and end up falling right back into bad habits. Using a variety of strategies including nutritional supplements can help retrain the taste buds and manage the dietary change more effectively. A plan that focuses on making one or two small changes at a time is generally the most effective.
Bitters
Adding bitters, such as kale, to the diet can help offset the body’s taste for sugar. The bitterness of the kale functions to retrain the taste buds, resulting in a lowered desire for sweet treats. These options also pack a powerful punch of important nutrients that realign the body’s natural levels, helping solve the sugar problem as well.
Dietary Enzymes
Dietary enzymes are another way to successfully combat sugar addiction. Common enzymes include amylase, protease, invertase, mucolase and glucoamylase. Taking daily enzymes satisfies the body’s needs for nutrients making it less likely to crave sugar and other less healthy substitutes.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar not only reduces one’s craving for sugar, but it also helps regulate and control blood glucose levels. The vinegar contains an important component known as acetic acid that inhibits the carbohydrate-digesting enzymes, meaning that when vinegar is present, some starches and sugars pass through the intestines without being digested. Apple cider vinegar also filters and cleanses the blood, treating a number of other conditions as well.
While a sweet treat now and then isn’t going to hurt anyone, repeatedly overindulging in sweets and even carbohydrates can lead to an addictive cycle. Making small changes and supporting one’s nutritional intake with supplements can help navigate such an addiction and prevent an overreliance on sugar.
