IS SUGAR ADDICTION REAL?⁣⁣🧐

I’m sure many of you who follow me have at some point cut out all refined sugar for a period of time because you heard it’s bad for your health. (and possibly fruit as well because you may have heard that it causes weight gain).⁣⁣🍌
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I’ve been there, done that too. And let me tell you, it made my cravings for sugar even stronger! ⁣⁣
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Why? Because the constant demonizing of foods and dietary extremes do not work. Humans crave things that are “forbidden”. So the more we are told to stay away from sugary foods, the more we feel like we can’t hold ourselves back when we see a fluffy sweet pastry🤤. *cue the binge eating* ⁣⁣
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“BUT I READ THAT SUGAR IS AS ADDICTIVE AS COCAINE!” ⁣

Nope. You’re not as addicted to sugar as you would be to cocaine. ⁣⁣
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To compare sugar to drugs is a little dramatic. The claims of any single nutrient being addictive has not been proven. ⁣⁣
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Drugs destroy brain cells and cause intensely painful physical withdrawals which may require the user to take in more of the drug to combat this pain.⁣⁣
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Whenever we eat sugar, our nervous system releases a ‘feel good’ signal to our brain called DOPAMINE ⚡️🧠. That’s the only similarity between sugar and drug addiction. (Also drugs release way more dopamine).
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But can you guess what else releases dopamine? ⁣⁣
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Exercise. ⁣⁣
Sex. ⁣⁣
Physical touch.⁣⁣
Eating other delicious foods! ⁣⁣
Meditation.⁣⁣
Sleep.⁣⁣
Listening to music.
Making art. ⁣⁣
Dancing. ⁣⁣
Falling in love. ⁣⁣
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So does this mean we need to stop doing these completely healthy things too?⁣⁣😂
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If you’re feeling like you can’t control yourself around sugar, here are 4 things that you can start putting into practice👇

1️⃣EAT IT! Let go of the notion that sugar is bad and tactically include it in your diet (10-20% while the other 80-90% comes from whole foods, including fruit!) and this way the novelty wears off and you’ll likely find you crave it a whole lot less.⁣⁣
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2️⃣FACE YOUR STUFF, DON’T STUFF YOUR FACE: We recognize that when we are stressed, our automatic tendency is to reach for calorie dense, hyper-palatable foods. Practice breathing techniques to calm yourself down, a guided meditation, or a good chat with yourself to address where your emotions are stemming from can help you cope instead of using food to temporarily self-soothe. ⁣⁣
3️⃣HEALTHY DOPING: Do more of these healthy dopamine releasing activities from the list above! ⁣⁣
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4️⃣EAT MINDFULLY: Slow down, savour and tune into how your body feels after you eat that specific food.
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If there is anything that you’re struggling with in your diet send me an email and let’s chat about how we can work together to break the habit!
I’m heading off to enjoy the holiday feasting while it’s here! ⁣⁣Hope you will too! Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!🎄💚